POP SQUAD
This short interested me the most. This idea is toyed with a lot: "You can live forever if you give up ,would you do it"? These people are allowed to become immortal if they sacrifice one thing: having children. In the beginning, having kids is portrayed as a stupid, impractical thing to do, because why would you give up the world above just to live down below? The futuristic city is also an homage to Metropolis, where the elite rise literally above the clouds and cannot even see down below.
My favorite scene was definitely where the detective follows the mother back to her house. Something about the farmhouse in the middle of city ruins was very peaceful. The urban city is in ruins behind the house, but somehow, the house is clinging onto what is left of nature. The woman explains her point of view: Why be immortal if you can't enjoy life? To her, the idea of mortality is what makes her enjoy the little things in life, and to be able to see new life, is what makes her smile. She mentions the detectives eyes, saying that even though he is ageless, his eyes are old and tired. Her eyes, and her daughter's eyes are full of life.
This short is actually based on a short story, and the imagery in the story is amazing. The show follows pretty closely, but in the writing, the detective does not die at the end. I think the directors chose to kill him off because it makes his character arc that much more dramatic- he realizes the appeal of mortality and actually living life at the brink of his own death.
A house that was once in the suburbs, urbanization looms above
I loved your commentary about the juxtaposition between a busy, urban city and a rural house that is clinging to the last of nature. I never noticed that, but it really highlights the fragility of life through both the nature on our Earth and the people who are brought into it.
ReplyDeleteExcellent comments: try to fond out who wrote the short story that inspired the film, as well as the directors / animators, it can provide a lot of valuable information
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the new ideas you proposed about this short, especially mentioning how the house is clinging onto the last of nature. The paragraph you wrote relating the short to the short story is interesting as well and I like how you explained why you think the directors of the short decided to kill the detective.
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