Comparing The Lunch Date 'And The Man Without A Head'

The Lunch Date, directed by Adam Davidson, and The Man Without a Head (L'homme sans tête), directed by Juan Diego Solanas, are two short films which demonstrate, to a certain extent, that social commentary not only criticises society, but provides insight into a composer’s point of view on social concerns. The main social concerns explored in The Lunch Date and The Man Without a Head are prejudice by society against the homeless and identity, respectively, which are supported by various techniques throughout each film, including cinematography, sound, and characterisation.

The Lunch Date, an American short film from the 1990s, not only criticises society and its prejudiced views towards homeless people but provides insight into the composer’s

point of view on this particular social concern. This is true to a large extent and is supported by the characterisation of the old woman, which is juxtaposed with the initial characterisation of the homeless man in the cafeteria, and the audience’s reactions towards the woman’s unfortunate situations. Davidson has deliberately costumed the old woman in conservative, out-of-date clothing and used similar props, including a comb, as well as positioned her in a busy train station in order to characterise her as a member of the middle class, making her relatable to most members of the audience. The audience is then made to feel pity for her through a series of close up and bust shots of her distressed expression, for instance, when she realises her wallet is missing. A high angle shot of the woman as she walks through the train station is also used to highlight her vulnerability.

These details are contrasted with those of the man she meets in the cafeteria, who is dressed in inexpensive clothes and wears a hat with its tag still attached, causing him to appear gruff and unrefined.

This man proceeds to shout at the woman after she accuses him, frightening her and reaffirming the audience’s agreeance with her negative assumptions of the man. However, the film gradually contradicts these expectations through a series of back and forth mid level shots between the man and the woman as they share the salad and drink the coffee he has bought for her, revealing his true nature as that of someone who is polite and underlines the rapport he is attempting to establish with her. Davidson also includes several cuts back to the waiter in order to show his incredulous reactions towards the situation. He has then revealed to the audience that the woman was mistaken and had sat down at the wrong booth, as demonstrated by a series of mid level and full body tracking shots. By proving that the audience had made the same prejudiced judgements as the woman had, The Lunch Date shows society’s prejudiced view of the homeless and criticises it to a large extent by making the audience aware of their prejudice, including the unexpected twist of the woman’s mistake. The deliberateness of the woman’s and homeless person’s early characterisation also greatly provide insight into Davidson’s view of prejudice in society since this portrays his intentions and agreeance with the fact that society is prejudiced against homeless

people.

The Man Without a Head is a European short film which also confirms that social commentary not only criticises society, but provides insight into the composer’s point of view on social concerns. This is again true to a certain extent for the social issue of identity, which is supported throughout the film by the man’s and his society’s interactions with heads . A high angle panoramic shot allows the audience to see that some people have identical heads, and that some lack a head. In the end, the man realises he has no need for an ideal identity as the woman he loves is ecstatic to see him regardless, evinced by the bust shots of her expression and zoomed in shots of their hands, means of showing expression even without a head, intertwine, providing insight into Solanas’ point of view on social concerns by portraying his belief that people in society are satisfied with various identities and that love transcends identity.

However, the film’s social commentary and criticism of society’s views on identity is also highlighted by a long shot of a billboard with an image of the ideal man’s head on it, which the main character had tried on earlier, and several full body shots of an old woman who has a young lady’s head, as well as middle shots of people who have identical heads. These parts of the film criticise society’s need to have an idealised or similar appearance and the use of plastic surgery to achieve a younger, therefore more idealised appearance. In fact, special effects are also used on the heads the man tries on to create dramatic quivers in his skin and demonstrate his awed yet dissatisfied emotions, and this criticises society’s dissatisfaction with their identities.Overall, this establishes that The Man Without a Head