DYSTOPIA OR UTOPIA

A lovely dystopia so full of joy and unawareness, this short film shows just how happy and unhappy we are in our lives. An uneasy but fast moving film, intriguing but leaves behind a couple questions. “Model Citizen” by David James Armsby starts off showing a boy at such a young age learning how the world around him should be. It seems like a routinely practice to embed the way the world works in young kids minds. But is it the right way a world should be? They seem happy, energetic, obedient and most of all willful. Willful to be a “model citizen.” Willful to create and raise a “model citizen.” Willingly to do the same cycle over and over until they are no longer needed in their Utopia of a Dystopia.

Throughout the film, the suspenseful “Waltz of the Flowers” heightens our understanding and perspectives of this film.It felt like the film moved quicker the longer the song played. The world is so dull but full of joy. But our only color we see is the imperfectness, the blood. Everyone gets along with each other, no problems intervene their perfect lives. They dance and follow a strict routine every single day, the robots check on them every single day. The real gem behind this short film, is how close this comes to our regular society. Growing up, having a family, raising them, then not having much to do after the kid(s) move out. And that’s when the music stops, is when life stopped having as much meaning or no meaning at all. It’s heavily implanted that their society is right. Though most of this film is repetition, that’s their life and you watch everyone except the robots age and grow. These robots are emotionless but do care about the people but more about their job. They stick to their routine just like the people too. Behind the mask, we don’t know what’s going on. Is it to hide the emotions that they can’t have? To erase discrimination between people so everyone gets treated equally then they are at ease and take their fake faces off at home? That is something we are left to decide for ourselves.