Scott Pilgrim Hidden Meanings
Dakota Carmichael
Scott Pilgrim VS the World, is a comic book style movie starring Michael Cera. This movie is very interesting for many reasons, but it is best known for it’s editing and for showcasing the brilliance of director Edgar Wright and his amazing transitions. The combination of Edgar Wright and editors Paul Machliss and Jonathan Amos masterfully captured the real feel of turning the pages of the actual Graphic novels, Scott Pilgrim.
When you watch this movie for the first time, it’s not uncommon to feel confused or overwhelmed. This is a fast paced storyline and transitions, and a bit of a sensory overload. Taking into account that the creators of this film used all six Scott Pilgrim books in one movie, fast paced was the only option.
If you like a balanced combination of comedy, romance, action, amazing editing techniques, and the occasional awkward moment, then this movie is perfect for you. The film follows a love triangle between Scott Pilgrim, Ramona Flowers, and Scott’s ex girlfriend Knives; but the main plot of the film is that Scott has to defeat all of Ramona’s evil ex boyfriends in order to be with her. I highly recommend this movie for people that love comic books, superheroes, or video games.
Edgar Wright is a master of transitions, his skills are showcased in this film. One example of these transitions are in the pictures below. Anna Kendrick’s character is talking to her brother, Scott (Michael Cera), on the phone. The transition in this scene begins when she looks towards his side of the screen, starting the movement right. Then on Scott’s side of the screen the camera moves quickly in the same direction following the visual onomatopoeia of the school bell in the next scene.
This transition is a very creative way of producing movement in an otherwise still scene, and also a way of introducing a new setting in a more interesting way while keeping true to that comic book style theme. This transition is one of many in the film that Edgar Wright uses to fuse together settings and dialogues that seem to be happening all at the same time and place, but in the movies reality they are all completely different locations and times. In my opinion, transitions like these are used especially when Scott is with Knives to show that Scott is just floating through life with Knives, and not truly enjoying himself. As an example, look to the pictures below.
In this scene you have multiple locations with one dialogue, mostly coming from Knives’ character, giving emphasis to Scott not really happy being in a relationship with her. Other than These creative camera tricks, Edgar Wright uses audio tricks to help the screen wipes when going from one location to another in the same conversation. These audio tricks include skateboards going by, store door bells ringing, and car sounds. The audio tracks that Wright uses make the transitions even smoother and have a way of messing with the viewers mind and bringing them in closer.
Other than transitions, there is a lot of interesting aspects in this movie that Edgar Wright fuses into the film. For example, there’s a whole scene that makes fun of sitcoms such as Seinfeld. In this scene there is even crowd laughter and responses; they also include the transition audio from Seinfeld in the beginning of the scene. I believe this is to make a connection with viewers that are older than the initial target audience.
The thing that caught my attention the most is the use of “X’s” in the film. If you look closely at the settings or even on some of the character’s clothing, you will see an “X” frequently throughout the movie. For example, look to the pictures below. You’ll notice the “X’s” on Scott’s Jacket, under Ramona’s phone number on the paper that she gave Scott, the street signs, and even on Chris Evans character’s belt buckle. I believe that the “X’s” stand for Ramona’s ex boyfriends, which raises the question of why the “X” on Scott’s jacket? In my opinion, this is because in the books there are alternate realities where Scott ends up with Knives and becomes another one of Ramona’s ex boyfriends.
The last thing I noticed after rewatching the film was one scene in particular. This is the one where Scott gets enough courage to go up to Ramona at a party. Scott sees Ramona standing by herself against a wall and decides to talk to her. Other than the awkward conversation between Scott and Ramona, there is something very interesting that could easily go unseen if you weren’t looking for it. You’ll notice in the picture below, the light switch is way higher than it should be. I believe Wright did this on purpose to portray Scott as feeling small in that moment. He was putting himself out on a ledge and hoping to not get rejected by Ramona. I think we can all agree that moments like these can make you feel small and insecure.
Hollywood knows what they are doing and hardly anything is accidental. Edgar Wright, the editors, and the cast did an amazing job with this movie; whether it was the special effects, graphics, transitions, hidden meanings and symbolism, or even the message this film delivers about sexuality and being yourself. I was never the video game or comic book type, and I still really enjoyed this film because it has a little of everything, and all the hidden meanings are the sole reason I chose this film out of all the others.
