A Morning Stroll Presents Shocking Symbolism of Society’s Destruction
- Details
- Category: Indies, Docs, Foreign Film
- Published on Sunday, 15 January 2012 13:45
- Written by Janet Walker
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A Morning Stroll, a Studio AKA/Grant Orchard film, presents through the use of clear and shocking symbolism and parallels, society’s degradation and hopeless chance for renewal.
Produced by Sue Goffe, A Morning Stroll modernizes The Chicken, an original short story first published in The New York Literary Review by acclaimed author Casper G. Glausen.
A Morning Stroll, in six short minutes, time travels from 1959, and depicts in minimalistic black and white frames a well mannered polite society, to 2009, NYC, a contemporary concrete jungle where the youth culture, the I generation, with eyes only for the I-phone lives in a very singular digital world, and vividly portrays a rude, disrespectful, impolite and discourteous culture to 2059 and a near total obliteration of humanity.
The animation reflects each era as the early 1959 frames are simple line figures with equally uncomplicated sound. The 2009 animation jumps to an explosion of colors depicting the modernization of society with the myriad of potential and possibilities. The 2059 animation, obviously from the Director’s imagination, portrays an apocalyptic version of the future, full color drawings, 3-D imagery, that leaves cities destroyed and two types of survivors, those modern mangled messes, devoid of human characteristics, resembling a Dungeons and Dragons computer game and a simpler and safer counterpart secure even in the midst of the cataclysmic aftermath that is referenced in a split screen animation by reflecting 2059 and 1959 renderings.
The film’s characters are silent and nameless, and symbolic of the anonymity that cities can offer, as sound is used only to capture the changes in city life. The main character, the stereotype of a self absorbed I-first; I-only groupie, lives connected. While, of course, the internet has vast possibilities, in this case, the character is glued to his handheld device so much so that his thought processes shut down at a single new message pop up notification.
A Morning Stroll has won numerous festival awards throughout 2011 including Best of British Animated Encounters, Best Shorts in The Edmonton International Film Festival, Special Jury Prize at the esteemed Talulah Merveilleux in Paris, France and both Audience Award and the Best Professional Film at the UK’s prestigious Bradford Animation Festival. In all, A Morning Stroll has taken the prize at fourteen Domestic and International film festivals and is an official selection at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.
A Morning Stroll is presented in 2-D/3-D with a running time of six minutes forty nine seconds with music and sound designed by Nic Gill.
