Scott Pilgrim Vs The World - The Heroes Journey
Ordinary World- Scott lives in Ontario, Canada, in a world very similar to ours. He is in a quite unsuccessful band and there is no evidence he has a job currently. He lives in a house with one of his friends, named Wallace, who also owns most of the things inside. Scott is also dating a high school girl called Knives, she is 17 and he is 22. A handful of people question Scott as to why he is dating a high school girl, suggesting that he is only doing this because of a brutal breakup a year ago and this is some kind or rebound. It is suggested that Scott isn't happy with his current life, at one point at a party he goes to 'Pee out due to boredom'. There is a scene where Scott is sleeping or daydreaming, perhaps just a visual representation of his thoughts, where he is a desert and says that he is so alone, then out of nowhere a female character appears and says "You're not alone" as she rollerskates across the sand. This character is Ramona and Scott sees her in the very next scene and is very attracted to her to the extent that he zones out for the next few scenes, playing one note in a song and not realising that he on his way to a party.
Call to Adventure- After his "date" with Ramona, he ends up back at Ramona's house and the two kiss and he ends up staying the night. It's at this point that The League of Evil Exes start to come after Scott. The League was created by Gideon, Ramona's previous boyfriend, in order to get rid of Scott and get Ramona back. At the Battle of the Bands the first Evil Ex is revealed, Mathew Patel, and Scott is forced to fight and defeat him.
Refusal of the Call- Scott is emailed by Mathew Patel prior to their fight. Scott does not read the email and instead deletes it. This could suggest that he is unwilling to go on his hero's journey initially.
Supernatural Aid- Scott is not given a special talisman or special training, for some unexplained reason he manifests superpowers when Mathew attacks him. Mathew crashes through the ceiling and looks as if he is flying, lands, introduces himself and jumps up to attack Scott. Scott then blocks the attack and counters, sending Mathew flying across the room, shocking everyone. It is important to note that most of Ramona's exes have some kind of superhuman power when it comes to fighting. Only a handful of these abilities are explained during the movie however.
Crossing of the Threshold- On the bus ride home after defeating Mathew, Ramona explains that is the two are to continue to date, Scott must defeat her 7 evil exes. At this point Scott accepts the challenge, by continuing to date Ramona and making out on the bus.
The Road of Trials- Arguably most of the film could be this, the trials being to defeat all 7 evil exes in order to 'Win' Ramona. Over the course of these battles, Scott learns more about Ramona's past and what happened with her exes. Towards the middle of his trials, Scott begins to question
Meeting with the Goddess- After Scott's fight with evil ex no.2, Ramona leaves off camera, Scott is upset. He leave her an answer phone message before complaining that everything sucks. It's at this point Wallace gives Scott some advice. He says "If you want something bad, you have to fight for it. Step up your game Scott... If she really is the girl of your dreams, then you have to let her know. You have to overcome any and all obstacles that lie in your path. Yo can do it. Be with her. It's your destiny." It seems that in this case, Wallace is fulfilling this role as the goddess as he is reigniting Scott's fighting spirit to continue on his journey. However he has his reasons, he wants Ramona to ask Scott to move in with her so he doesn't have to kick Scott out. He also comforts Scott after the call from his ex, Envy.
The Temptress- After the Fight against Roxy, the goth ninja, Scott and Ramona get into a bit of a fight over the whole evil exes thing. Ramona suggests the two split and shes leaves. Ramona is offering Scott a way out of his 'Quest', if they're not dating, the league won't come after him. However she does return with a list of the remaining exes. We find out later in the film that Gideon was controlling her with some kind of microchip on the back of her head, and when Scott and her are arguing we see her touch the back of her head suggesting Gideon's is influencing her actions. So in reality, Gideon could be the Temptress by proxy
Atonement with the Father- The only family we see of Scott's is his sister, we don't see his parents. However, it would seem that Wallace plays the role of Scott's Father. The first scene of Wallace in the apartment is him sitting in an armchair and reading the newspaper. On top of that Wallace takes care of Scott, they live together and presumably Scott doesn't pay rent as the viewer is lead to believe that Scott is unemployed. After Scott and Ramona breakup, Wallace makes him some hot cocoa and tells him everything will be okay. After Gideon calls Scott to boast of his victory, Wallace tells Scott to "Finish him", encouraging him to finish his quest and finish the trials.
Belly of the Whale- Scott storms the Chaos Theatre and confronts Gideon. In video game terms, this is the final boss, the most difficult challenge of the game. Unfortunately, Scott fails and is killed.
Apotheosis- After Scott's 'Death' he is able to find out how Gideon has control over Ramona and realises he was fighting for the wrong person. Instead of fighting for Ramona (i.e Love) he must fight for Himself. Using the 1-up he received earlier, Scott is able to revive himself and attempt the final challenge again.
Refusal of the Return- This doesn't appear to be in this film, Scott is eager to get back into the fight and challenge Gideon once again. He doesn't want to stay dead when he finds out how he can beat Gideon and win.
Magic Flight- With the knowledge from his previous try, Scott is able to make short work of the enemies he faced before, a much more determined look on his face. He is able to make amends with his band mates and later Knives and Ramona.
The Ultimate Boon- When answering Gideon's question on who Scott is fighting for, Scott earns a sword called The Power Of Self Respect and it bursts from his chest. This sword is more powerful than the one he previously used and is able to make short work of everyone.
Rescue from without- Just when it looks like everything is over, Gideon gets up and challenges Scott once again. This time he appears to enter some kind of cheat code and gain a weapon and the skill to easily knock Scott down. Just as he is about to strike a killing blow, Knives jumps in and saves Scott. The two fight Gideon but are unsuccessful. Scott's sword breaks and Knives is left dangling over a ledge. Gideon goes to gloat to Ramona, who is pretending to be under his control still, before kicking him in the balls and the pair manage to defeat him.
Master of Two Worlds- In this film, it's hard to tell if there is a 'Master of two worlds' thing going on. Through this story, all the challenges, Scott has been changed for the better and it wouldn't be right for him to be able to go back to how he was. If anything, Scott is the master of a new world, the master of the new him.
Freedom to Live- Scott gets the girl and they walk away into the distance, hand in hand. However, the movie ends with a continue prompt like you would see on an arcade machine. This seems to suggest to the audience that Scott may need to go through a Hero's journey a few more times in his life.
Call to Adventure- After his "date" with Ramona, he ends up back at Ramona's house and the two kiss and he ends up staying the night. It's at this point that The League of Evil Exes start to come after Scott. The League was created by Gideon, Ramona's previous boyfriend, in order to get rid of Scott and get Ramona back. At the Battle of the Bands the first Evil Ex is revealed, Mathew Patel, and Scott is forced to fight and defeat him.
Refusal of the Call- Scott is emailed by Mathew Patel prior to their fight. Scott does not read the email and instead deletes it. This could suggest that he is unwilling to go on his hero's journey initially.
Supernatural Aid- Scott is not given a special talisman or special training, for some unexplained reason he manifests superpowers when Mathew attacks him. Mathew crashes through the ceiling and looks as if he is flying, lands, introduces himself and jumps up to attack Scott. Scott then blocks the attack and counters, sending Mathew flying across the room, shocking everyone. It is important to note that most of Ramona's exes have some kind of superhuman power when it comes to fighting. Only a handful of these abilities are explained during the movie however.
Crossing of the Threshold- On the bus ride home after defeating Mathew, Ramona explains that is the two are to continue to date, Scott must defeat her 7 evil exes. At this point Scott accepts the challenge, by continuing to date Ramona and making out on the bus.
The Road of Trials- Arguably most of the film could be this, the trials being to defeat all 7 evil exes in order to 'Win' Ramona. Over the course of these battles, Scott learns more about Ramona's past and what happened with her exes. Towards the middle of his trials, Scott begins to question
Meeting with the Goddess- After Scott's fight with evil ex no.2, Ramona leaves off camera, Scott is upset. He leave her an answer phone message before complaining that everything sucks. It's at this point Wallace gives Scott some advice. He says "If you want something bad, you have to fight for it. Step up your game Scott... If she really is the girl of your dreams, then you have to let her know. You have to overcome any and all obstacles that lie in your path. Yo can do it. Be with her. It's your destiny." It seems that in this case, Wallace is fulfilling this role as the goddess as he is reigniting Scott's fighting spirit to continue on his journey. However he has his reasons, he wants Ramona to ask Scott to move in with her so he doesn't have to kick Scott out. He also comforts Scott after the call from his ex, Envy.
The Temptress- After the Fight against Roxy, the goth ninja, Scott and Ramona get into a bit of a fight over the whole evil exes thing. Ramona suggests the two split and shes leaves. Ramona is offering Scott a way out of his 'Quest', if they're not dating, the league won't come after him. However she does return with a list of the remaining exes. We find out later in the film that Gideon was controlling her with some kind of microchip on the back of her head, and when Scott and her are arguing we see her touch the back of her head suggesting Gideon's is influencing her actions. So in reality, Gideon could be the Temptress by proxy
Atonement with the Father- The only family we see of Scott's is his sister, we don't see his parents. However, it would seem that Wallace plays the role of Scott's Father. The first scene of Wallace in the apartment is him sitting in an armchair and reading the newspaper. On top of that Wallace takes care of Scott, they live together and presumably Scott doesn't pay rent as the viewer is lead to believe that Scott is unemployed. After Scott and Ramona breakup, Wallace makes him some hot cocoa and tells him everything will be okay. After Gideon calls Scott to boast of his victory, Wallace tells Scott to "Finish him", encouraging him to finish his quest and finish the trials.
Belly of the Whale- Scott storms the Chaos Theatre and confronts Gideon. In video game terms, this is the final boss, the most difficult challenge of the game. Unfortunately, Scott fails and is killed.
Apotheosis- After Scott's 'Death' he is able to find out how Gideon has control over Ramona and realises he was fighting for the wrong person. Instead of fighting for Ramona (i.e Love) he must fight for Himself. Using the 1-up he received earlier, Scott is able to revive himself and attempt the final challenge again.
Refusal of the Return- This doesn't appear to be in this film, Scott is eager to get back into the fight and challenge Gideon once again. He doesn't want to stay dead when he finds out how he can beat Gideon and win.
Magic Flight- With the knowledge from his previous try, Scott is able to make short work of the enemies he faced before, a much more determined look on his face. He is able to make amends with his band mates and later Knives and Ramona.
The Ultimate Boon- When answering Gideon's question on who Scott is fighting for, Scott earns a sword called The Power Of Self Respect and it bursts from his chest. This sword is more powerful than the one he previously used and is able to make short work of everyone.
Rescue from without- Just when it looks like everything is over, Gideon gets up and challenges Scott once again. This time he appears to enter some kind of cheat code and gain a weapon and the skill to easily knock Scott down. Just as he is about to strike a killing blow, Knives jumps in and saves Scott. The two fight Gideon but are unsuccessful. Scott's sword breaks and Knives is left dangling over a ledge. Gideon goes to gloat to Ramona, who is pretending to be under his control still, before kicking him in the balls and the pair manage to defeat him.
Master of Two Worlds- In this film, it's hard to tell if there is a 'Master of two worlds' thing going on. Through this story, all the challenges, Scott has been changed for the better and it wouldn't be right for him to be able to go back to how he was. If anything, Scott is the master of a new world, the master of the new him.
Freedom to Live- Scott gets the girl and they walk away into the distance, hand in hand. However, the movie ends with a continue prompt like you would see on an arcade machine. This seems to suggest to the audience that Scott may need to go through a Hero's journey a few more times in his life.
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