Scott Pilgrim

[owlectomy]

(1) As I was watching the movie, it occurred to me, This is more or less exactly Scott McCloud's theory of the shoujo manga -- in that the boundaries between the outside, objective reality, and the protagonist's inner emotional reality, become very permeable. If you see cherry blossoms floating by, you don't stop to analyze whether they're real cherry blossoms (is the season right for them, anyway?) or just a symbol or figment of the heroine's imagination or representation of her inner life. We see them; we take them as they are; they reflect her inner life but that doesn't make them not real. We don't have to stop to think, "How can this possibly be happening? You don't have more-or-less-realism in Toronto and then suddenly you're having a video game battle!" -- it's okay. It's the lens through which Scott Pilgrim sees the world and it's also real. It's real because it's the lens through which Scott Pilgrim sees the world.

(2) There's so much space for ambiguity in the comic. I won't say it's inherent to comics in general -- Craig Thompson's, certainly not -- but there is a range of interpretations that gets collapsed when you have a specific actor making specific choices in intonation, body language, etc. Reading the comic, I find myself thinking, Wait, that's kinda bad, right? Am I supposed to be cheering for him? and Yeah but really I guess he's okay... -- in the movie Scott is much more unambiguously not a great guy. I found myself liking both ways, and I think both ways suited the medium -- no one's going to stick around for six volumes spread out over several years with just the glimmer of hope that they're going to see some character growth eventually.

Comments

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

no one's going to stick around for six volumes spread out over several years with just the glimmer of hope that they're going to see some character growth eventually.

Two words-- shounen manga.

[lordameth.livejournal.com]

Excellent insights, both.

[hapaxnym.livejournal.com]

Yes, I really loved the way that the movie completely discarded the subjective / objective distinction. Although, being me, I was reminded less of manga than of the medieval concept of symbolism / analogy -- is the Noah story, e.g., a good story? A true record about human history? An explanation for certain geological and anthropological facts? A reminder of how we are to react with faith to difficult commands? A foretaste of the grace of baptism? A representation of the Church adrift in a sinful world?

Yes and yes and yes and yes and yes and yes. Medieval listeners would not only not choose between the options, but would not even understand why one should.