Similarities Between Copyshop And L Home Sans Tete

Social commentary is an efficient means for composers to not only criticise problems with society, but also provide their personal view on these problems. In the short films Copyshop and L’Homme Sans Tete, created respectively by Virgil Wildrich and Juan Solanas, both composers present the audience with two films portraying their point of view on social concerns.

In the 2001 short film Copyshop, Wildrich critically analyses the destruction of the individual within a conformist society, presenting the idea of homogenising society as absurd. He does this through mise-en-scene, setting the Employee with multiple clones in a small apartment. However, Wildrich deliberately confuses the audience as to which person was the real Employee to represent

the confusion that a homogenous society would encounter when trying to differentiate individuals. Likewise, Wildrich also highlights his point through a minor-scaled crescendo, which leads up to the scene where the Employee initially photocopies his hand. The minor scale of the crescendo informs the audience that something has gone wrong despite the fact that it is not revealed what the anomaly is. Furthermore, this idea is reinforced by the screeching gramophone needle that is briefly heard when the Employee places his hand on the photocopier. Wilrich then exposes the anomaly as a clone of the Employee, thus signifying that copying another individual to conform to the likes of society is undesirable. Hence, Wildrich presents components of a homogenous society as illogical through cinematic techniques and consequently, criticises the idea as a whole.

Juan Solanas communicates his concern that society believes identity is portrayed through appearance, with his 2003 short film - L'homme Sans Tete.

He accomplishes this through the and mise-en-scene which is apparent in the scene where Mr. Phelps approaches the head tailor’s store. In contrast to the cleanliness of his apartment, the sepia filter visible when outdoors gives the environment a ‘dirty’ look in accordance to Mr. Phelps’ self-conscious behaviour which is only seen in public. Moreover, Mr. Phelps true personality is outgoing as he waltzes skillfully around his apartment. Therefore, the grimy view of the outdoor landscape represents Mr. Phelps’ oppressive belief that changing his appearance will gain the acceptance of others. Solanas further uses mise-en-scene to illustrate his social concern of misrepresentative appearances by positioning Mr. Phelps so only a reflection of his face can be observed. This positioning causes the audience to view Mr. Phelps as society sees him. However, a fine, almost imperceptible film of grime covering the mirror distorts his image symbolising how the face on the mirror is not really the face of Mr. Phelps. In addition to this, the second head that he tries on is almost identical to the storekeeper’s own head as if the storekeeper is pressuring Mr. Phelps to conform to what he thinks is beautiful. Therefore, Solanas expresses his concern that superficial appearance is increasingly associated with identity through Mr. Phelps’ gradual

rejection of the idea.

In both Copyshop and L’Homme Sans Tete, it is obvious that the included social commentary criticises aspects of society, but the composers also include implicit problems and even solutions to these issues. In Copyshop, Wildrich addresses the tendency for conformity to numb individuality. However, he also links childish, mimicking behaviour to this problem through the actions of the clones in the store. This can be seen when one of the clones photocopies their hand and responds by showing this to the other clones while exhibiting a foolish look on his face, completely oblivious to the consequences of his actions. Surprisingly, all the other clones thoughtlessly comply to his call similar to ants in a colony. The effect on the audience is to associate the mimicking behaviour of the clones to the larger problem of homogenised societies. Similarly, Solanas highlights the underlying issue of the true reaction of society to a person’s appearance. He achieves this through dialogue which is present in the scene where Mr. Phelps asks a stranger for directions. Despite his lack of a head, the stranger treats him like an ordinary person. Furthermore, when Mr. Phelps meets his date, she disregards his tardiness and lack of a head but is overjoyed at the sight of him. This suggests that Solanas believes that good character can overcome society’s judgement on individual appearance. Thus, Wilrich and Solanas not only criticise society, but also give their personal views, offering underlying issues and solutions associated with the aim of each composer’s social commentary.

By highlighting the faults in the system of a conformist society, Wildrich shares his view of homogenisation as illogical and harmful to individuality. In the same way, Solanas disproves the idea that looks define identity by showing a man without a head successfully go on a date, and provides an solution for treatment based on appearance. Therefore, Virgil Wildrich and Juan Solanas use the medium of social commentary to convey personalised criticism on social concerns.