A minor plot hole that Tarantino didn't think about because he's a man

I just rewatches Death Proof and this is actually the exact thing I came her to discuss. When it comes to films like this (or rather, the ones this was inspired by), I expect there will be some sloppy storytelling and we'll be left wondering what happened afterwards. For instance, watching this I said "well how will they explain what happened to that guy's car?", but this is grindhouse/exploitation and the focus is Stuntman Mike getting his comeuppance, not the ramifications after the fact.

But here we are with a group of girl friends, in a more modern time frame, who should know better. Especially after the talk about the gun. It's not like this was set in an older time where people were blissfully ignorant about rape and, for lack of a better term, "stranger danger". They left their friend all alone with a complete stranger after telling him she's in porn and saying the two could get better acquainted. They didn't even tell her what was going on before just leaving her there.

Had we even had a flash or two back to the location with their friend and Mr. Kinda-Racist-Redneck, it might have put the audience at more ease with the situation (though it still wouldn't have made the girls seem any less foolish and self-centred).

You make a good point about Quentin being a male so maybe it didn't even cross his mind. But as a female, this is hard to ignore... even for someone as forgiving of exploitation films as myself.

Can I trade in the children for more cash?

Sally Menke edited the film.


Pants up, don't loot.

This is a deliberate piece of black humor. The three girls even joked about leading the guy to believe that Lee would give him a blow job. You may not like Tarantino’s humor, and it may be because he is a man that he thought it was funny, but it is not a plot hole.

Remember, this isn't just a film, this is specifically a sexploitation film. Exploiting women Even though Kim is protective of herself, I don't think that she regards her "friend" the same way, especially since she's too excited to go with Zoe in the car. I guess if they didn't have the gun in the car, their fate would have been a little different.

I thought it was intentionally supposed to be a joke. Now that I think about it beyond that, it's pretty creepy, actually.

Watched Death Proof again last night, and that scene concerned me. I even kept watching after the end to see if there was a Marvel-style 'post-credits' scene.

Very icky that that prettiest, least tough, and most innocent of the girls would get left behind with a guy who - let's be fair about it - seems like a less-than-trustworthy type of chap. If we had to guess at Lee's fate, most of us would be guessing similar things. And those things don't include a friendly chat about women's rights over a nice pot of chamomile tea.

I think we MUST assume it's a piece of dark humour on Tarantino's part.

And I agree with what another poster said: that decision by the girls does render them utterly unlikeable to the rest of the movie.



Never defend crap with 'It's just a movie'
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Nothing in the film is meant to be taken seriously or to be realistic. It is a pastiche of exploitation cinema, not a realistic story. Things happen in the story to be funny, entertaining, or most important - to set up a stunt laden set piece. There are no deep messages intended by this film.

Clearly Tarantino understood all the ramifications of the situation, as everything was set up beforehand to emphasise it. Lee's costume, and having her napping on a lawn chair, was clearly in the script - they didn't just accidentally make that up on the day while going for a take. How could they - I mean, where would they have got that outfit from? Also, those things make no sense - Lee would not be wearing her film costume on a day off. The set up so the three women could take the car on a test drive was well acted by Rosario Dawson as Abernathy and very funny. I loved how she exploited the situation ("is it a porn film?", "Er... YES!") The idea that it didn't cross Tarantino's mind as a male is silly since he created all the elements in the situation. It had to have crossed his mind if he created it.

Even though it is a silly/funny scene in a pastiche exploitation movie, to analyse things I would say that the farmer seems a little rough but there's really no reason to assume he is a rapist (!) The scene takes place on his own farm during the day and the yellow Mustang is still there if Lee really needs to escape. The other women have taken his car away for a test drive and will be back at any time. And clearly these women can be a bit crazy, doing dangerous careless things like falling into deep rocky ditches and riding on car bonnets (sorry, hoods) which they have done previously. Kim (who carries the gun) also initially refuses to allow Zoe to play ship's mast again as is it so dangerous, but she is also inconsistent about that and is soon driving the car to allow Zoe to do it.

Is the scene at the farm a bit creepy? Maybe. But there are a 100 other things in the film that are much worse.

Yes this scene is flawed in that it robs the three "heros?" of their status since they abandonded their friend to be raped. Not cool at all.