On a recommendation from a class mate I have been looking at the work of Roy Andersson, a Swedish film director. I have mostly been watching his short films and commercial work. I was recommended it because his films are more like a series of short sketches put together. His commercial work is very funny.
But what stands out is that in most scenes, the 'main character' is always being watched by someone in the background. It's not that these characters don't fit into the scene, it's just that they are very obviously looking at the character.
This, in the case of 'Something Happened' (1987) in one of the opening scenes, the character who has just discovered he has AIDs is on a bus and a man sitting behind him is just looking at him, making the character very nervous. I think in the case of this scene it is because the character is very aware he has AIDs. But in other shots, these characters are just there, often they do not interact with the scene in anyway.
I am a fan of the comedy of them though, they are slow moving, but very funny and very abstract.
What I like about the people in the background is that online, it's exactly the same. We do not have online privacy, especially in regards to social networking, everyone on Facebook can see what you are doing all the time.
What Andersson might be suggesting is that these characters who are watching, represent the idea that these 'main' characters are afraid of not being watched, of being alone. By having these background characters seem to be watching what's happening, they reinforce that the main characters exist, that they matter.
It's been said about Twitter and Facebook, this constant updating with Tweets and Status updates, people don't care, no one needs to know this information, but it reminds the user that they exist because if they didn't remind the world they were there, they would feel alone and might stop existing completely.
But what stands out is that in most scenes, the 'main character' is always being watched by someone in the background. It's not that these characters don't fit into the scene, it's just that they are very obviously looking at the character.
This, in the case of 'Something Happened' (1987) in one of the opening scenes, the character who has just discovered he has AIDs is on a bus and a man sitting behind him is just looking at him, making the character very nervous. I think in the case of this scene it is because the character is very aware he has AIDs. But in other shots, these characters are just there, often they do not interact with the scene in anyway.
I am a fan of the comedy of them though, they are slow moving, but very funny and very abstract.
What I like about the people in the background is that online, it's exactly the same. We do not have online privacy, especially in regards to social networking, everyone on Facebook can see what you are doing all the time.
What Andersson might be suggesting is that these characters who are watching, represent the idea that these 'main' characters are afraid of not being watched, of being alone. By having these background characters seem to be watching what's happening, they reinforce that the main characters exist, that they matter.
It's been said about Twitter and Facebook, this constant updating with Tweets and Status updates, people don't care, no one needs to know this information, but it reminds the user that they exist because if they didn't remind the world they were there, they would feel alone and might stop existing completely.
A collection of commercials by Roy Andersson.
RSS Feed