Is imitation the greatest form of flattery, or is it plain old plagiarism? The Snakes&Funerals YouTube channel short, Bad Melon Farmer — Repo Man’s Influence on Tarantino’s L.A., explores the tone and style of Alex Cox’s 1984 Repo Man and how it seemingly inspired Quentin Tarantino’s view of Los Angeles in his films.
The documentary is essentially a video essay comparing scenes from Repo Man with many of Tarantino’s great movies, including Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), and Jackie Brown (1997). There’s absolutely no commentary. Instead, the short simply lays out scenes from all four titles as means of comparison.
“…explores the tone and style of Alex Cox’s 1984 Repo Man and how it seemingly inspired Quentin Tarantino’s view of Los Angeles…”
Bad Melon Farmer — Repo Man’s Influence on Tarantino’s L.A. opens with a scene from Cox’s cult favorite. In it, a county sheriff pulls over J. Frank Parnell (Fox Harris) and grabbing his car keys to open Parnell’s trunk. The short then cuts to a series of infamous car trunk (and briefcase) opening moments from all three Tarantino films.
Honestly, this will not be much of a review as the 9-minute movie is simply a series of comparisons between Tarantino and Repo Man. What you will find is the short is not an accusation of Tarantino stealing from the 1984 cult classic. Instead, Cox’s work serves as one of the many sources Tarantino employs in his cinematic style. Anyone who followed Tarantino’s growth as a filmmaker knows he is a student of the cinematic arts and finds inspiration from the classic motion pictures of old, which includes Repo Man.
What Snakes&Funerals does here is present a master’s thesis on Tarantino and Repo Man. I’ll be honest, I tell emerging filmmakers all the time to steal from the greats in terms of finding the best way to tell your story with cameras and how shot composition and movement enhances the emotions and tension in scenes. Bad Melon Farmer — Repo Man’s Influence on Tarantino’s L.A. proves why following that advice can lead to good things.
Bad Melon Farmer — Repo Man’s Influence on Tarantino’s L.A. can be viewed on the Snakes&Funerals YouTube Channel.
"…is imitation the greatest form of flattery, or is it plain old plagiarism?"
