A Short Analysis of Scott Pilgrim

In Scott Pilgrim vs the World the title character meets a girl and has to fight through her 7 evil ex’s to win her heart. It takes place in a hugely video game influenced world based on the likes of Super Mario Bros. and other retro games.

It reflects the world today in the sense that it portrays societies need for escapism, with its main character essentially living in a video game fighting through bosses to win over the woman he loves.

We as a society escape to other worlds via video games, television shows and obviously film. Scott escapes in a more obvious way with his life being a series of power-ups and cartoonish fight scenes (in which the loser disappears leaving only coins behind.) But he can still be seen as an example of people today who spend their life playing computer games, living in a fictional world more than a real one.

Of course it’s possible (read: incredibly likely) that this meaning is unintended and I’m reading way too much into a action/comedy film, but wouldn’t we rather live in the world of Scott Pilgrim than our own.

In a way living in Scott’s world would be easier for most people, true love is only a fight away and if things go wrong you always have a extra life to go back and try it again. So it’s better to live in a fantasy world then in this one.