By Will Hite
Most people’s early childhood memories may have consisted of going outside, running around, and interacting with other children of the same age group. Sin embargo, when COVID-19 struck the globe and put everyone under lockdown in March 2020, the nuances of ‘growing up’ were stripped from the children of this generation. El cortometraje, No More Screen Time (que ahora se proyecta en el canal de YouTube de Planet Classroom Network), provides an assertive statement that as effective as online learning can be in the given circumstances of a pandemic, children cannot be forced to stare at a screen one second longer and risk missing out on the joys of being a kid.
The film opens up on a child wearing what appears to be 3-D glasses one would wear in a movie theater even though the content on screen, which appears colorful and fast moving, causes the child to grow bored and sleepy. One could connect these glasses with the blue vision glasses that many students of all ages began wearing after receiving eye strain and headaches from online classes. A non-diegetic humming sound can be heard throughout the opening as well as the next scene, in which the viewer sees an over-the-shoulder horizontal tracking shot behind a young girl sitting down at a desk watching the children run around and play on the screen. The camera turns here and there to demonstrate the fatigue in her eyes.
The film ends with the girl gazing outside the window and seeing the children playing, smiling, and deciding to venture outside. The images being presented on screen have become a reality and the filmmaker brilliantly juxtaposes the two mise-en-scènes of the eerie online learning environment to a colorful, rapidly changing world outside the confines of the online classroom. Sin embargo, one could suspect that the final scene merely happens to be inside the girl’s imagination, serving as a promise for what will come when society returns to normalcy.
The editing, cinematografía, and sound design of the film were well-executed, and the filmmaker has a unique vision about a pressing issue. To be honest, I did not fully grasp the film’s connection to the education dilemma society faces at this point in time. Por lo tanto, I would give the film a 3.5/5, noting that the filmmaker should include more shots of the children’s faces because they are the subject as well as perhaps one or two images of educational content being shown on the screen because those are the images being thrust upon the young minds in reality.
Will Hite es un estudiante de último año en Connecticut College para obtener un título en estudios de teatro y cine.. Su área de enfoque incluye la dramaturgia y la escritura de guiones., interino, dirigente, edición de video, y dramaturgia. Will has been an avid member of the student run theater scene at his college, ayudando a organizar lecturas de obras de teatro para Wig and Candle, así como a fundar un club de dramaturgia llamado Crooked Curtains Theatre.
Comentarios recientes