She Who Measures Presentation

She Who Measures

She Who MeasuresBy Lewis ParadzaiWhat is She Who MeasuresShe Who Measures is an animated challenging short film directed by Veljko Popovic. Who is Veljko Popovic?Veljko Popovic is an animated film director, producer, writer, editor and a visual effect coordinator. He has on productions, such as Father, She Who Measure, My Way and Dove Sei, Amor Mio.The NarrativeThe narrative of this short film is very challenging, as it encourages its audience to question their freedom in our capitalist society where we are bombarded by advertising and where excessive consumerism is acceptable. The narrative revolves around an animated male figure, which represents humans due to its physical features. This figure wonders around an open space until it start to rapidly follows a trail of sweets leading it to more male and females figures pushing shopping carts following what is denoted to be evil, large, dominant clown. However, unlike the first male figure the others have a band strapped their heads with yellow smiling face printed on them, with antennas attached to them. Once the first male figure reaches the others it begins to unsuccessfully remove the smiling faces. After its failed attempt one of the females figures smiling faces starts to hang off to reveal cry running down its cheek. Towards the end of the narrative the first male figure has given and jumps of a cliff, while the other figures shopping carts are so full they can no longer carry on, leaving them to fall and die. The following shot denotes the dominant clown defecating the sweets. Finally we see inside the clown a nesting area of more figures.

Analysis of Key Moments

Similarly to many short films She Who Measures, uses an element of enigma to start the film by denoting six chambers of naked male and female figures. As these figures have human like bodies and feature, such as eye, noses and human limbs they connote humans as babies- ultimately connoting that they represent us (humans)

As we see these figures are dressed and walking connoting they have been raised and have grown. Their smiley faces could be interpreted as their personality. Additionally, as they doing the same thing and their faces being identical would connote individuals in capitalist society are simply copies of each other, as we all exposed to the same culture and encouraged to aim for same goals, such as of money success to consume more capitalist goods as seen in the filmThe figures difference in appearance according to gender connotes societys expectation from us. For exampleall the females have maintained hair and big bottoms connoting the expectation of women to look a certain way to possibly please men, because there is man behind ever female figure at some point in the film. This references the large scale sexualisation of females in a capitalist society.

This figure does have the same band seen on the other figures however, it does not have the smiley face. This male figure is not wearing a mask suggesting there are individuals in our society who are different or we all have the ability to free be freed. The figure could also represent activists or people who want to make a change because a in later shot it helps to almost remove a smiley face.

From a Marxist perspective the smiley faces connote a false class consciousness of the working class (the figures), as we see this figure crying due to its predictable, mundane life. However it is too blinded by the smiley face, which distorts its view of life and distracts it from its happiness with shopping and entertainment.The emptiness surrounding the figure connotes how we have been conditioned to see what we have been told to see and how we are blind to a lot of things in the world. Furthermore, the emptiness is a metaphor for our selfishness because we see nothing in the world but ourselves.The ideas discussed in the previous texts box are anchored by the following mise-en-scene after the dominant clown fixing the smiley on the female figure. Through diegetic sound the audience and the figure hear advertising stating, oh pay day and once there was a beautiful princess in an American accent. This American accent further anchor the themes of capitalism addressed in this case study as America, is one of if not the most pro capitalist society.

The idea individuals being encouraged to have the same goals are supported by this screenshot denoting a happy couple kissing. This represents individuals being encouraged to live a conventional life of married and having a family. The image is also on some sort of tin/ consumer good reinforcing the idea of being bombarded by advertising A hypnosis wheel is denoted connoting we are brainwashed, being controlled and are under a trance we are unaware of which is distracting us.

The trail of goods left behind or forgotten by the figures could signify the amount we waste and the mess we leave.