Quentin Tarantino is known for his gritty dialogues, over-the-top characters, non-linear storytelling, and geeky cinema references that only an avid movie lover like Tarantino himself could think to infuse into his storytelling. As Tarantino’s reputation grows as a filmmaker, he is widely regarded as one of the key practitioners of postmodernism in cinema. Postmodernity advocates the rejection of the grand narrative and asserts a subjective truth. In the context of 2009’s “Inglourious Basterds,” Tarantino masterfully creates this subjective truth by altering the historical events of the Second World War, offending some fans and critics who viewed it as a sick joke or a form of Holocaust denial.

We all know the evil of the Nazis and the horrors of the Holocaust in the context of history. But Tarantino allows himself to dissect the grand narrative of events and crafts a new truth, presenting a cool “Jewish vengeance” story rather...