When I watched Detention (2011), it reminded me of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010), mostly because of the visual effects, and the “game like structure”. Both films explore this science fiction story that takes place around young adolescences. Scoot Pilgrim vs. The World (2010), however, leans more to this beat’em up gameplay like storytelling. Although it is a comic adaption, the visual language is intriguing. The movie goes around this main protagonist that needs to fight seven evil exes to be able complete date the girl he likes, which is like a beat’em up game. Not the story but whole fighting scenes and visual effects make it seem like a game and the viewers are following him through. My feelings after watching it is, it feels like a fever dream, which is like what I felt for Detention (2011) as well. Something that is fictional and digital but combines this sense of “realism” that only this generation of media consumers can imagine.

In contradiction to the effects of what traditional media can give; the over-the-top colours, and the manipulation of the video, and the sound embraces the effects on hyper-reality. In other words, a postmodern aesthetic that rejects the reality and reflects a contemporary media consumer’s experience with interactive digital spaces.

Both traditional media and new media reflects the status quo of the generation. The digital media influences the status quo and through digital media the reflects it like a mirror. Traditional media also reflects the growth in technology and what it can bring people around it. It consumes itself while advancing to the next stage.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World can be seen as a response to the evolution of digital media where digital media interacts.

Reference

Manovich, L. 2002, ‘What is New Media’, The Language of New Media,

Xin Cindy Sun