Relatable ?

otter , 9 months ago

Wrong community for this

DrownedRats , 9 months ago (edited 9 months ago)

I mean it’s pretty surface level and shallow if you ask me and doesn’t really go beyond a very basic “phones are bad” narrative.

It’s pretty melodramatic too. Phones and the internet in general can and do have a negative effect on society but they can also have a massive positive effect too.

I get that to have a narrative you need to exaggerate a little but scenes like the one where people are all taking photos of their dinner don’t happen outside of the world of Instagram.

On a similar vein, 1:02s “tinder” scene stands out as one that seems to take issue with a non-issue. It smells vaguely of the incel ideas that dating apps and hookup apps are fundamentally ruining society and that only the hot people get given a chance when in reality, it’s not the app that’s the problem, it’s usually their attitude towards women and a lack of empathy, emotional maturity, and social skills. Not to say that these apps don’t have issues, they certainly do, but it’s “hookup culture” that’s the issue in my eyes.

Other things like the scene of hundred of people just scrolling while on the train, sure, that happens, but it’s not like people didn’t do exactly the same thing with newspapers, and books, and novellas, and so on. It’s not indicative of social media addiction. Plus, it’s a fairly harmless thing to take issue with considering that, especially in the city, you’re not going to be on the train for long and you are just surrounded by a lot of strangers. I can understand why many wouldn’t be all to interested in striking up conversation.

0:30 aswell, drunken, abusive, insensitive and obnoxious people aren’t a product of social media. I don’t think there’s even a rise because of it. It’s also not as if people being distracted by their phones or apathetic as a result is an effect of social media either. I guarantee this has been going on for millions of years prior.

And 0:48 where the guy literally kicks a puppy is just absurd and has absolutely nothing to do with the subject matter. I’m pretty sure kicking a puppy is literally the oldest and laziest trick in the book to get an audience to side against the villain. It’s just cheap.

Then there’s the police brutality scene at 0:13. I take some issue with this scene in particular. I get that the message is that “too many people just stand by and watch and film for social media” but for a start, it’s incredibly important to document social injustice and shout it from the rooftops when oppressive systems are being used for violent ends. Granted, its another exaggeration from the storyteller but still not perhaps a fair one in my mind.

There are scenes I do like though, and I think they’re fairly poignant. For example 1:12 of the woman being filmed dancing which presumably goes viral and results in her being ostracised. Going internet famous without concent, willing, or participation is terrible and giving the general public a way to just force that on someone without their permission is terrible and I wish/hope there is something we can do to combat this.

Another is the rubbish dump scene at 0:55. I like that one because it is something that I think the average consumer doesn’t consider as an effect of social media and media consumption in general as well as the sheer amount of WEEE waste that’s generated by a chronically online society.

The thing I take issue with really is that the film takes aim at the most basic and surface level issues, as well as several non-issues. While not a problem in itself, there’s a lot you can say about these issues which isn’t being said. The author seems more to lay the blame at the feet of the general public and not the massive media corporations and data farms for not only building the framework, but tuning the system for maximum engagement, maximum profits, and maximum retention at the cost of anything else.

On that note, a very obvious and serious issue that wasn’t touched upon is radicalisation through social media. Maybe it’s my syndical side firing here but that to me sounds like the writer going for the easy and safe issues to take aim at and deciding not to pick at that particular thread incase It causes a flame war. Ironically mirroring the people I mentioned in the restaurant scene who were so focused on their meal they didn’t even notice a slaughter truck going straight past.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s very well made, it’s clear the animator put in a lot of effort to make it look nice and flow well, and while the message isn’t necessarily wrong, it’s also not especially deep or impactful and leaves a lot unsaid.