Cinema | Diptych: Grindhouse | Death Proof

The term "diptych" designates visual artworks in two halves that are simultaneously united and separated by a hinging mechanism. This article explores the form's adoption by narrative film through the double case study of Grindhouse (Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodríguez, 2007) and Tarantino's Death Proof, one of Grindhouse's constituent halves. Considering the diptych's relevance both to the history of film exhibition and to the logics of revenge and masochism, I argue, first, that the diptych stages especially fruitful encounters between material and narrative concerns and, second, that as a narrative form, the diptych is particularly apt at making ethical paradox accessible.