Digitopia Essay

The animator, Miwa Matreyek uses her obscure animations to convey important messages in cryptic ways, such as in her animation “Digitopia”, created in 2005, which communicates a crucial message based on society. The message in this film is; if humans ever attempt to create a Utopia, it will become a “Digitopia”. The Digitopia would be a world where humans have taken over everything and a world where humans have turned their backs on nature. The world would also be overrun by technology and science. The animator uses elements of art to express emotion and metaphors in the film, which convey the underlying message of the film.

Matreyek uses different aspects of the film to fabricate the mood, which in turn, sets the meaning of the film in motion. The use of colour in the film sets a sad and serious tone to the animation. The use of black and white throughout the film conveys the depressing mood of the animation. Bright colours are generally associated with joy and hope, whilst the gloomy colours of the film show the depressing tone. There is also light blue and red used in the film. The use of the blue in the sky sets a calm tone and the red stands out greatly from the dark and light colours. The red stands alone and contributes to the sad mood. The sound also plays a part in the mood of the animation. The music in the background is slow, soft and repetitive, creating a mysterious and sorrowful tone. The word “Utopia” is also repeated throughout the song, which also contributes towards the meaning of the animation. These aspects of the film help create the mood, which in turn contributes to the message. The mood of the film shows that the meaning of the film has a sad and serious tone.

The artist also uses many objects throughout the film, which set the important message in place. Matreyek uses hands for everything in the animation. At one stage, the hands are used to create animals, showing how if a Utopia was made, humans would take over. There is also a stage in the film where scientists are testing hands. This shows the part of the message where science will also take over. There is a lot of science equipment throughout the animation, which also contributes to the scientific part of the message. The use of the eye in the sky with many hands coming off of it symbolises a God in a religion such as in Hinduism. The eye shows the meaning of religion in the film, which also helps to show the meaning in which humans will take over everything and religion may have a part. Hinduism is also a religion that believes in Utopia. The objects used in Digitopia help to convey the important social message of the film.

Throughout the film, Matreyek uses emotion, metaphoric objects and objects to generate a message that will resonate with anyone who views it. The film Digitopia uses these aspects to convey the message of a Utopia becoming a Digitopia if ever attempted. The message of the film is one that is very important in today’s society and the film Digitopia should be viewed by many people. The visual elements are a very important part of the animation and contribute greatly to the mood and message.