Reservoir Dogs
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Reservoir Dogs |
| Abbreviation(s): | |
| Creator: | Quentin Tarantino |
| Date(s): | 1992- |
| Medium: | Film |
| Country of Origin: | USA |
| External Links: | IMDB |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Canon
Reservoir Dogs is director Quentin Tarantino's debut feature. It tells the story of six criminals who, after a failed jewel heist, suspect that one of them is a police informant. It was infamous for its violence, and was a surprise hit for the previously unknown Tarantino.
Michael Madsen's character Mr. Blonde (Vic Vega) is canonically the brother of Vincent Vega, John Travolta's character in Pulp Fiction. The films exist in the same universe, and Tarantino considered having the jewels be the mysterious item in the Pulp Fiction briefcase, but changed it to whatever the viewer thinks it is, never officially answering the question.
It spawned a 2006 Video Game that flopped with the critics and was banned in a few countries due to its violence.
Characters
- Freddy Newandyke aka Mr. Orange
- Mr. White (Larry Dimmick)
- Mr. Blonde (Vic Vega)
- Nice Guy Eddie (Eddie Cabot)
- Mr. Pink
- Mr. Blue - a character with a very minor role
- Mr. Brown - a character with a minor role, played by Tarantino
- Mr. Cabot (Joe Cabot)
Fandom
Fandom activity appears to come and go in waves, with new fans discovering the movie and fanworks and creating their own in turn. Fans of Reservoir Dogs may also be fans of Tarantino's other works, or fans of the film as a stand-alone. Although a small fandom, Res Dogs fans are often notably dedicated.
In particular, the homoeroticism of Reservoir Dogs seems to be a major draw for many fans, namely the homoerotic subtext and queer-coding of many of the characters juxtaposed against the violence of the film and it's tragic ending. A 2004 scholarly article about Reservoir Dogs was quoted in 2013, with the quote reblogged widely on Tumblr both in relation to the Reservoir Dogs fandom and other fandoms:
In the war film, a soldier can hold his buddy–as long as his buddy is dying on the battlefield. In the western, Butch Cassidy can wash the Sundance Kid’s naked flesh–as long as it is wounded. In the boxing film, a trainer can rub the well-developed torso and sinewy back of his protege–as long as it is bruised. In the crime film, a mob lieutenant can embrace his boss like a lover–as long as he is riddled with bullets. Violence makes the homoeroticism of many “male” genres invisible; it is a structural mechanism of plausible deniability.”—Brintnall, Kent L.; Tarantino’s incarnational theology: Reservoir Dogs, crucifixions and spectacular violence.[1]
Another quote from the same essay specifically focused on the Mr. Orange/Mr. White relationship and imagery was also posted around the same time, but circulated less.[2]
Lasting awareness of this article and Res Dogs fandom could be viewed on Tumblr in relation to fandoms such as Supernatural as late as 2021 [3]
In addition to Fanfiction, participants in the fandom notably create edits, fanart, memes, and other mixed-media or non-digital artifacts related the characters, themes, and major pairings. Especially through the 2010s, these fanworks have circulated on Tumblr.
Pairings
Everybody gets Slashed with everybody else. Mr. Orange/Mr. White (aka Creamsicle) is by far the most popular pairing on AO3, with Eddie/Vic (Mr. Blonde) - also called "Toothpick Bitchslap" - as another common pairing. Another pairing seen later in the fandom is Mr. Brown / Mr. Pink (aka Cherry Cola).
From March 2019 to August 2020 there was an author who wrote 64 reader insert fics involving various members of the Reservoir Dogs, such as Mr. Orange x Reader, Mr. White x You, and so on. It appears that some of these were written in response to prompts sent in on Tumblr and were collected to AO3.
Fan Works
Archives
- Reservoir Dogs tag on AO3
- Reservoir Dogs on FFN
- Reservoir Dogs Kink Meme on Dreamwidth (possibly defunct)
- Resdog-fic on Livejournal (defunct)
Fanfiction
- Cut My Throat by Delphi. The problem with trust is that it's a two-way street, and Freddy has a lead foot. The fic with the highest Kudos for the fandom as of Jan 2021. Written in 2012 for the resdog-kink community on LJ. Prompt: "Orange/White, shaving kink - White suggests a trust-building exercise, and he hands Orange a straight razor."
Fan Art
- #reservoirdogs at DeviantArt
- found poem by freddy-newandorks; archived version
- "Uh-uh, I don't tip." by mmcoconut; archived page
Fanmix
- Smoke and Mirrors: a mix for Freddy Newandyke by starfoozle, 2014; archived version.
- they don't know shit by lipserviced, 2014; archived version
- you put on quite a show by lvnary, 2014; archived version
Edits
- My beautiful reservoir dogs (valentines) by lerxstt, Feb 14 2015 (accessed Feb 23 2021) archived post
Memes
- text post memes by lydiduh, March 1, 2015 (accessed Feb 23 2021) archived post
- Who should you Fight? by fearofpop, May 22, 2015 (accessed Feb 23 2021) archived post
- Tag yourself I'm Mr. Pink by galactic-president, Jan 2016 (accessed Feb 21 2021) archived post
Other
- Reservoir Dogs Cocktails recipes by starfoozle, 2014 (accessed Feb 23, 2021); archived version
Meta & Resources
- Fandom Overview: Reservoir Dogs at crack_van (2012)
- Fannish tweet thread of the entire script using different accounts for each character on Twitter, also discussed on Tumblr [4]
Other Links
References
- ^ Quote posted by ramsayosbolton, Archived version, June 22, 2013 (accessed Feb 23, 2021) - quoting Brintnall, K. (2004). TARANTINO'S INCARNATIONAL THEOLOGY: "Reservoir Dogs", Crucifixions and Spectacular Violence. CrossCurrents, 54(1), 66-75.
- ^ Quote posted by ramsayosbolton, Archived version, June 22, 2013 (accessed Feb 23, 2021) - quoting Brintnall, K. (2004). TARANTINO'S INCARNATIONAL THEOLOGY: "Reservoir Dogs", Crucifixions and Spectacular Violence. CrossCurrents, 54(1), 66-75.
- ^ post by retrogratorade, Archived version, Feb 9 2021 (accessed Feb 23 2021)
- ^ Post by matthewperry, Jan 24 2014, Archived version