Short Film Review

Zero:

Zero is a short animated film based on 'wool people’ which are characters made out of wool. Each character has a visible number on their chest, representing how many opportunities they have in life and these numbers run from 1 to 9. There are also new-born 'wool babies' with the number zero on its chest, representing that they will have zero opportunities in life. This film relates to racial history of black and white people. The zero's are brown 'wool people' whereas the 'wool people' who have a number from 1 to 9 are pink. Zero's are hunted down and bullied for being who they are, as it is forbidden for them to enjoy life and to experience happiness. But in the story, it follows a male zero, who even though is constantly being bullied and beaten up, looks at the good things in life, he soon meets another female zero, who he falls deeply in love with. The police then find out and separate them, when the male zero we see from the beginning of the story is thrown into jail, he creates a memorial of his love in the form of a drawing of her.

One day, a dead flower is put through his prison cell and he finds out it is from his lover as he looks out the window the flower came through, she then shows him that she is pregnant, but then the pinks look at her in disgust and outrage and circle around her, this is when we see the zero's lover collapse onto the ground and then gives birth, zero's lover, the crowed of pinks, and the zero's lover disperse and all that is left on the ground is a tatty coat, but not all hope is lost and the zero's lover enters zero's cell, who is also surrounded by pinks, with twins who have an infinity symbol on its chest. This child is a gift to the world and only one of its kind. This infinity symbol represents that it will have many chances in life, but this could also mean that as the audience we followed a zero's journey where even though he was treated badly, he never gave up, this could symbolise that if life presents you with zero chances, you can't except fate as it is as you will get nowhere in life, if you approach it in a positive way, life will present you opportunities.

The Fat Cat:

This short film revolves around a cat that receives whatever it desires and so due to this, the cat gets fatter and fatter as the story goes on. The cat can represent all kind of things/scenarios, for example, the cat could represent a spoilt child who then becomes useless to society as they have never done anything for themselves. The cat can also represent someone who feeds off other people's successes, in the short film, the cat eats the mice who have been working hard for the cat, representing that the powerful prey on the weak, as 'What the fat cat wants, the fat cat gets'. The film’s undertones suggest at one of society’s ongoing problems of how large companies feed on small local businesses, also known as 'the little people'. For example, as a student, work experience is great to have to build up confidence and a portfolio for myself, but at the same time, if the company were to use any of my work that I have produced during the work experience, I would most likely not gain any recognition from it as I am only there for the experience they are providing me. All my examples link to greed, this is something everyone is guilty of and makes us think of the things we do have in life, and to appreciate it, instead of continuously wanting more.