Fanboys Anonymous

Quentin Tarantino fans rejoice! His 1994 cult hit Pulp Fiction has been selected alongside twenty-four other classic films to be permanently archived and protected inside the National Film Archive, part of the United States Library of Congress. This bolsters the NFA's library to include 625 total films that are forever saved for future generations to view.

The National Film Registry stands among the finest summations of more than a century of extraordinary American cinema. This key component of American cultural history, however, is endangered, so we must protect the nation’s matchless film heritage and cinematic creativity. – James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress

We're gonna put this movie in a place where it can be kept safe.

Also included on this year's list are beloved flicks such as Mary Poppins, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, King of Jazz, Roger & Me, and Gilda. Even in a massive list of twenty-five films, Pulp Fiction shines as the standout for this year's list; it strays outside of one's normal expectations for such an honor, what with such characteristics as over-the-top violence, use of drugs, religious zealotry, and odd storytelling methods.

Then again, maybe this should come as no surprise, considering the massive amount of adoration the movie has gained over the short nineteen years of its existence. Few film-makers have gained such a die-hard following of fanatics as Tarantino, many of whom would name Pulp Fiction as the movie that hooked them. The Library of Congress even credited it for having a major impact on film as an art:

Tarantino’s mordantly wicked Möbius strip of a movie influenced a generation of filmmakers and stands as a milestone in the evolution of independent cinema in the United States, making it one of the few films on the National Film Registry as notable for its lasting impact on the film industry as its considerable artistic merits.

Felicitations to Tarantino, Miramax Pictures, and everyone else involved! This is a milestone for film and will hopefully open minds to the possibilities of what can constitute a classic movie.