Easter Homework

In what ways can Scott Pilgrim be considered Postmodern? [1500 words]

We are frequently told that ‘we are living in a postmodern world’, and I believe as each day goes on, this statement becomes more true. Postmodern media came about in the 1950s and finally came to dominate music, art, literature and films in the 1960s. Postmodernism, as a rejection to modernism, denies the traditional idea of art replicating nature and puts large amounts of emphasis on reality as a constructed fiction. Postmodernism heavily utilises intertextuality and references to other art forms - Mike Smith said “you have to be highly literate to fully comprehend postmodern texts”.

George Ritzer (1996) suggested that postmodernism usually refers to a cultural movement which breaks down the barriers between genres and styles. This is evident in Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World as the genre boundary is blurred between romance, action, comedy and fantasy. This key element of postmodernism supports the theory that ‘there is no more originality’ and that everything is a mixture of bricolage and intertextuality as they have combined four completely different genres. Ritzer also suggested that postmodern culture involves the blurring of the distinction between representation and reality. This is used heavily in the film as Edgar Wright has combined a comic/cartoon style editing with reality such as the “pee bar” in the corner of the screen when Scott is in the toilet and it is also evident when Scott fights Mathew Patel in a Pokémon-style editing. A modernist may ask why this has been done, whereas a postmodernist would see this as an intertextual link between films/video games, to either pay homage to them and help the audience reminisce their past or to parody them and create a pastiche. An example of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World using intertextuality to create a parody is when Scott is in Wallace’s flat and there is cued laughter which is lifted directly from the US sitcom Seinfeld. This appears to have no purpose, which is what some theorists argue to be a feature in postmodernism, as they coin it to be one big ‘in’ joke.

Baudrillard argues that contemporary society increasingly reflects the media and the surface image becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish from reality. This key feature of postmodernism films is called hyper-reality. Hyper-reality is apparent in Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World in many ways. The first example of hyper-reality being used is when the universal soundtrack and promotional logo is played in an 8-bit video game style which has been influenced by the likes of ‘Super Mario’. The purpose of this could be seen as a pastiche, but Edgar Wright pays great attention to detail in his mise en scene throughout the film, so thinking an 8-bit music video was created just for the use of mockery would be a little short sighted. Wright may be making a point that reality and the fictional world created by video games are now so easy to transfer between that the boundaries are being blurred between them, creating a hyper-reality. He may also be saying that we are living our lives as a video game, and the events in the film which follow are evident for this statement. An example is when the doorbell rings in chapter 1 and the words “Ding Dong” appear on screen, as they would in a video or cartoon. The point that we are living life as a video game is evident when Scott fights Mathew Patel and the fight is edited to look like the wrestling video game ‘Tekken’. The fight even directly copies the “number of hits” during one particular shot and uses the term “64 hit combo!” This blurs the reality of the fight with the fictional world of wrestling and even gives Scott 1000 points for killing Mathew – which in real life would considered morally incorrect, but is here being rewarded for it. Further examples of comparing life to fiction is evident in the establishing shot of  Scott meeting Lucas Lee, the second ex, as the universal pictures theme tune is played upon his entrance, as it would in a game. The way this shot is filmed has a comedic edge, creating a pastiche of previous films that have used this and this gives Lucas a cartoon-like characteristic, again blurring the boundary between reality and fiction. Lucas says “it’s gonna take me two minutes to kick your ass” twice, but ironically two minutes later he causes his own demise. The lead up to Lucas’ demise pays great homage to the video games created by Tony Hawk, which adds depth to the mise en scene and makes use of intertextuality, which are both abundant conventions in postmodernism. When Scott walks down the street after his victory over Lucas, the road signs show 7 “X”s, two of which are highlighted, giving a gaming style ‘2 down, 5 to go’ and bringing an almost supernatural element to the mise en scene, making the hyper-reality unmissable. During chapter 9, Knives finds out that Scott once dated Envy Adams and her face turns into a computer generated shocked face “:O”. This is commonly used on social networking sites, texts and emails amongst friends, so to be incorporated into reality is making the boundary between reality and fiction blurred. The character Todd Ingram, the third evil X, in reality is Brandon Ruth, the actor also for Superman, and this is a great use of intertextuality. Todd possesses “Vegan Powers”, but when he is found to have drank milk by the Vegan Police, they come after him with green lasers, which is appropriate as green is commonly associated with Vegetarians/vegans but in this case is superman’s kryptonite. The creation of characters such as “The Vegan Police” gives the film fictional qualities, as well as the comic-book style fight scenes. What this does is uses everyday situations, such as concerts, love stories etc. and then adds fictional qualities to them to emphasise how easy the transfer between fiction and reality has become in our society.

There are conventions of gaming integrated into the scenes in a way which is quite satirical of our modern-day society. After defeating the “Katayanagi twins”, Scott gains “a life” in the style of Super Mario. This is mocking as playing a video game, such as Super Mario, does not give you life, it removes you from your friends as you sit playing it on your own, instead of socialising with your friends or meeting partners etc. So the emphasis on this could show how Wright is surreptitiously mocking a modern society, which would be very typical postmodernism.

Levi-Strauss suggests that postmodernism features four aspects in any production: addition, deletion, substitution and transposition. Addition, deletion and substitution are applied simultaneously within the narrative of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World  as a video game style narrative is simulated during scenes of fighting (addition) which removes the reality of having a gorey fight scene (deletion). This simultaneous part of the narrative IS substitution. Transposition, which is similar to Bricolage but not to be confused with, is used throughout the film as a key element of postmodernism.

In conclusion, Scott Pilgrim can be considered postmodern as it includes so many Postmodern elements, such as intertextuality, homage, pastiches and is heavily ironic. Wright has been postmodern in all elements of production with Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, such as creating a hybrid form for the film, toying with hyper-reality and even being satirical of our society. The postmodern critiques’ theories that I have applied are relevant without perception, standing this film well within the postmodern movement.