Integrated Media essay

Angus Ward
S3436826

‘Scatology’ – 2013 Integrated Media Korsakow film.

‘Scatology’s content surrounds images of people doing social or relaxing activities, while being accompanied by recordings of different people with their responses to the two questions “what is your worst habit?” and “what is your favourite swear word?” The two pieces of content juxtaposition the moods in both forms of communication to its audience, as the relaxing and sometimes beautiful aesthetic of people doing daily pastimes, is cut into with profanity and crude descriptions of toilet humour. While the meaning behind all this could be interpreted as being quite avante garde, the author has intended to challenge audience perceptions and emotions of human behavior, through contrasting ‘naughty and nice’. With reference to Bordwell and Thompson’s ‘Film Art: An Introduction’ (New York, N.Y.:McGraw-Hill,2013. Print), the film does not adhere to narrative form as being a “chain of events in cause-effect relationship occurring in time and space”, but it does however, convey a message about human behavior through a sequence of events in Western countries, around lunchtime. Everyone is depicted sitting, relaxing and either eating or preoccupying themselves with hobbies. This allows the audience to associate the context of these images into a narrative or relevant string of events, almost construing the avante garde into a linear narrative format. The purpose behind its altered narrative format, in my belief, is to engage the audience in interactive thought about what they are being presented, further engrossing them in the message about what the author is trying to convey.

The interface of ‘Scatology’ is laid out into three sections. One widget is the main displayed video, being in the forefront of the screen and at the top to hold the attention to that specific point. The other two widgets are adjacent to each other in the bottom right and left corners, featuring both pictures of a man and a woman, most commonly seen on the signs of public toilet doors. This layout represents both male and female toilet doors that are always adjacent to each other, adhering subtly to the title ‘Scatology’ which is the study of fecal (poo). This is obviously hinted to with reference to the public toilet being the place for people to use the toilet to excrete fecal. However, the actual positioning of all three widgets together forms a pyramid, leading up to the top widget, which is the main point of focus. The intention of the author, in my opinion, was to almost portray both men and women in the context of ‘toilet’ discourse, as being the same, and that all humans share the same disgusting and crude habits like everyone else, such as having their favourite swear word and “farting on crowded trains” as a bad habit. The film is very reflexive in this right, as it aims to convey a message about humanity, all bonded together in natural bodily functions and bowel movements.

The pattern, as to which the author uses to convey his/her message, revolves around the use of associating both male and female symbols with the video on screen featuring once again, both men and women. This pattern allows audience to associate the two similarities to form a meaning behind this strange sequence of events, making the viewer feel more comfortable, yet challenged by the content that they’re watching. The patterns of the camera angles of which the author chose to use also gives the audience a certain point of view on what they are watching. It is almost like an intimate connection with the subject’s actions, allowing for audiences to become immersed in the most specific details of the human form. This would then reconnect back to the subject matter of ‘toilet humour’ and defecation.

Judging by what I can see from this Korsakow video, the use of such strange juxtaposition of content, the pyramid layout in which they have place in order for audiences to focus on one point, while associating the two widgets below of significance, and the patterns of close ups and intimacy to reaffirm the message behind the film, can be seen as intentional, and therefore meaningful and effective in their way of communication and audience interactivity.