Autodale (dystopian short film series)

A little less than a year ago, I discovered “Being Pretty”, a dystopian short film that takes place in Autodale, a city where robots control society and keep everything “pretty”. Its author is David Armsby, a young artist from the UK about whom I haven’t been able to find much more information…

Hello, citizens of Autodale! You are pretty. Your neighbours, friends and family are also pretty. But sadly, not everyone is pretty. Some are ugly …We, here at Autodale, do not want “uglies.”

Amazing short movie, isn’t it? The story but also the animation and the art direction. David has also published the making of for those interested. The interpretation of the story is clear: society (in this case controlled by robots) seeks to create and empower only one type of people, the “pretty”, to keep everything working and those who don’t fall in this type, the “ugly”, are eliminated. The short film was very successful, so much that David has continued to create new small stories within this universe, Autodale. Here are the next two episodes: “No Monsters” and “Children’s Toys”.

Welcome back to Autodale, children. Today’s programming is nearly done, which means it is time for bed. But sadly, not all dreams are sweet, some are scary and full of monsters. If any night terrors haunt your sleep, children; always remember that you’re safe in Autodale. There are no monsters here.

Imagination. So Powerful. Your children are full of it. Always having their minds drift off into the wonderous and magical expanse of their creativity. Often visualising brilliant and terrible things. Impossible things.

It’s quite scary… Very interesting how he introduces a new kind of “ugly” that are the exceptionals; and how imagination can play a fundamental role in uncovering the horrible secret of the “system”. It’s surprising how a metaphor masked in a science fiction tale can be so realistic. Here is the last episode of the series, published a few months ago: “Don’t Feed the Freaks”.

“If you’re reading this. If you find this book; I’m sorry but I have no answers. But I can tell you what I’ve seen and what I know.” A young man travels the lifeless wasteland of what was once civilization. He’s following the breadcrumbs of an apparent thriving society hidden somewhere in the vast, long-dead wilderness.

#365daysof #scifi #transhumanism #futurism #shortfilm #day274