Relationships consume a significant part of our lives. No one on this planet would have reached their grave without experiencing their heart flutter for someone, at least once. However, with time the mode of expressing and celebrating one’s love has undergone a substantial change. Gone are the days when love letters and roses did the job. And, long gone are the times of annual, studio clicked photographs. Today, in this ‘smartphone-driven’ world, digital pen has replaced the fountain pen and bouquets have been replaced with social media posts.
Let’s have a look at how relationships have come to evolve in time with these 5 short films.
1. “Relationship Status: Online”
The 4 th from the web-series titled ‘Unplugged Project’, a collaboration between TheMingThing & Digi, “Relationship Status: Online” explores the much common phenomenon of how Social Networking begins as a medium to connect, but seldom stays at that. When the world is inundated with your social posts, about your private life, what remains private in it anymore? What happens when the strongest bond you ever build is not with your partner, but your smartphone?
What to watch out: Storyline | Music | Acting.
2. The Anti-Social Network
This one comes from Shae-Lee Shackleford, who is both; the writer & director of the film. It is aimed to ‘poke’ fun at the Social Networking Sites that have blurred the lines of virtual life & real. Although it is shot from the perspective of a Social Media addict, his distorted experiencing of the real world is further enhanced with the entering of a ‘potential’ partner into the scene.
What to watch out: Visuals | Acting | Dialogues.
3. A Social Life
Written & directed by Kerith Lemon, this less than 10 minutes running film, explores the dichotomy that many lead in today’s virtual times. Meet Meredith, whose life is simply picture-perfect. The only glitch? That life exists only on her Social Networking Sites, where she has painstakingly ‘created’ her own image.
What to watch out: Direction | Music | Concept.
4. What’s on your mind?
As direct as the title itself, this film focuses on Scott Thomson’s life both; in real & in virtual. As you see it through the parallel lens, you realize how far from reality is his virtual self and the sad, but true fact of life in itself. The film explores every aspect of Scott’s life from his work to his home-front to his love life, all through his posts, which he regularly puts out there. Directed by Shaun Higton, this film runs for less than 3 minutes and still manages to strike the right chords.
What to watch out: Editing | Acting | Music.
5. Connected ft. Chris Dinh
Written & directed by Eugene K. Choi, this is by far one of the best short films to make it to this list, purely for its acting and dialogue delivery. The cast has done a marvelous job at drawing the thin line between acting and being themselves. In screen time running less than 10 minutes in length, Connected ft. manages to redefine what the word ‘connected’ has come to mean in today’s times. Highly recommended for those who consider themselves to being a social addict.
What to watch out: Acting | Cinematography | Climax
Whilst none of these films highlight ‘social media’ as a dangerous entity that has gate-crashed into our lives, they surely present an alternative perspective to what our lives could have been or already is, if we bothered to look beyond the screen that we have had our noses into!
Social media is what you make of it, and not the other way around.