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Investigation 4/25: Scott Pilgrim Takeaways

Typically, I only really watch movies in a social setting or if there's one particular film that I really want to see. Over the past few days I've tried to change this habit by watching a film each night in the evening. The first of these films is one that I always wanted to watch but never had until now. Scott Pilgrim VS. The World was originally released in 2010 and is based upon the 2005 graphic novel of the same name. The film follows Scott Pilgrim who has to fight the seven evil exes of his new girlfriend Ramona Flowers in order to be able to date her. The film is great and instantly became one of my favorites. However, the purpose of this blogpost isn't to gush about how good the film is. The purpose of this blogpost is to talk about a few takeaways that I got from the film.

Editing

Since the film is based upon a graphic novel that is heavily inspired by video games, it took a large amount of creativity to bring those influences to life on the big screen. One of the ways that this was accomplished was through the film's editing. Throughout the entire film, comic book style onomatopoeia speech bubbles appear to accompany moments of action and sound effects from iconic video games are used to create a sense of validity that this movie is like a video game. The aspect ratio constantly changes and shots are layered over each other to create the aesthetic that you are watching a moving comic book. My favorite editing choice in the film though, would have to be the creative transitions used. In this attached clip (1:26 - 2:05) what's happening on screen efficiently shifts from one location to another without any need to establish a location.

 

A Flawed Protagonist

One of the biggest takeaways from the film is the fact that Scott is a very flawed protagonist. In most media that we see nowadays, the protagonist usually has very little wrong with their character overall. Scott Pilgrim flips this trend on it's head by being a total jerk throughout the film. From the very beginning, the film establishes Scott as not being the most moral of characters by introducing the plot point that he, a 22 year old man, is dating a 17 year old high school girl. This first instance of Scott's wrongdoings sets the tone for the whole film. After that point, we as the viewer watch as Scott juggles dating two girls at the same time, ignoring and abandoning his friends and band members, and manufactures an emotionally devastating break-up. Despite all of these flaws, the audience never completely hates Scott and still hopes that by the end of the film he can overcome his flaws and become a better person. And it's through becoming a better person that the plot is resolved. By the end of the film Scott is given a second chance to take on the final boss, failing once before. While originally the power of love is what lead Scott to his failure, it is through learning self respect and becoming a better person that he is able to finally do what he set out to do.

Work Log

  • 4/19 - MP3 Film organization
  • 4/20 - Mini-THON/Man pag work
  • 4/21 - Mini-THON/Man pag work
  • 4/22 - Made changes to musical promo
  • 4/23 - Mini-THON/Man pag work
  • 4/24 - Marketing Project (No Work)
  • 4/25 - Marketing Project (No Work)
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