Inglourious Basterds- Kosher Wet Dreams

Jeffrey Goldberg has an interesting piece in the newest issue of the Atlantic on Quentin Tarantino's new film Inglourious Basterds. In the piece, Goldberg brings up a variety of moral questions about Jewish revenge fantasies. I have yet to see the film in question, but being a Tarantino enthusiast, I've been hearing rumors about this movie for years. It features a Jewish military outfit which parachutes into Germany and causes mayhem behind the lines of the Third Reich.

My first Tarantino experience was Pulp Fiction. It came out in 94, when I was eleven, and of course my elders would not let me see it. Like a lot of other red-blooded American boys, I had an obsession with the mafia. They were modern day cowboys- fighting for their families honor, in a world that no longer understood the concept of the word. Around the same time I first saw the Godfather on TV and was truly blown away. Michael Colone was a bad ass; he knew who his enemies were, he eliminated them, and then basked in his wealth! Of course, as an adult, I see how this is a complete misreading of the film. Anyway, I digress, Pulp Fiction is a gangster film, and yet it is so beyond that. Pulp Fiction is modern and exciting. It has none of the moral issues that Colone battles with. It seems that Inglourious Basterds is following in the same vein. Tarantino is a one trick pony. He takes a genre, turns the violence up to 11, and then puts the audience through a two plus hour blood bath. I'm not exactly sure what the point of seeing Inglourious Basterds is- unless as Goldberg explains, you are Jewish, and have been wanting to see a film were Jews truly steal, kill, and destroy.

Of course, I think my curiosity will get the better of me...Tarantino used to be my favorite director. He's really not anymore, but out of loyalty, I'll probably see it.