Lessons from Aardman Animation’s “Ident”

Thursday, October 9th 2008 by Shanel Yang

Last week, I shared with you an upbeat, sort of lighthearted animated-short-film-slash-music- video directed by Baz Luhrmann called “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen).” The famous “Sunscreen Speech” gives truly great advice about life in a more-or-less sunny message, and that’s wonderful!

But, I recall a time when bright, cheery advice would have done absolutely nothing for me. In fact, I would have needed something quite a bit darker to have any effect on me in those down-in-the-dumps days.

In case you are in a similarly dark place, I didn’t want to forget you here on this blog. I have something for you, too. From the same folks who brought you the adorable zoo critters in “Creature Comforts,” Aardman Animations, here is their brilliant, but nightmarish, “Ident.”

AARDMAN ANIMATION’S “IDENT”

MY PERSONAL PARTIAL INTERPRETATION OF “IDENT”

Everybody will have their own interpretation of any piece of art. Often such interpretations are different from what the artists themselves were thinking as they created it. Even the artists tend to change their views about the “meaning” of their works over time. So, don’t be intimidated or overly influenced by others’ interpretations. Let yourself feel or “see” whatever it is you feel or see. Remember that perception—or your thoughts about your perceptions—create reality. (For example, see “What Kind of Ump Are You?” and “The Courage to Be Rich.”)

Here is my interpretation and analysis of the first few scenes of “Ident.” Again, it’s only what I think I see. You will probably see something totally different, and that’s what makes life so interesting! “Different stroke for different folks!” Or, “variety is the spice of life!” These are expressions that capture the belief that we should celebrate differences in people, or at least accept them—but never criticize solely on the basis of different opinions! Share your interpretations in the comments!

1. The Title “Ident”

Apparently, the word “ident” is actually in the dictionary. It’s a noun and has the following meaning: “short for identification, esp. in reference to its use on television channels between programs.” I’m not sure what that means but it might be the old “station identification” announcements that used to be broadcast on TV, from time to time, something to the effect of: “You are watching Channel 11, KTTV, Los Angeles.” (I can’t recall any longer if the state was included in the announcement.)

But, I like to think that the title of this animation short film had nothing to do with any of that. Mostly because it doesn’t seem to be related to what I perceive to be the theme of this piece. To me, “ident” is merely short for the noun “identity,” but with a hint of the coldness and finality of a rubber stamp or label stuck on the main character and on all of the other characters in this story. What do you think?

2. Opening Shot of the Maze

The first shot is of the title “Ident,” which actually forms part of an ominous-looking maze. Discordant, scary, suspense-filled music invades our senses. The title fades into the outlines of the maze itself. The shot zooms in toward a small square in the maze. Music crescendos. Blackout, music dies, and cut to the first scene.

3. Bathroom Mirror

A nondescript male character pulls the string to turn on the light in his bathroom and stands there with his eyes closed, presumably urinating. We know it’s a bathroom because of the useful prop of the toothbrush in the cup. Note the few scratches, dents, and bumps all around the man’s head. Sound of running water.

When he’s done, he grunts, passes gas, opens his eyes, and wipes his fogged-over mirror to have a look at himself. Short blast of curious, self-reflective music. He gives his entire head a once over with both hands, smoothing everything out, and seems satisfied with the results because we see him smile for the first time.

His dog walks up to him, but he doesn’t notice it. The dog barks to get his attention and startles him. The man’s head gets all bumpy from fright and anger as he yells at the poor little dog, who runs away to avoid his verbal barbs. No specific words can be made out. In fact, there are no clear words spoken throughout this entire piece. There are only hints of words, but we can guess at their meaning from their similar sound to some familiar English words. For example, in this first instance, the words he might be yelling at the dog could be something like, “Bad! Bad! Bad!” When he’s done, he smooths his face again and smugly walks along the maze.

4. The Window Shade

The man continues along his usual path, as indicated by the arrows on the walls of the maze. His eyes remain half cosed, and he hums as he goes, till he comes to a window. What he sees through it—just more maze—causes him to frown a bit before he pulls down the shade with a picture of the sun, an open field, a tree, and perhaps a house on it. He obviously prefers that to the maze because he smiles briefly before he continues, as before, following the arrows on the maze.

5. The Woman

Now, it’s your turn to do some interpretation and analysis. You didn’t think I was just going to spoon-feed you the whole thing, did you? ; ) I know you’ll have more fun if you let your brain get to work on a few questions related to this piece:

a. Who do you think the woman is? His mother? His wife? Someone else? Why?
b. Why do you think she is bigger than he is?
c. What might she be saying to him? Praising? Criticizing? Nagging?
d. He puts on a mask to talk to her. What do you think the mask symbolizes?
e. Why does she pull his mask off? How does he feel about that?
f. Why does he put a mask on her face?
g. Why does it fall off? How does he feel about that?
h. Her words stick to his face and distort it. What could that mean?
i. He gets angry, yells at her, and walks out. What do you think he said?
j. She shatters into a smaller form of herself. What is the symbolism there?

6. The Hall Mirror

a. Upset, he goes back, against the arrows, to examine his face in a hall mirror.
b. His dog barks at him, perhaps not recognizing him with his new face.
c. He is frightened by his image and the dog’s growling and runs away quickly.

7. The Boss

a. He suddenly realizes he’s late for work. How do the props help show this?
b. There’s a conveyor belt with masks on it. What do you think that means?
c. He quickly puts on his mask and sighs with relief, just in the nick of time!
d. His boss walks up and puts on his own but different mask. How do we know he’s the boss? Why do you think his mask is different than the man’s? Why is he bigger?
e. The boss asks him something and the man say yes. What do you think he asked?
f. Then, the boss starts with a few “blahs” and the man responds with a few “blahs.” What do you think they are discussing? What’s their body language?
g. When the boss goes into a longer series of “blahs,” the man suddenly takes off his own mask, laughs loudly, and puts his hand around the boss’s back. Why?
h. The boss is shocked and yells at him till he shrinks to half his size. Why?
i. The boss ends by putting the man’s mask back on his face for him. Why?

8. Everybody Else

Ask yourself similar questions about the rest of the characters and props in “Ident.” For example, the short man with the hat, is he a religious fellow? Why do you think I might think that? What does he hold up and show the man? How is the gossipy buddy with the drink different from the trashcan alcoholic? What about the stampede of people in the maze? Who are they? And, why is he juggling on a stage? How do you feel when you see the live human eyes behind the mask of the man? Is the sudden fear or disgust or creepiness we sense because the scene is ghastly or because he seem less like Plasticine clay and more like you and me? Finally, why does the man give in to his old ways once he’s safely on the outside? Does your life look anything like his? Why or why not? Would you stay free?

CONCLUSION

Back in my old college days, I went through a dark period of literature, film, and art, where I pretty much wanted to read and see stuff that was way beyond my normal comfort level, the weirder and spookier the better, but still artsy and well above legal. Somehow, it helped me when I was most depressed to know that there were obviously people out there who must have gone through much worse experiences than I did to have created such gloomy works. Though I haven’t been drawn to this type of work for years, I still have a soft spot in my heart for “Ident.”

To me, “Ident” is all about “be yourself” and “don’t let others tell you who you are or make you into something you’re not.” It’s also about “get out of the rat race as soon as you can,” before you get turned into some kind of circus clown and totally lose it in front of everybody. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it’s about, when you do get out, don’t revert back to your old ways the first chance you get.

Hope you enjoyed “Ident,” too, and that it didn’t creep you out too much! Share your views in the comments if you saw something totally different than I did. : )

[For “Lessons from Aardman Animation’s ‘Creature Comforts,’” click here.]

[For all posts from the “Animation” category, click here.]

Be sure to get the latest articles as soon as they’re posted by signing up here!

[For “Holiday Fun with Heat Miser and Snow Miser,” click here.]

[For “Holiday Fun with ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas,’” click here.]

[For “Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck” cartoons, click here.]

[For all posts from the “Schoolhouse Rock” category, click here.]

[For “Lessons from the ‘Sunscreen Speech,’” click here.]

[For entire “Lessons On” series, click here.]

[For “5 Top Simple Yet Profound Books,” click here.]

[For “300 Friendship Quotes,” click here.]

[For “200 Happiness Quotes,” click here.]