Commedia dell'arte Task 2: "THE MASKS WE WEAR" (IDENTITY Short Film)

IDENTITY (Short Film)

1. I think this film was very inspirational and the thing I like about this film is that it was a very diverse concept and it got me thinking about my own life. I think I liked the idea of setting it in a school environment and that it "unmasked" the truth about the "masks we wear" in life and in different circumstances and how it makes us who we are. I observed how they brought up Plato's theory and the roles of the pieces in chess and how the actions in the film connected with the high school environment, there was also a part where they show the sign which says "This is what beautiful is" with the mask and multiple other girls with the same mask on and also how one person changes masks when she talks to another group of her friends. I think the themes that I mentioned about the high school environment and also the stereotypical views of society and the concept of Plato's theory and rules of chess they showed to emphasize their point in the movie about finding your identity was applicable to life because society is very demanding in standards today.
2. There a lot of masks that we wear in life, every day, without realizing sometimes and do it on purpose to fit in with different groups of people in society. After thinking long and hard, I've come to a conclusion that I tend to wear masks everywhere, even at home and mostly at school since I spend the most time there. When I hang out with my best friends in school I tend to wear my "social/enlightenment" and mask of power because I take a stand on my own because my best friends are one of my closest relationships. When I'm in class, my mask represents smart and quiet/observing  and when I talk to my friends that are boys, my mask represents strength, independence and toughness.

3. THE DESIGN PROJECT ON THE THREE MASKS I WEAR

We were asked to find contemporary stock characters from our modern school environment. As mentioned before, all stock characters have very distinguishable personas from each other and I've picked out similar stereotypical contemporary stock characters from a modern school environment. Instead of focusing entirely on the mask, I've chosen to draw the whole frame of my characters so I can explain what they're postures represent about them. I've named my stock characters "The Extraordinary One", "The Outsider" and "The Hot-shot". (I've drawn them myself!) 

1. "The Extraordinary One"
   This character is a girl and judging from her appearance she looks like the typical nerd, but her appearance, as in looks-wise she is much more prettier than a stereotypical nerd. From her posture, you could tell she's timid and she doesn't realize that she's very pretty, this all could be told from the way she clutches her book. The book she's holding is meant to be a fantasy story book, which also tells us that she has a great imagination and the stereotypical meaning behind the glasses means she's good at studies and  she's a hard worker. All these qualities that we see on the character makes her "extraordinary". 
   The mask is divided in half and the beige color represents simplicity which is in her style and the yellow represents imagination and intelligence and the pink star symbolizes her calmness. 
   
2. "The Outsider"
   This character is obviously not from the same place as the other children at school and this can be told from the way she's dressed up and her distinguishable features. She's possibly from another country. She's also very watchful, her sight isn't set straight and she's looking at something else. From her ram-rod straight shoulders, that look quite uncomfortable she could be defined as nervous and fidgety. I think she wants to fit in but is failing in doing so with her different appearance, style and persona which defines her as "the outsider" from among the other people at school
   As for her mask, green represents inexperience and the outlines of her different shaped eyes and mouth represent purity because she's new the yellow represents her cowardice to mix with other people.
   
   
   
3. "The Hot-shot"
   This character is the most confident character at school. He can get away with anything and you could see from his thick arms that he works out a lot so he's also pretty tough and from his smile you could tell he's very confident and smug about himself. He's laid-back posture and broad and straight shoulders tell us he's very powerful and his perfect hair also gives you the impression of his leadership. Judging from his appearance he can get any girl he wants as well and his expensive v-neck t-shirt, skinny jeans and high-top boots, all scream "hot-shot".
   As for his mask, red represents power and pride and black represent sexuality and wealth. He even has a smirk with a splash of blue on it, blue represents confidence and his eyes aren't wicked but confident, which means he doesn't harm anyone with his strength.