Saturday, March 7, 2009

Art Response 6

The 1952 movie Neighbors is a stop motion short that tells the story of two neighbors and their confrontation over what is and what is not their property in relation to a small flower that is settled right between the two properties. It was created by Norman McLaren and produced by the National Film Board of Canada. It's an early example of new media. The use of stop motion gives the two characters the freedom to defy gravity.

I would like to discuss a bit more about the technical aspects of this film. McLaren pushed the boundaries of stop motion with this film. It becomes more than a technology trick but a conveyer of emotions. THe film does not have any dialogue. The communication of the two characters to the viewer are from sound and movement. For example, the flower cowards in fear when the two men fight. The men jump and slide around the grass after becoming completely infatuated with the flower. As humourous and as dazzling the movie is, it does have a moral: "Love thy neighbor."

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