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Reference Degustation

Themes

101 themes tracked across the show. Pivot by theme to see how different directors handle the same idea — or browse by director or patron.

Visuals & Audio

17 themes

Cinematography

#Cinematography

Cinematography

2 directors·9 episodes

New York

#NYCinFilm

Setting/Location

1 director·5 episodes

Long ass movies

#Pacing

Editing/Pacing

1 director·5 episodes

Scorsese Bingo: Freeze Frames, Slow Mo, Split Diopter, Tracking Shots, Extreme Closeups

#ScorseseCinematography

Cinematography

1 director·5 episodes

Voiceover as an effective storytelling tool

#Voiceover

Music/Sound

1 director·5 episodes

Unflinching graphic nature of the violence

#GraphicViolence

Cinematography

1 director·4 episodes

Even though the movies you're watching aren't the most vibrant visually, use of colour and film stock to evoke feeling (DTRT - bright colours, MX - classically shot, hazy filters, BBZD - shot on digital video)

#ColorPalette

Cinematography

1 director·4 episodes

Spike double-dolly shot (When it looks like the character is just floating towards the camera)

#SpikeDolly

Cinematography

1 director·4 episodes

Double dolly shot. Pretty sure every one of his movies has it at least once

#CinematographyTechnique

Cinematography

1 director·4 episodes

Double dolly-shot, people speaking straight to camera saying manifestos or their direct thoughts

#CameraMovement

Cinematography

1 director·4 episodes

Music in general, namely jazz & hip-hop

#FilmScore

Music/Sound

1 director·4 episodes

Spike Lee was known for his love of jazz music and innovative use of modern music during his career

#FilmScore

Music/Sound

1 director·4 episodes

Military marches in the music score to signify determination, rather than destruction

#FilmScore

Music/Sound

1 director·4 episodes

Documentary footage cut in to remind muthafuckas that real life and filmmaking are one and the same!

#DocumentaryStyle

Editing/Pacing

1 director·4 episodes

Slow motion

#SlowMotion

Cinematography

1 director·2 episodes

Music

#NeedleDrops

Music/Sound

1 director·2 episodes

Curtains

#OpenWindowsAndCurtains

Cinematography

1 director·1 episode

Degustation Context

4 themes

Tarantino's approach to violence

#TarantinoViolence

General Questions

1 director·6 episodes

QT-verse theory: films within films that interconnect

#QTVerse

General Questions

1 director·6 episodes

Is Tarantino the best contemporary director to match visuals and music?

#MusicAndVisuals

General Questions

1 director·6 episodes

What does the title Ratcatcher mean?

#WhyRatcatcher

General Questions

1 director·1 episode

Production & Meta

29 themes

When does the stylized, hyper-aware dialogue become a hindrance rather than part of the charm?

#TarantinoDialogue

Direction/Stylistic Choices

1 director·6 episodes

Rewriting history

#RewritingHistory

Direction/Stylistic Choices

1 director·6 episodes

California/Hollywood/film/genre: a slave to pulp and grindhouse styles

#PulpAndGrindhouse

Direction/Stylistic Choices

1 director·6 episodes

Pop culture references

#PopCultureRefs

Direction/Stylistic Choices

1 director·6 episodes

The reluctant hero

#ReluctantHero

Casting/Characters

1 director·6 episodes

Casting old favourites and reviving their careers

#CareerRevival

Casting/Characters

1 director·6 episodes

Why does Tarantino insist on cameos (usually as a racist) when he can't act?

#TarantinoCameo

Casting/Characters

1 director·6 episodes

Throwback films

#RetroStyle

Direction/Stylistic Choices

1 director·5 episodes

Marty cameo!

#Cameo

Casting/Characters

1 director·5 episodes

Female lead/kids

#StrongFemaleLead

Casting/Characters

1 director·5 episodes

Miyazaki loves pigs

#MiyazakiPigs

Direction/Stylistic Choices

1 director·5 episodes

Feet

#FootShots

Casting/Characters

1 director·5 episodes

All of his films being considered as "Spike Lee Joint"

#SpikeLeeJoint

Direction/Stylistic Choices

1 director·4 episodes

Spike cameo appearance (or outright full blown member of the core cast)

#SpikeSignature

Direction/Stylistic Choices

1 director·4 episodes

Denzel Washington

#DenzelWashington

Casting/Characters

1 director·4 episodes

Public Enemy

#CastingChoices

Casting/Characters

1 director·4 episodes

Directing and cinematography

#TaikaDirecting

Direction/Stylistic Choices

1 director·4 episodes

Comedy as a way of dealing with harsh realities

#TaikaQuirkisms

Direction/Stylistic Choices

1 director·4 episodes

Taika cameo

#TaikaCameo

Casting/Characters

1 director·4 episodes

Showing the emotional weight without taking you all the way there

#EmotionalRestraint

Direction/Stylistic Choices

1 director·4 episodes

Does Tarantino cast good-looking guys who look like him?

#LookalikeCasting

Casting/Characters

1 director·3 episodes

Minimal dialogue

#MinimalDialogue

Direction/Stylistic Choices

1 director·2 episodes

Violence is mostly shown offscreen

#OffscreenViolence

Direction/Stylistic Choices

1 director·2 episodes

Curiosity, not morality

#CuriosityNotMorality

Casting/Characters

1 director·2 episodes

Rough, scrappy characters

#ScrappyCharacters

Casting/Characters

1 director·2 episodes

You HAVE to do Visitor Q simply because of how batshit crazy it is.

#ExtremeFilm

Direction/Stylistic Choices

1 director·1 episode

Rachel House bingo

#RachelHouseBingo

Casting/Characters

1 director·1 episode

Film references

#FilmReferences

Direction/Stylistic Choices

1 director·1 episode

Unreliable narrators

#UnreliableNarrator

Casting/Characters

1 director·1 episode

Narrative & Subtext

51 themes

Waiting for the n-word drop to see how first-time viewers react

#NWordWatch

Commentary/Politics

1 director·6 episodes

Are Tarantino's race-related quips justified in this film?

#RaceQuips

Commentary/Politics

1 director·6 episodes

Commentary on World

#SocialCommentary

Commentary/Politics

1 director·5 episodes

Historical retelling of real events

#HistoricalAccuracy

Plot Devices

1 director·5 episodes

Narrating

#Narration

Plot Devices

1 director·5 episodes

The minutia of large scale operations presented as an entry point into our characters' world and lifestyle

#WorldBuilding

Plot Devices

1 director·5 episodes

crime/gangster drama

#CrimeDrama

Themes

1 director·5 episodes

Catholic guilt. That's a big one

#CatholicGuilt

Themes

1 director·5 episodes

Catholic guilt (or just guilt) revealing itself through self-flagellation/self harm (mental or physical)

#CatholicGuilt

Character Psychology

1 director·5 episodes

Religion or religious overviews, sacrifice, temptation and the seduction of good by evil

#ReligiousThemes

Themes

1 director·5 episodes

Powerful cabals and the inner workings of absolute power

#PowerPolitics

Commentary/Politics

1 director·5 episodes

Violence as the means to resolve conflict

#FilmViolence

Themes

1 director·5 episodes

The idea that sooner or later our sins catch up with us and sooner or later you learn that crime doesn't pay

#MoralConsequences

Themes

1 director·5 episodes

Conflicted protagonists who are charming and righteous in their cause, they really believe what they're doing is right

#ConflictedHeroes

Character Psychology

1 director·5 episodes

Walking the tightrope when depicting morally compromised characters in a way that doesn't condone their actions while also keeping them interesting as protagonists.

#MoralAmbiguity

Character Psychology

1 director·5 episodes

Challenging protagonists who are ethically and morally flawed yet human and layered

#ComplexProtagonists

Character Psychology

1 director·5 episodes

The struggle to be spiritual in a materialistic world

#SpiritualityVsMaterialism

Themes

1 director·5 episodes

Living by a specific code of conduct

#CharacterCode

Character Psychology

1 director·5 episodes

The toll of keeping necessary secrets from the people you love

#SecretKeeping

Character Psychology

1 director·5 episodes

Planes/flying

#PlanesAndFlying

Themes

1 director·5 episodes

Anti-war

#AntiWar

Commentary/Politics

1 director·5 episodes

Ambiguity between good and evil

#MoralAmbiguity

Character Psychology

1 director·5 episodes

Whimsical/fantasy

#WhimsicalFantasy

Themes

1 director·5 episodes

Commentary on Japan/World

#SocialCommentary

Commentary/Politics

1 director·4 episodes

What is real.What is not

#RealityVsIllusion

Themes

1 director·4 episodes

The interaction between sex and violence

#SexAndViolence

Themes

1 director·4 episodes

Brutal justification to right the wrongs

#MoralJustification

Themes

1 director·4 episodes

Unchecked desires/passions

#ThematicPassions

Themes

1 director·4 episodes

Women in dominant positions

#GenderPolitics

Commentary/Politics

1 director·4 episodes

Prostitution/Sex Work

#SocialCommentary

Commentary/Politics

1 director·4 episodes

Emasculation

#Masculinity

Themes

1 director·4 episodes

Sexual liberation

#SexualPolitics

Themes

1 director·4 episodes

Racism and the Black American experience

#RacialCommentary

Commentary/Politics

1 director·4 episodes

Scenes where multiple characters start ranting, usually racist/sexist/xenophobic stuff, angrily in chorus with one another

#HateSpeech

Commentary/Politics

1 director·4 episodes

Countryboi

#RuralIdentity

Commentary/Politics

1 director·4 episodes

'Nice guy' whites who show their true colours

#RacialPolitics

Commentary/Politics

1 director·4 episodes

Caring for the environment

#Environmentalism

Commentary/Politics

1 director·4 episodes

Belonging: home and finding your place in it

#Belonging

Themes

1 director·4 episodes

Childlike wonder: precocious kids

#PrecociousKids

Character Psychology

1 director·4 episodes

Childlike wonder: the lovable fool

#LovableFool

Character Psychology

1 director·4 episodes

Father son dynamic

#FatherSonDynamic

Character Psychology

1 director·4 episodes

Real people as fantasy figures

#RealPeopleAsFantasy

Plot Devices

1 director·4 episodes

What is and what could be

#WhatCouldBe

Plot Devices

1 director·2 episodes

Children, youth and loss of innocence

#LossOfInnocence

Themes

1 director·2 episodes

Family

#FamilyTies

Themes

1 director·2 episodes

Working class

#WorkingClass

Commentary/Politics

1 director·2 episodes

Trauma

#Trauma

Character Psychology

1 director·2 episodes

Death and grief

#DeathAndGrief

Themes

1 director·2 episodes

Guilt

#Guilt

Character Psychology

1 director·2 episodes

Spells and curses

#SpellsAndCurses

Plot Devices

1 director·1 episode

White writer-directors writing characters outside their race

#WritingOutsideYourRace

Commentary/Politics

1 director·1 episode