Varmints Assignment
Who:
A varmint, having a dog-like demeanor,
enjoys nature in peace. However, it gets distracted by a mass of varmints
without individuality, pulling up skyscrapers with innumerable strings.
Eventually, nature gets infiltrated by the “collectivist” society, seemingly
dull, indifferent, and nihilistic.
What is happening:
As the varmint gets interrupted by other
varmints en masse, a colorless civilization represses the varmint enjoying
nature in harmony. Nature itself loses its colorfulness and vitality due to the
violent advancement of an industrial, totalitarian, and nihilistic society.
As the nihilistic society is about to
dominate, the varmint manages to save a branch of a tree and is eventually
forced to accustom itself to an industrialized system. The varmint shared a
part of the branch as a way to show courtesy to the neighbor, and she (the
neighbor) appreciated the generosity. One night, some lights were emitted by
the branch of the tree the varmint takes fondly care of. The green-white
colored lights apparently grow incrementally. Then it follows with a scene
where the varmint returns to the tree he tried to protect from the destructive
forces of industrial nihilism. The varmint takes a nap below the tree and the
tree eventually gets revivified to a great degree as it breeds new white petals
and dandelions.
The climax of the story occurs as the
white-greenish spherical lights transform into floating jellyfish-like natural
utopian universes, devouring the nihilistic industrial civilization.
Symbolically speaking, it seems as if Mother Nature devoured the civilization
which tried to devour Mother Nature itself. When the varmint attempts to give
back the branch to the “jellyfishes” the worthy branch of tree, one of the
floating “jellyfishes” picked it up along with the varmint. As the varmint
wakes up, it finds itself in a natural field, separated from the industrial
civilization. Then, the final scene ends with a “rain” of dandelions.
In the final analysis, nature devoured
civilization and took back what belongs to it.
When:
There prevails a dualism between nostalgic
natural paradise and a contemporary/futuristic societal system.
Where:
The animation takes place in a field of
dandelions. Although civilization advances incessantly, the fact that the
location was once entirely natural does not change.
“There” is therefore the place where the
varmint belongs. Nature.
Why is this happening:
Before delving deeper into the explanation,
I shall begin with some clarifications of symbolisms. The dandelions, which appear both in the
beginning and at the end of the story, signify the return of life, the rebirth
of growth. Rejuvenation and redemption should be pertinent concepts to the
story, for nature gets revivified by nature itself.
With allusion to jellyfishes, they could
signify flow, survival, instinct, movement, and simplicity. Both elements
suggest that nature thrives at any cost, no matter how advanced a civilization
is.
How does it end:
The scenery ends with the triumph of
nature; there is a glorious “rain” of dandelions and harmonious natural
“worlds” within floating jellyfish-like lights are built, in which varmints can
thrive in a natural environment pertinent to their original nature.
The story can be regarded as a comedy.
Nature thrives, whereas the nihilistic industrial society collapses.
What is the theme:
VARMINTS by Marc Craste (2008) deals with
the dualistic conflict between nature and civilization. Nature, which
apparently gets devoured by civilization, takes revenge and retrieves that which
belongs to nature. The moral is that Mother Nature is not to be challenged, even
by human intelligence.
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