Please watch the following video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YCGtT_FRYg
Answer this post with your interpretation of what is happening in this video. Here are some questions for you to consider, but please don't limit yourself to answering the questions. They are just there to help guide your interpretation.
What does it mean that one man is moving forward while everyone else is moving backward? What happens at the end when then the man breaks through the wall? Why are some of the people giants? What does it mean when the man becomes a giant at the end? Is this video an ALLEGORY? (If you don't know what an allegory is, check the Wikipedia entry.) What kinds of SYMBOLISM exist in this video? What is the man trying to accomplish? Is anyone trying to stop him? Can you connect anything in this video to the course theme of enslavement? What about invisibility?
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The way I interpreted the video, the man moving forward in the beginning, while everyone else is moving forward is the only one confident to be himself, to not be afraid of being different. When he begins to run in the opposite driection, it is as though he is pushing to finally be able to be himself, striving to not have to worry about how the others percieve him. Each stride bringing him that much closer.
ReplyDeleteThe man is almost invisible to everyone else as he is running through this town. They don't seem to notice him at all, just the giants, and the little girl at the end. So this video definately connects to the idea of invisibility!
I think that some of the people are giants because they made themselves visible, impossible to be ignored. This story is an allegory, I think its trying to tell you to not be afraid to stand against the crowd and do your own thing.
I'm not really sure what is happening in this video, and I forgot what we discussed in class, but what I think it means is the giants have an answer to a question. That’s why they are giants, and everyone else is small because they haven't figured out the answer yet. Also, the man becomes a giant when he looks up and looks into the eyes of the giant, I think he realizes the answer to the question and that’s why he becomes a giant.
ReplyDeleteI agree what Jill said, I guess my answer above if wrong, but I do agree that the giants are different from everyone else and they aren’t afraid of that, and when the man breaks through the wall I think it means that he reached that point of not caring about being different, broke a barrier.
-Kim Goodwin
I was confused on who was moving forward and who was not. But once the man was on his own i could tell that he was moving forward. The only thing that i can see as being and allegory is when the man is flying at the wall in a way as if he was on the cross. And by him doing so he was sacrificing himself of some reason at that time that would may not have been socially expectable. I think that those who were giants and then became them are people who did something as if they were a martyr. There are most likely more allegories but those were the big ones I saw.
ReplyDeleteThe video was sort of confusing, and hard to follow in my opinion. I feel that the man was moving forward because he was determined to get what he wanted. Everyone who was moving backward seemed to be holding him back in a way. I know there was plenty of symbolism in this video, but it is hard for me to understand. After watching it a few times, I still cannot understand why he became a giant or ran into the wall. I do realize that he was invisible because no one wanted to stop him while he was trying to move forward to get what he wants. The man really wants to accomplish what he wanted to, but I am not exactly sure what it was.
ReplyDeleteBeing that this video had no dialogue, it was a struggle to interpret the meaning. In my opinion, I think the little people were people in society just like us struggling to conform under culture norms and do what everyone else is doing. For example, all the little people were moving backwards and looking very similar. The big people, in my opinion, represented the government and our economy having so much power over us. In this movie these powerful people seemed even more powerful because they towered above the little people making them feel insignificant. Government and the economy has changed the way the majority of Americans live their lives today.
ReplyDeleteWhen the man finally pushed through to become a giant, I feel like this represented a person going against what others say to become his own person. He represented to me what all of us can become in society. More so, that is to become someone respected, and looked up upon. This man represented power and passion to the little people hopefully to turn into giants one day too. These were the allegories I came across and took from this story.
First off, I must say that was a sweet tune in the video. There was a lot going on in that clip. I liked how it was made with no words, I think words would have ruined it for me. I interpreted this video similarily to the rest of you guys. I see a man who is depressed, pissed off, and ready for change. The little people represented everyday life and every day situations. People become so stuck in their routines, they seldom reach out with their minds for deeper meaning or happiness. The man was being held back by the wind, because it is uncommon for most to go against the societal norms. We as people, just go through the rat race of life and accept it for what it is. This guy however, said screw that and wanted to change and become enlightened. I also picked up on the color red. I feel that the color red depicted in the video was portraying sadness. Everywhere he went, there was sadness right next to him. The men fighting, represented the sruggle within the man. Before he hits the wall, I recognized that the paved road he is on becomes a dirt road with no lines or rules. This, in my opinion, represented the last step, or threshold, for the man to cross before hitting the wall. It is almost like he completed his quest and is now ready to enter the enlightened state of the big people, by breaking through the barrier. The big people in the video represented those who deviated from the norm of society and learned to think for themselves. They were looked at with respect and power. There were probibly more allegories in the story, but these are the ones I found to be the most significant.
ReplyDeleteAfter finishing this video I was incredibly confused. I had no idea what anything meant or even why most of the seemingly random things in it were. After a couple viewings of the video, I figured out that the giant people are suppose to be people of power in society and every one is moving backwards because society is not progressing forward but instead backwards. The one man moving forward seems focused on living his own life and not following the rules of society and he succeeds and becomes something big himself. When he becomes somebody giant, people look up to him and are inspired to move forward and break through the wall themselves.
ReplyDelete-John Choquette
This video was really hard to interpret what was going on. When first watching this video i thought that everyone else was moving backwards because he was moving so fast. But after watching it the video again I interpreted that the man was invisible to everyone else on the street. He was running so fast and nobody was paying attention to him. I still don't understand why everyone else was walking backwards and at the end why the little girl started walking forwards. Also, I noticed the video was black and white and the only color you saw was red which I believe symbolizes passion because the lady wearing the red dress was kissing a guy and the main character in the video was really trying to get where he had to go.
ReplyDeleteThe way I interpreted the video was that he was struggling to not be the same as everybody else. The video shows this not being an easy task because of how fast he was running in the opposite direction of everybody else. It is trying to demonstrate that you shouldn't conform to everybody around you, you should be different. It's easy to be the same but it's a challenge to be different. He seems as if hes running to a certain destination, and that is individulality. Once he reached his destination he turns into a giant meaning he is different and special compared to everybody else. I think that the giants are invisible because they represent something pure, something that should only be seen by people who deserve to see them, people who are blessed with the ability to be who they truly are.
ReplyDeleteThe video was very hard to interpret. I think the man moving forward while everyone moving backwards could mean that he doesn't need anyone else to move forward. He could do it all on his own. Some people are giants because they could stand for obstacles. He was running away from all his challenges. I also agree with Greg that he is trying to be different. At the end when he turns into a giant that could mean that he finally accomplished his goal. The symbolism in the video is to overcome your obstacles and things that stand in your way.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Laura who said she thought this video was about conformity. I interpreted the giants as authority figures overseeing all of the people walking backwards. I think that the man who started walking forwards was representing a rebellion. When he first started to walk in the opposite direction as everyone else he was being held back and had to fight his way forward, which I interpreted as symbolizing suppression. Once the man broke free, he ran like a bat out of hell until he too became an authoritative giant. I think that the man became a giant because he tried to fight the system instead of follow it which, inevitably made him part of the system. I think the little girl at the end was going to have to endure the same struggle the man in order to become the next future giant and had started doing so by taking those few steps forward.
ReplyDeleteAfter finishing the video, I was really confused. I had to watch it a few times and I still don’t think I fully understood the premise of it. I felt that the man was the one who was moving forward. He was focused on him and nothing else. But, in a way he could be invisible because he was always in a rush. He had tunnel vision. He was only looking for what he wanted and with that said, it seemed as though no one felt the need to really observe his ways or give him the time of day. I agree with what John said! I think that the giant people represent the powers of society. I think that’s why the people were walking backwards; they could try all they want but these powers will always have a hold on them. It just so happens that the man is fortunate enough to see through such things, and really goes after what he wants.
ReplyDeleteThis video was very hard to figure out what was going on. What I interpreted from this video is that he is trying to move forward and break away from the crowd. He is not doing what everyone else is doing, trying to show who he is as a person. Nobody seems to notice him except the young child and the giants. This ties in to what we have been talking about invisibility. I think this video is trying to tell people not to blend in and to stand out against the crowd.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I watched the video I had no idea what was going on. I think it shows how society looks down upon or ignores certain groups of people. In the beginning of the video a man, under the shade of his umbrella, with a top hat on covering his face, is walking the opposite way of all the others and was being ignored. Him being so dark symbolizes how nothing in the dark can be seen. So people are much larger than others and therefore look down upon them. In parts of the video everyone else was black and white while the man had a tint of color to him. At one point dirt blew in the direction of a group of people.That could show that others may have looked down upon these people and considered them to be worthless like dirt. Everyone tries to be like one another in order to be acknowledged and be accepted. The man watched the people in disgust, as if upset by the way noone is themselves and conforms to everyone else's ways in order to feel good. The second he made a scene and began running people had finally noticed him. While he was funning fast he ran into many obstacles, like how so people find it hard to be themselves. Also showing the reasons it can be so hard to be yourself. You must be bigger than another or like another to be noticed.
ReplyDeleteAs many said, this was a tough video to analyze. The way I see it, the video is about being different than everyone else after being the same for so long. There's no evidence that the man was ever walking backwards but he was the same size as everyone. Running forwards signifies his path towards changing. The end result is him becoming a giant which there were very few of in comparison to normal sized people. The kid at the end, I think he started to walk forwards after he watched the guy break through the wall. Almost as if the bot looked up to the man and so the boy started to act like him by walking forwards.
ReplyDeleteI think the video is trying to represent how most of us are basically taking the same path and that only a few are following their own route in life. The reason everyone is moving backwards could show how the world is getting so focused on commercialization that we forget about actually living our lives and doing what we enjoy. The brick wall that he broke through could represent the barrier that most people are not brave enough to pass because they are too busy trying to make as much money as they can before they are gone. The two people that were fighting in the middle could represent war and how pointless it is. Overall, I think the message of the video is to always follow your dreams and to not get too caught up trying to "fit in."
ReplyDeleteWow. The first time I went through the video I thought it was some sort of Nike commercial written by someone on acid. However, upon further review I saw that there was alot of symbols throughout the video. The main symbol that I saw was the poster with the quote on it that said "Time is the Killer". This comes into play in the video because, like you guys said, everyone seems to be moving in reverse except this one guy. He takes a look up at one of the giants and maybe gets a little inspiration? Are the giants people we idolize or respect because of things that they have done in their lives? The man sees the giant and just starts running. At first people are telling him to stop and they all start freaking out because of how uncommon it is. However, once the guy really starts moving fast, nobody is there to tell him to stop anymore. He comes to a dirt road, the "path less traveled" maybe? Soon after his feet catch fire and he leaps through a brick wall that I think symbolized what he set out to do in the first place, something that he wanted to accomplish or achieve deep down. I think that the premise of the people all walking in the wrong direction served as an extreme for the point the video was trying to make. The moral of this video from my perspective is that life is precious. You can make up for many things in life, but you can't make up for lost time. You can either live in the past and watch your life go by from a spectators perspective or you can go out there and get what really makes you happy. Notice that the guy never smiled at all before he broke through the wall, but afterwards he gives the little girl a smile. That smile gave her the motivation to start walking in the other direction too, which I can only imagine was because she looked up to him for doing what he did.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching this video a few times, I was still very confused. I am never good at figuring out symbolism so when the man was moving forwards as everyone was moving backwards was very confusing. In a way i guess you could say that the man could be held back by those who are moving backwards, but it could also say that he is not following the crowd and doing what everyone else wants him to do. In the video, the man becomes a giant, and he also breaks a wall. This could stand for him overcoming obstacles that he may encounter in his life. After watching this video a few times, even though it was still hard to understand, I think that its' message might be that you have to overcome obstacles and sometimes go against what other people tell you to do to achieve your goals.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I grasped of the video it appears that the man moving against traffic, go beyond where people go is and allegory for being a better person and having individuality. The man starts as the same size as the people on the street minus a few "giants". When people see the giants they gawka and stare but the man seems intrigued. He is attempting to push to go somewhere else, not where evrybody goes. People are yelling at him not to go but he does.
ReplyDeleteIt appears that he is striving to be a better person and/or make a change. The video is all a symbolism, the man lookign down at him, that is larger is seeing the chnages the man is making that he once made.He achieves his goal by retuning a "bigger" person literally and figurativeley and it in the end that is what occurs.