We Are Back (Kinda)

Yea, so Kyle did graduate way before we did. What a chump.

Daniel is actually graduating soon but is confirmed.

I graduated and still live on the East Coast.

Supposedly, Daniel and I will be posting more often now that we are done with school. Kyle will still probably be a recluse amongst us and appear randomly. We need a fanbase to pull him out of his blogging shelter.

What Are We Doing?

Click to enlarge?

This is what we seem to be up to lately.

Or so I think...so I think....

The Artist's Enemy

(click to enlarge picture)

What? Color!? Holy crap!

So this is my revenge against Daniel for his attempts at haggling me down into doing work for him for a beer.
Ha

-Joe

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Review - Daniel Edition

As I'm sure that Joe would be able to tell you, this review has been a long time coming. He wrote his review back in August and I'm here to provide a second opinion (...6 months later).

Around here, it's pretty easy to tell that Joe is an artist. The obvious signs would be the comics and the attention to detail on the blog itself. The less obvious signs are subtly located in the context of his posts. Joe focused his review on the artistic elements of the film: the visual effects, the music, the timing, etc. His review is not only from the perspective of movie-goer but also that of movie-maker. All that is to say, he likes to be cognizant of artistic choices as they manifest themselves in the film. I suppose that I do too, but I'm not trained to look for them, I'm barely familiar with them, and I lack the ability to compare these artistic choices to those of other movies in the genre. In other words, I'm going to have to do something else in order to be insightful.

That preface aside, I'm going to be clear in saying Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is excellent. If you haven't seen it (and you're under 35 years old), do yourself a favor and watch this movie. Now. If you have seen it, go watch it again. I'm going to skip covering the basic plot of the story because (a) you probably know it and (b) if you're reading this, you've probably read Joe's review where he has that covered.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World excels in the art of the narrative. The way in which the story is told is incredible. Not surprisingly for a movie focused on a video game culture, fantasy and reality have blended together. For some people, I'm sure that this takes away from the film, but I'll get to that later. For now though, the jumbled mix of adolescent drama and video game references creates the perfect lens through which to view the life of the protagonist, Scott Pilgrim.

The vitality of any narrative lies in its ability to make the viewer (or reader) relate to the story. For highly regarded films, this (almost) always manifests itself in details that promote the reality of any given situation. Whether it's Saving Private Ryan or The Wizard of Oz, the details provide a certain level of internal realism (usually because the storyline needs some explanation). What sets Scott Pilgrim vs. The World apart is its ability to invoke feelings at the expense of reality. In other words, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is told through the lens of how Scott perceives his world, despite the third-person nature of the storyline. At any given point, it's hard to tell whether you're inside or outside of Scott's head.

The virtue of this narrative method is that you visibly see Scott playing the video game of life. You are watching the main character fight to free his princess from her captors. Yes, you've already seen this story more times than you can count. However, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is refreshingly different in that the exaggerations, the cutscenes, the animations, and the timing all work to invoke the feelings associated with youth. The virtue of this film goes beyond its ability to bring a game to life (...or life to a game); instead, it brings video game action and vitality. It is a self-centered adventure with a short attention span that we have all lived at one time or another.

For those of you thinking I'm wrong, that this could just as easily be a director wanting to use video game culture as a medium to tell a love story (as opposed to a means of depicting Scott's perception of his own world), your point is well taken. However, that eliminates the actual relationship between Scott Pilgrim and the video game culture utilized in the film. The only indicator that Scott Pilgrim actually plays video games is his ability to play a DDR-type game early in the movie. Instead, the game genres primarily invoked are fighting (battle scenes) and RPG (Zelda music, leveling up). Other than that, there are a slew of game references which clearly cross gaming genres, from the concept of the "boss battle" to the idea that beating your opponent means getting coins. If the critique at the beginning of the paragraph was valid, there would be no relationship between Scott and the narrative method, which doesn't make a lot of sense in the context of the film.

There is a certain fantasy to life. All people have a world-view formed by both the narratives they know and the narrative that they live. This film is a rare opportunity to see multiple narratives as they inspire the growth of a character. The video game culture makes this possible by invoking gaming experiences that you must share with Scott; this movie has the opportunity to develop its characters implicitly, assuming the viewer already has knowledge of the narratives (video games) that Scott is familiar with. A lot of the references are subtle, but they're there. This film has as much depth in it as you want it to have. On the surface, it's lighthearted. If you dig a little bit, you'll find that the references are rich and the concepts run deep. This movie provides for video game players the same thing that Ten Things I Hate About You provides for people that are knowledgeable about Shakespeare (or that have read The Taming of the Shrew).

I do have to admit, however, that if someone knows nothing about video games and can't appreciate the references, it doesn't surprise me why they would think the film isn't very good. While it is well-produced, the movie hinges on the viewer's ability to relate to the characters in the film. If you don't like video games, this movie is not for you. That's why I think Joe's assessment of the age group (15-34 years old) is fairly accurate. In that group, you have the young players just old enough to understand adolescent drama and you have the older players, who grew up with a Super Nintendo. This film definitely has a market and its attention to detail should make the video game community proud.

Honestly, this is one of the better films that I've seen recently. It's an instant classic for anyone that appreciates video games. Although it's not without its imperfections, its vices are usually its virtues. One example of this is the inconsistent speed of the progression of the storyline, which is both an arguable flaw and an intelligent design quirk that mimics the actual progression of a video game. This film strikes me as being "love it" or "hate it". The fact that I've seen it twice (and counting) should probably tell you which side of that debate I'm on.

An Ode to Shenanigans

There is a dark side to academic rigor.

Academic rigor takes many forms. As examples, scientific rigor, literary rigor, and philosophical rigor all immediately come to mind. There is a method to the meticulousness. Maybe the method itself is madness. But there is a protocol to be followed. Even if you break the mold, you blaze a trail, allowing someone to follow in your footsteps. Luckily for you, this post isn't about the quest for truth; it doesn't describe the depths of insanity which form the personal trials of each and every intellectual. Conjuring images of that darkness and giving life to those shadows is draining enough without dwelling on that topic. Instead, I only ask that you give thought to the intellectual's concept of 'progress'. Intellectualism works in the realm of perfection; there exists a specific solution to every problem which is incapable of resulting in failure. That abstraction away from reality allows us to operate in a plane of thought experiments...

"If only I could make that better..."

"If only I could cure that disease..."

"If only I hadn't made that mistake..."

...and so we leave the realm of the real. We all intellectualize in this way. It is inherently human that we dream such answers exist, we hope of finding them, and we fear that we'll fall short of them. Although we have the capacity to live by that sword, we have a similar capacity to die by it.

Intellectualism comes coupled with a blinding passion for progress. The goals become intangible. We forsake everything that we have now for an ideal that we strive for. That farsighted, insatiable blindness to the 'here and now' is parasitic upon our individual happiness. We find comfort in the future. We take solace in a reality that may or may not exist. The idea that life will be better - that we will be accomplished, that we will have gone face to face with the practical problems of the real world and that we will stand triumphant - simultaneously drives us to success and to ruin. How often do we justify a sacrifice in the present with the prospect of a better future? How often does tragedy result from risking something we cannot afford to lose (family, friends, security...) for something we convince ourselves we cannot live without (lofty goals, career aspirations, personal salvation...)?

This post is a wake-up call from improbability. Life itself is a dream. It is a small, finite series of heartbeats. Count your blessings. Now and everyday. The real tragedy is that we have the capacity to curtail our own happiness while devoting our lives to a worthwhile cause.

"The mind is its own place and in itself
Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven."
-John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book One 254-255

Tragedy, thy name is betrayal of one's own mind. Looking at life through the lens of progress can only lead to discontent. There is no terminal point of progress; there is no place where we stop and say 'We have progressed enough. At this point, we can comfortably stop and celebrate our accomplishments.' Instead, there is always more to be done.

"How far that little candle throws his beams!
So shines a good deed in a naughty world."
-William Shakespeare, "The Merchant of Venice", Act V, Scene I

In so many ways, that tiny candle invokes the human condition. One of the most poignant purposes of this quote is to illustrate admiration at the resilience of the candle in the face of darkness. The candle doesn't throw perfect beams. The candle doesn't pursue perfection at all; instead, the candle works hard to throw whatever beams it can. The candle doesn't stop itself from shining for fear that its beams aren't good enough. The sheer magnitude of illuminating the immense darkness doesn't phase the candle. Instead, the candle illuminates the world as best it can, despite that darkness. And therein lies the only perfection that the candle can be said to possess; it doesn't stop itself from shining. Fragile and weak though it is, it works in quiet dignity, not to grow stronger or brighter, but to provide for and appreciate those in its immediate vicinity.

This post is about balance. It is about seeing the forest and the trees. It is about understanding that perfect vision has the capacity to focus wherever that focus is necessary at the moment. We are defined by the things that we do. Often, the most important things in life are right in front of each of us.

For that reason, this post is also an ode to shenanigans - to life experiences, to adventures, to the loves we dared to have, to the loves we secretly wish to have again, to our friends, to our families, to the battles we've fought, to mistakes we've made, to the road trips, to the plane trips, to the family vacations, to the spring breaks, and to the eternities we've spent in those moments that passed in an instant. Because no one says it often enough, it's time to celebrate life. Don't worry about the little perfections contained within the journey; instead, notice the perfection of having a journey at all.

Toss your beams with every fiber of your being. There is no better reason than you're alive and you can. So shines an ineffable quality of human experience in a weary world.

Lux

A flashlight points in one direction.  You can't see what's behind you, without turning around.  But in doing so, you may lose what you were supposed to be looking for.

A lantern only shines so far.  You can't see beyond it's reach or what surrounds you, waiting and lurking in the darkness.  Taking a step forward is a gamble between life and death.  You could be devoured whole or left to die in pain.  But it may set you on a path that is scattered with gems that sparkle from your light.  You follow the shimmering road even when you can only see so far.  You don't know where it leads but it guides you nonetheless.  The gleam of the gems guide you through the darkness.  Where do you come out of when the path is at it's end?  Did you arrive where you thought you would?  Did your lantern fade and leave you in the pit of darkness?  Where are you?