Scott Pilgrim Vs The World.--- The future of film or Flop?...FLOP.

                           


Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a 2010 comedy film directed by Edgar Wright, based on the graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim byBryan Lee O'Malley. The film is about Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), a young Canadian musician, meeting the girl of his 'dreams' literally, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), an American delivery girl. In order to win Ramona, Scott learns that he must defeat Ramona's "seven evil exes", who are coming to kill him.?

The film is aimed at 'geeks' but is that correct?? If so how are they supposed to relate to the film?...... Scott is in a band.... something that a geek wouldn't be in..... he has to choose between to mildly attractive girls.... a situation that a geek wouldn't be placed in. So even though the film is aimed at geeks they don't directly address the situation of a 'geek'.





Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was planned as a film after the first volume of the comic was released. Wright became attached to the project and filming began in March 2009 in Toronto. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World premiered after a panel discussion at the San Diego Comic-Con International on July 22, 2010. It received a wide release in North America on August 13, 2010 in 2,818 theaters. The film finished fifth on its first weekend of release with a total of $10.5 million. The film has received very positive reviews by critics and fans of the graphic novel, but it failed to recoup its $60 million production budget during its release in theaters, grossing $31.5 million in North America and $16 million overseas.

Here is a fan video of the 15 intertextual references; doesn't this just goes to show that your have to be extraordinarily geeky to like it?




People over 30 don't get it.
The film has been summarised that for people over the age of 30 would be a complete and utter waste if time, a working 30 year old would not want to go and see a bunch oh hipster 20 somethings doss around and moan about going out and being in bands, when they have to go out and work and spend their 'hard' earned cash watching people that they stereotypically despise.

People under 30 don't get it.
This was said because of the out dated references that have been made throughout the film, considering that the film is aimed at and about teenagers it doesn't consist of many things that a teenager would be able to relate to or understand in terms of its themes (video gaming, pop culture). In my opinion this would be different if the film was aged a 30 somethings which then would have a understanding of the intertextual references.

People hate Michael Cera??
Apparently despite his fans their are many indie film watchers that think that the repetitive nature of Cera's characters is just a little bit too much to handle. This encouraging people not to pay to go see a character that they could see for free in their video collection.... in that respect i understand why people wouldn't go and see the film.
In my opinion i think Cera is amazing and anything that he is in couldn't be bad.

Blaxploitation.

Blaxploitation is a film genre that emerged in the United States circa 1971 when many exploitation films were made specifically (and perhaps exclusively) for an audience of urban black people; the word itself is a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation," and was coined in the early 1970s by Los Angeles NAACP head (and ex-film publicist) Junius Griffin. Blaxploitation films were the first to feature soundtracks of funk and soul music. These films starred primarily black actors.^[1] Variety magazine credited Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, released in 1971, with the invention of the blaxploitation genre. Others argue that the Hollywood-financed film Shaft, also released in 1971, is closer to being blaxploitation, and thus is more likely to have begun the genre.- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaxploitation


Shaft Trailer- Blaxploitation.

Quentin Tarrintino.

Quentin Jerome Tarantino, born March 27, 1963, is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and occasional actor. In the early 1990s he began his career as an independent filmmaker whose films used nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quentin_Tarantino



Filmography
His films include Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill (2003–2004), Death Proof (2007) and Inglourious Basterds (2009). His films have earned him an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA and a Palme d'Or and he has been nominated for Emmy and Grammy awards.


REVIEWS;
"The film is trademark bloated Tarantino, featuring scene after scene that could have been curtailed or expedited, which might have significantly affected an off-putting 150-minute running time.  But Tarantino lost his “no” men years ago, while distribution honcho Harvey Weinstein continues to serve as an enabler of sorts."


"Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” isn’t as indulgent as “Death Proof” or “Kill Bill: Vol. 2,” but it doesn’t have the filmmaking panache and wit of the moving image to forgive it its sins like “Kill Bill: Vol. 1,” either.  It’s a slightly more contained bout of silliness, but it’s silliness nevertheless."


"He instead seems to have locked himself in his room, oblivious to reaction.  It matters to him and him alone, which, to some extent, is rather admirable.  But is anyone actually paying attention anymore?"


Inglourious Basterds not only knows that it is a fictional movie, but also that it is being watched by an audience, and herein lays its greatest achievement.'
'Tarantino is at times like a flamboyant, egomaniacal orchestra conductor, gesticulating wildly and turning to the audience to make sure we know that the show's about him.'
'Simply Tarantino's best. A very intelligent script that combines war movie elements with some pointed observations about violence in movies and in society.'
'Shows how most of us turn to film for both fantasy escape and an avenue to make the abstract past tangible, enough to even possibly, and powerfully, replace actual history.'
'Tarantino has a created a more moving tale about the Jews and the Nazis during World War II than, for example, last year's much more reverent Defiance, which was actually based on a true story yet came off as shtick.'


-All in all its obvious that the film wasnt massively respected by film critics, this didnt matter to Tarrintino he was extremely happy with the outcome and if i do say myself i really enjoyed the film and all aspects that followed it. 

Ennio Morricone

Ennio Morricone, Grande Ufficiale OMRI, born November 10, 1928) is an Italian composer and conductor.
He is considered one of the most prolific and influential film composers of his era. Morricone has composed and arranged scores for more than 500 film and TV productions. He is well-known for his long-term collaborations with international acclaimed directors such as Sergio Leone, Brian De Palma, Barry Levinson, and Giuseppe Tornatore.

Inglorious Basterds Soundtrack

1."The Green Leaves of Summer" - Nick Perito (Originally in The Alamo)
2."The Verdict (La Condanna)" - Ennio Morricone (mislabled "Dopo la condanna")
3."White Lightning (Main Title)" - Charles Bernstein (Originally in White Lightning)
4."Slaughter" - Billy Preston (Originally in Slaughter)
5."The Surrender (La resa)" - Ennio Morricone
6."One Silver Dollar (Un Dollaro Bucato)" - Gianni Ferrio
7."Davon geht die Welt nicht unter" - Zarah Leander
8."The Man with the Big Sombrero" - Samantha Shelton & Michael Andrew
9."Ich wollt, ich wär ein Huhn" - Lilian Harvey & Willy Fritsch
10."Main Theme from Dark of the Sun" - Jacques Loussier
11."Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" - David Bowie (Originally in Cat People)
12."Tiger Tank" - Lalo Schifrin (Originally in Kelly's Heroes)
13."Un Amico" - Ennio Morricone
14."Rabbia e Tarantella" - Ennio Morricone

Fiske

John Fiske thinks that we make sense of the world not through our own experiences but through interpretations of them through the media. Basically we recognise things due to the media's (television and films) adaptation of them!
This footage seems appropriate to what he says.
For instance when watching them you feel as though 'its like watching something from movie'... why do we think this, because strange and out of the ordinary things happen on the television everyday which make them seem normal. Also thinking about a murder, how many people get murdered on a t.v program or a film being watched every day in comparison to how many people actually get murdered?

Rene Magritte- Leci n'est pas une pipe.

                                                     

Here is a piece by Rene Magritte named Leci n'est pas une pipe, translating to this is not a pipe. His work often displays juxtaposition of ordinary objects and putting them into a different context. This is not a pipe seems somewhat of a contradiction, but when you look at it you come to realise that this is not a pipe, its an image of a pipe. When Magritte was asked about this picture his reply was, ' of course its not a pipe, try and put some tobacco in it'.


It shows that Rene's perspective on art is very different to most artists, he believes that it is just art and nothing else, a drawing is merely an image/imitation of something. He holds no emotional attachment to his art and expects no body to have an attachment with his pieces. 

Post Modern Dictionary.

We have been asked to put together a dictionary of postmodern terms, this will help us to understand what the terms mean so we can later apply them with theorists in our exam.

Bricolage- Bricolage is a process where traditional images or text are given a new meaning or put into a new context.

For example; The picture of a safety pin through a punks nose, seems somewhat rebellious, when thinking about a safety pin their 'safe' that was their purpose of being made. But in this picture they are taking out of their natural context and made unsafe. Never before has a 'safety' pin made rebellious.

Pastiche- Pastiche is a tongue in cheek imitation commonly used in music, television and movie. It is done in a respect or in homage to its 'muse' as opposed to being sarcastic (a parody. 

For example; The Simpsons in every episodes features a form of pastiche, one that springs where the episode starts with a road runner style sequence, with Bart being chased by Homer. 

Simulacra- A simulacra is basically a copy of a 'copy' but it stands so far away from its original that its gained a status and can stand alone or even replace the original. 

For Example; Betty Boop the cartoon character who was originally based on Clara Bow, exactly who?... This is a good example of Simulacra as the copy of the original has become more known it its own right. For instance when you first think about Betty Boop you think about her in a comic strip or as a cartoon, at no point do you think of Clara Bow.

Hyperreality- Hyperreality is a symptom of postmodern culture where a person loses their ability to distinguish reality from fantasy. The hyperreal world is often thought of as an idealized enhancement of reality, much preferable to the life equivalent. 

For example; The Mc'Donalds M, when you see this M you instantly think of fast food, burgers, chicken nuggets when in fact its just the letter M. This is common with any form of company branding, for instance a Nike tick, you instantly think of trainers. 

Jean-Francois Lyotard.

Jean-François Lyotard

Lyotard rejected what he called the “grand narratives” or universal “meta-narratives.”

Principally, the grand narratives refer to the great theories of history, science, religion, politics. For example, Lyotard rejects the ideas that everything is knowable by science or that as history moves forward in time, humanity makes progress. He would reject universal political ‘solutions’ such as communism or capitalism. He also rejects the idea of absolute freedom.

In studying media texts it is possible also to apply this thinking to a rejection of the Western moralistic narratives of Hollywood film where good triumphs over evil, or where violence and exploitation are suppressed for the sake of public decency.

Lyotard favours ‘micronarratives’ that can go in any direction, that reflect diversity, that are unpredictable.

This was a post i have taken from Mr Smiths blog, i thought that it would b appropriate to post on my blog.