Scott Pilgrim vs The World
Movie Trailer #1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9nS9iDsaj8
Movie Trailer #2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_RrNCqCIPE
Movie Trailer #3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoFqatfEFrw
graphic novel cover: http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2010/08/13/scott-pilgrim-vs-the-world/
Scott Pilgrim as postmodernist pastiche of video games
"Flattening of affect" of each of the characters as the sum of their quirks rather than deep personalities. Also, at one point, Scott's ex-girlfriend's (Envy is her name) new boyfriend, who is Ramona's ex-boyfriend, gets killed and turns into a pile of coins. Envy calmly says "You just punched my boyfriend so hard he disintegrated" or something like that. And Scott replies "Well you punched my heart so hard it disintegrated," and that's the end of the conversation. Oh, also, Ramona's other exes throughout and some other random dudes near the end are punched or hit so hard they disintegrate into a pile of coins, and no comment is made about whether they no longer exist, or whether they've been killed or what... There is a suspension of reality that comes from the video game culture in this.
http://dannybaram.blogspot.com/2010/08/scott-pilgrim-vs-world-is-full-of-epic.html
Also, at the end, Scott gets a second chance after the first Game Over (he dies and then goes back to the save point). Which brings up a whole other question: those other guys that got Game Over, are they just dead or do they get a second chance, too? If they did get a second chance the whole storyline would crumble. Only the main character gets the second chance. This is kind of the point where it really is definite that this movie is like a video game you're watching. You can't tell what's real and what isn't. What is part of the narrative and what is just a joke? Is it both? It doesn't help when almost every sound that is made is accented by comic book sound-effects, much like the original Batman TV show.
http://www.mediadecay.com/2010/08/scott-pilgrim-vs-world-review/
Another part of postmodern film is "hyperreality/altered states." In Scott Pilgrim vs The World, at least in the beginning, there are these weird dream scenes that don't really make a whole lot of sense, and aren't mentioned for the rest of the film. And Ramona tells Scott that he has a kind of convenient hyperspace highway or something like that in his head that she likes to use. Also, I wonder if slow-motion be counted as hyperreality? Because there's lots of that going on in all of the fight scenes.
Another trait of postmodern film that is used in this movie is "More human than human"... no real explanation is given for how Scott suddenly knows martial arts or has these mystical powers... though this does lead back to the constant references and pastiche of video game culture and humor. A suspension of reality is required in order to follow the story at all.
The whole movie is also based on the premise that is essentially like a video game in nature. Scott sees something he wants, and goes on a quest to get it. There are levels, one for each Ex that he defeats, and when he does defeat them, he gets life points and coins, shown in symbols and video game noises. There's even one point which he uses the restroom and next to his head appears a "Pee Bar," which reduces as he pees. The font and the symbol are both pixelated like a vintage video game, as are most of the other symbols and fonts used throughout the movie. Oh, and also, Scott gets another chance at the end after the first Game Over. That only ever happens in video games.
Overall I guess you could say that the movie itself is not only an homage to video games, but a postmodern pastiche of them as well. This includes the graphic novel from which the movie is based. It's an homage to the graphic novel, which is an homage to other graphic novels, and anime, and manga, and vintage video games, and indie rock, and... the list goes on. Its narrative is informed by the postmodern and is an exemplary movie of the genre.
No comments:
Post a Comment