Friday, 5 May 2017

Thought 535: Butch from Pulp Fiction


BUTCH
So... [He looks at her license.]
...Esmarelda Villalobos—is that Mexican?

ESMARELDA
The name is Spanish, 
but I'm Columbian.

BUTCH
It's a very pretty name.

ESMARELDA
It means 'Esmarelda 
of the wolves.'

BUTCH
That's one hell of a name 
you got there, sister.

ESMARELDA
Thank you. 
And what is your name?

BUTCH
Butch.

ESMARELDA
Butch. What does it mean?

BUTCH
I'm an American, our names
don't mean shit.

***

This last statement is funny because 'butch' of course means 'having an appearance or other qualities of a type traditionally seen as masculine', which is a type of appearance typically, although perhaps wrongly, associated with the action-thriller actor Bruce Willis.