Fan Theories Explaining the Cryptic Contents Held Within the Mysterious ‘Pulp Fiction’ Briefcase

Susannah McCullough of ScreenPrism explored some of the fan theories that try to explain the cryptic contents of the mysterious 666 black briefcase that changed hands throughout the 1994 Quentin Tarantino film Pulp Fiction. Many of these ideas revolved around religious and/or personal redemption. Both Jules and Ringo found themselves wanting to be better men after viewing its contents. Other theories, however, chalk the briefcase up to a MacGuffin plot device.

The briefcase is a classic MacGuffin, a device that drives the plot forward but ultimately isn’t all that important in itself. A MacGuffin can be replaced by any other object and it wouldn’t change the story. Some people believe that the briefcase is an homage to another famous MacGuffin in film history the case full of glowing nuclear material in the 1955 film ‘Kiss Me Deadly’ … but Tarantino has actually said that this similarity was unintentional.