OUAN501 - Analysis Exercise:
During this week's seminar, we looked at two rather interesting animations that contrasted in so many ways yet shared very similar themes. Bottle, by Kirsten Lepore is a stop motion animation shot on two beaches, both of which have opposing climates - one is covered in snow, the other a very warm-looking, sandy beach. The animation starts out by showing us a very blank, emotionless sandy character with little detail. Despite all this however, he is full of character and life and is a very loveable part of the animation.
He finds a bottle on the shore of which contains some snow, indicating that someone or something sent this from afar. He sends the bottle back containing some sand as a hint to the type of beach he is residing on. This backwards and forwards action carries on throughout, each sending the other bits from their beach until eventually both are adorned in treasures which are fashioned to distinguish them as male and female. This is a very critical scenario as it could relate to the way people fashion or even groom potential partners over the internet to look a certain way when the sinister reality is that they look completely different. Through the media, you are led to believe that reality is completely different, superficial.
However, when the two finally decide on meeting, they literally go from the ends of the Earth to get that moment of happiness they've been waiting for. Sadly, the struggle proves too much as all their adornments fall off under the ocean of which they've been crossing only to leave them as the sandy and snowy blobs they once were. This correlates with social media and internet dating once again as meeting in person is completely different to what we perceive ourselves to be online. In fact, online you are able to fashion a personality for yourself and act in a manner that may be very untrue to who you really are in person. I think Bottle might seem "cute" and "romantic" on the outside, but underneath are quite deep messages regarding who we see ourselves.
The Dog Who Was A Cat Inside tells us a very different story, still sticking with the theme of identity. This animation, by Siri Melchior, a Danish animator, has a very cartoony style of which seems very harmless and suitable for children to watch, Like Bottle, the innocence of it on the exterior makes it a very entertaining watch and seems harmless if you intend to watch without picking at the strings trying to find the pragmatics behind it. The audience may be very wide for both animations, as children and adults alike would find both very amusing and appealing. However, in terms of themes and this idea of identity, Bottle may be seen to be less offensive to some as The Dog Who Was A Cat Inside...
The Dog (for short) is a rather wacky-looking tale of a dog with, well, a cat inside its body. The title gives this one away! It seems more logical that the dog is the dominant species of which the cat, the submissive, is contained as dogs are seen to be more powerful creatures. These two animals were probably used as for one, more people can identify with their many quirks and characteristics, and also they are very opposite in the way they stereotypically behave. They are also seen to be quite volatile when in each others' presence which is suitable for this animation as all they seem to do is fight with one another to get heard.
The setting seems to be a very Parisian-like city, with a small replica of the Eiffel Tower in the background. This could be seen as significant as Paris is known for being the city of love, which is ironic considering the two "personalities" are constantly battling it out for dominance. Albeit being aggressive throughout, eventually the pair put their differences aside and learn to coexist peacefully.
The Dog explores themes of identity in a rather different way to Bottle. Where Bottle could be seen to acknowledge false identities, as does The Dog, the Bottle features ideas of social media, how we are perceived against how we want to be perceived, and distant relationships based on false appearances of one another. The Dog may be seen as unsuitable and offensive to some as it appears to deal with deeper topics. Although the animation is quite broad and unapparent, some could argue that it covers a range of issues such as transgender struggles, gender identity, and mental health. I personally saw this to be conveying Schizophrenia as a constant battle with oneself is a difficult time to have to go through. Luckily, there was hope for the dog and cat which is an optimistic outlook on dire events. Bottle was not so optimistic.
The two animations were very successful in the way they were directed. It was very apparent as to the topics that were covering, and they both shared identity as a common theme. Despite the two contrasting endings, they were very entertaining and could be taken as lighthearted fun if this were shown to any audience, particularly children.
