Covid Reflections Through Animation (program reviews by my daughters p1)
By Mars @ age 13
Covid took a major toll on our mental health and we are still learning the extent to which it has affected the population. The pandemic has caused a lot of problems and many of the animations, and their messages, in the Post Covid Stress Disorder program personally resonated with me. The first animation I would like to talk about is Quarantine Hysteria by Alejandro Junyao Zhang. This work captures the paranoia of the virus being everywhere. The work captured the hysterics and OCD-like symptoms that covid has caused for some people. The presence of decay in the scenes made me want to wash my hands, but still incorporated dance music and an ode to club culture that has been greatly affected by COVID.
The second animation I would like to mention is Existing is a Bitch Right Now by Hannah Bosnian. I was very happy to watch this animation. It reminded me of my own feelings of loneliness and derealization I experienced during quarantine. It was so nice to know that other people are feeling the same thing.
For me, this animation really portrayed that little voice in the back of my head guilt-tripping or saying you’re not real. The style of the artwork and way that it was animated was very smooth and well executed. I liked the fact that these serious events of the last year were looked at with humor without detracting from the reality of what was happening.
I absolutely loved the horror and slight gore in Hybrid by Steven Lapcevic. I’ve been watching a lot of horror movies lately and loved that this film was included. I felt that Lapcevic’s incorporation of different imagery helped to create interest that made me want to keep watching. I feel that this entire program was well-curated and I really enjoyed it. All of the animations watched as a whole had a strong effect. With no end in sight — it was a great way to look at our continued methods of preventing illness and the consequences of our actions.
Hybrid poster, Steven Lapcevic