Kill Bill and the epic convention

Abstract

Through this dissertation, I plan to challenge the notion as to whether the film Kill Bill by Quentin Tarantino could be considered as an epic. The term epic has had many different definitions over the years, such that it started off as being a genre of poetry celebrated in oral form up until it was transferred to the medium of script in the classical age. This again had a number of evolutionary factors, mainly due to the fact that, like many genres, change is inevitable as it is what helps the particular genre stay alive, and also through the introduction of foreign literature which helped influence its development. Due to these factors, rather than remaining a convention stuck in the classical period, or the past in general, it has become a genre with its own distinguishing features and properties. Due to the fact that it has had so many evolutionary distinctive factors, there are quite a few differing opinions with regard to what properties a true epic maintains, and so in this dissertation I aim to outline a number of the aspects which seem to be concurrent with the majority of the scholars and critics chosen, and relate them to the latest evolutionary aspect of the epic form, being the epic as a film. With this new medium the epic has again transformed itself to represent new properties and distinguishing features. Due to this some scholars believe that it is impossible to classify such films as epics, however the opposed argument is that like the medium changed from the oral tradition to the written form in the classical age, so it is normal for the epic to change medium once again from the written form into film. Bearing this in mind, it was also noted throughout the dissertation that such an argument was upheld as being valid for the simple reason that the very defining aspects which will be used to define the epic as a general form are mainly still present in the medium of film, albeit there being a few modifications as well as new distinguishing factors involved.