It is often said that “rules are
made to be broken.” While I do not necessarily agree with that statement, in
some cases it is true that – for the sake of storytelling – the rules can and
should be broken. More specifically, one must bypass the rules of physics when
it comes to visual media, as is often done in animated shorts and films, live
action movies, and music videos. In a way, it is the visual equivalent of
exaggerating moments in verbal stories – embellishing parts that must be embellished
and omitting parts that would slow down the pace of the tale. In Edgar Wright’s
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010),
Joseph Kahn’s Taylor Swift music video for “Bad Blood” (2015), and Zack Snyder’s
Sucker Punch (2011), each director
bends Newton’s Third Law of Motion, also known as the Action/Reaction Principle,
in order to better tell their stories.
One
movie which breaks Newton’s Third Law of Motion is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Specifically, in the film, right as
Roxy (Ramon’s ex-girlfriend) starts a fight with Scott (Ramona’s current
boyfriend), Ramona steps in and stops Roxy from flying through the air and
kicking Scott. When Ramona stops Roxy, Ramona does not even flinch or move when
she takes the kick. Normally, due to the Action/Reaction Principle – which
states, “For every action force there is an equal reaction force in the
opposite direction” – the audience expects Ramona to have at least experienced
some follow-through movement due to Roxy’s kick. However, Ramona does not move,
and therefore she jars the audience by contrasting the expected with the
unexpected. In doing so, Wright embellishes the true beginning of the fight,
which is not between Roxy and Scott but between Roxy and Ramona. Despite the
contrast, the fight still reads as believable, because Wright establishes the
broken rules of Scott Pilgrim’s world
early in the film. In fact, without the broken Action/Reaction Principle, the
story itself would not have flowed nearly as well from that point.
Another
movie which break Newton’s Third Law of Motion is Joseph Kahn’s music video for
Taylor Swift’s song “Bad Blood” (2015). In the music video, Kahn sets up the
premise for the animosity between Swift’s character Catastrophe and Selena
Gomez’s character Arsyn when Arsyn kicks Catastrophe out the window of a
building. After the fall, Catastrophe lands on and crushes a car with
noticeably more force than you would expect coming from a tall, thin woman. Not
only that but the video continues with Catastrophe still alive and singing
immediately after her crash. Realistically speaking, Catastrophe would have
died from her fall. However, to me, the most jarring visual was the impact that
Catastrophe had on the car, because the reaction of the car did not appear to
match the force of Catastrophe’s fall. Evidently, because the music video is
all about tough women, Kahn broke the Action/Reaction principle in order to emphasize
the strength of Swift’s character by having her sing and still live despite her
accident. Also, had the film been more realistic, the music video would have
ended upon Catastrophe’s crash, which, needless to say, would have severely
impaired the flow of the story. However, the main purpose, most likely, for
Kahn choosing to portray the crash the way he did was to punctuate the true
beginning of the song, which opens up on Swift lying down on the destroyed car.
All in all, Kahn successfully broke Newton’s Third Law of Motion in order to tell
the story he wanted to tell, frame the song intentionally, and to continue the
flow of his and Swift’s storytelling.
In
addition, Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch
(2011) breaks Newton’s Third Law of Motion. For example, during the fight scene
between the first of the three giant demon samurai and Baby Doll, Baby Doll
actively parries the first samurai’s weapon. When Baby Doll parries, the samurai
quickly recoils with its weapon. Upon observation, the quick recoil of the
looming CGI mechanical warrior betrays its own weight and mass. Specifically,
looking even closer at one particular detail, the way in which the samurai and
Baby Doll interact, when Baby Doll parries, the Samurai’s reaction to Baby Doll’s
action makes the Samurai’s heavy weapon appear lighter than it should be. Truthfully,
considering the Action/Reaction Principle, the samurai’s recoil should have a
slower acceleration reacting to the force of Baby Doll’s parries. However,
because the world of Baby Doll’s imagination is clearly fantastical, breaking
Newton’s Third Law of Motion is not all too jarring to take the audience out of
the moment. In fact, by breaking that particular law, Snyder suspends the
audience’s disbelief just enough to give them hope that Baby Doll might stand a
chance against her adversaries, allowing the story to progress with a proper
flow. All in all, while Snyder does break the Action/Reaction Principle, he
does so with enough intention for the fight scene to read believably and
smoothly within the film.
In Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
directed by Edgar Wright, Taylor Swift’s music video for “Bad Blood” (2015) directed
by Joseph Kahn, and Sucker Punch (2011)
directed by Zack Snyder, each film breaks the Action/Reaction Principle, more
formally known as Newton’s Third Law of Motion, in order to achieve a better
flow and clarity within the stories that each director attempts to tell. In
Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,
Wright deviates from the Action/Reaction principle most evidently in his fight
scenes, such as the scene in which Ramona prevents Roxy from kicking Scott.
Also, in Kahn’s Taylor Swift music video “Bad Blood,” the first instance in
which Kahn breaks Newton’s Third Law of Motion is in the beginning when
Catastrophe falls with great impact on a car and proceeds to sing. Finally, in
Snyder’s Sucker Punch, the broken law
of physics presents itself evidently within the film’s fight sequences, such as
in the fight between the giant demon samurai and Baby Doll. All in all, all
three films have the same error in physics, yet all the instances in which that
particular law is broken works for the shared purpose of each film and most
films ever made – which to tell good, fluid stories.
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