{"id":76448,"date":"2010-08-12T09:28:44","date_gmt":"2010-08-12T16:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lookingcloser.org\/?p=76448"},"modified":"2012-10-04T17:58:09","modified_gmt":"2012-10-04T23:58:09","slug":"scott-pilgrim-is-it-twilight-for-guys-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lookingcloser\/2010\/08\/scott-pilgrim-is-it-twilight-for-guys-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Scott Pilgrim: Is it Twilight for guys?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/p>\n

Here comes Scott Pilgrim vs. the World<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been curious about it, but then a critic put into words the very problem that has made me suspicious. <\/p>\n

That critic is MaryAnn Johanson.<\/p>\n

At artsandfaith.com, Jason Morehead<\/a> quoted Johanson<\/a> on the new Edgar Wright movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World:<\/em><\/p>\n

I know, I know: It\u2019s all supposed to be \u201cfunny\u201d and \u201ccute\u201d and \u201clighthearted.\u201d But for as long as \u201cwomen as trophies, as prizes for men who do heroic deeds\u201d has been an unfortunate trope of Hollywood, a movie has never been this blatant, this outrageous, this nonchalant about it. And while there\u2019s lots that is indeed funny and cute and lighthearted \u2026 there is no sense of satire in the unmetaphoric winning of Ramona. All the style is nothing but a would-be \u201csweet\u201d metaphor for men treating women as property\u2026 and woman acquiescing to being treated that way.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If this is true, Scott Pilgrim<\/em> is really going to bother me.<\/p>\n

In this season of \u201cTeam Edward\u201d versus \u201cTeam Jacob,\u201d one of the oldest and most revolting conventions of storytelling is going strong: The idea that the search for love is a battlefield where warriors must best one another in the contest for a mate. This reduces the realm of relationships to a nature documentary, insulting the intelligence of women by making them spectators, or worse, trophies. And it does young men a disservice by making them equate manhood with aggression and physical strength.<\/p>\n

From the get-go, the trailers and book summaries for Scott Pilgrim<\/em> have bothered me. If any girl had ever said to me, \u201cI like you, but you\u2019ll have to fight my ex-boyfriends and suitors to get me,\u201d I\u2019d have walked away at once. Relationships aren\u2019t a competition or a game.<\/p>\n

But then, another artsandfaith.com regular \u2013 Jason Panella\u00a0 \u2013 responded<\/a> with a quote from Edgar Wright himself<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I tried to make it seem \u2026 like an unreliable narrator. In film, I like this idea that [Scott Pilgrim is] the hero of the movie inside his own head. A life of gaming brought him up to be somebody \u2014 he\u2019s not selfish, but he\u2019s definitely kind of thoughtless. He\u2019s the hero of his own story, and he\u2019s quite single-minded. In the film, he doesn\u2019t think about the feelings of the characters around him, or the consequences of some of his actions. He sort of views Ramona like she\u2019s a shiny object in a game. I like the fact that the movie is about, to some extent, him getting his comic comeuppance.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Hmm.<\/p>\n

So, I\u2019m eager to see the movie.<\/p>\n

Does it reinforce the idea that women are trophies that men must do battle to win? Or does it expose the folly of that perspective?<\/p>\n

Will the film encourage mature relationships between the sexes, or affirm the unhealthy conventions that men should\u00a0 compete for a chance to own and exploit beautiful damsels in distress?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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