Summary
As the main character Shaun, a fan of collecting bottle caps, was walking down the beach he meets this strange living object which is referred as the “Lost Thing” throughout the whole video. Shaun asks Pete for an explanation of this creature but ends with no luck, which leads Shaun in going to this huge agency that supposedly takes care of Lost Things. However, he meets a creature that tells him that if he cares about the “thing”, he should not leave it there since that warehouse was just a place where these “Lost Things” were hidden and forgotten about. With the arrowed card he received, he finally finds a utopian land that exists for all the Lost Things.
Setting
Near future in a dystopian country (maybe Australia?)
Conflict
Shaun vs Society à Although Shaun cares for the “thing”, nobody else seems to really care for it. Everybody just walks past and seems as if people do not want to have anything with it. Shaun realizes what society really is since the uncategorized/complicated are pushed back in the shadows.
Lost Things vs Society
Shaun vs Himself
Climax
When the door for the utopian “lost things” land opens.
Symbol
The dark colored buildings à no light/hope in the lives of the people
People wearing similar clothes à difference and creativity is not seen appropriate (communist?)
The door which leads to the place where lost things belong à you would never know the existence of such a place unless you were looking for it. An achievement and sense of success for the ones who have tried.
Irony
The Lost Thing is seen as a piece of trash but at the same time it is creating and making waste. The pipes connected onto the body gives out smoke and pollutes the air.
Towards the end of this short movie, there is one “thing” that chose to stay in this society. Unlike the other “things”, it carries a mop and bucket and cleans the waste that this industrial society is creating. This “thing” seems to be the only one that has a purpose in existing in society, however, it has a very upsetting and dark aura.
Theme
Even if we do not realize in our daily lives, there are many things that do not fit in well with society and have trouble finding their own positions. We should not ignore those who are different but instead help them find their own place.
