This isn't a "shit on this director" thread, I'm actually a big fan. Which is why I was a little shocked I can't think of any specific meaning to derive from his films. I had a teacher say once that writing something you have to ask yourself "so what? why am I writing this" but I can't for the life of me think of what the larger message is behind a single one. Jackie Brown maybe is the exception there, Hateful 8 even less likely.
I know not every movie has to be a moral struggle session, but it seems like the pattern is he likes making movies and there isn't anything deeper than that. And not in the Coen brothers way of "there is no message is the message" kind of theme that highlights the absurdity of reality. Quentin leans into the camp as his bread and butter, but he does it well.
Is he literally just a talented homage-machine who obsessively crafts entertaining movies? Are they just high quality pop-corn flicks?
I guess that makes sense, death of the author and all that. Just baffling to me that one of the most celebrated directors alive has nothing to say. But you're right, it's not like he hides the fact he just likes movies.
I mean, he does have stuff to say, it’s just not very deep.
Inglorious Basterds was a movie about a group of Jews killing Nazis.
That western movie was about a former slave killing slave owners and other assorted racists in the American south. There just isn’t a “hidden message” below the surface.
I suppose you could say justice is a recurring theme, even if he's not saying anything clear or especially profound about it. The worst people generally get their due, and people who get wronged generally get some measure of closure.