Culture

Today On The Internet: This Eerie Naked Clay Man Will Stare Straight Into Your Soul

I don't know how to feel about this.

by Meg Watson  23 March 2017

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When Tim Berners-Lee was asked to describe his invention — the world wide web — a few years ago, he said it was ultimately a “tool for humanity”. “When you look at humanity, you see the good and the bad; the wonderful and the awful. A powerful tool can be used for good or ill.”

Please advise where this video sits on each of those spectrums because, having watched it three times in a row, I’ve lost all objectivity.

I’m floating around in a sea of warm ocean water and letting every stressful encounter I’ve ever had seep out my pores. My body has dissolved into a pool of custard and my mind is sitting on top of it as a thin film that reflects all your deepest regrets. This slightly sinister nude clay man’s face will occupy the space beneath my eyelids as I go to sleep tonight and I do not know how I feel about it.

This short film, Hello Stranger, comes from LA director/animator Kristen Lepore. It was made as part of a bigger collection of animated works four months ago, but has been picking up traction over the past week. Lepore uploaded the clip to YouTube on Monday and it started trending right away. It now has more than 320,000 YouTube views, 48,000 on Vimeo, and upwards of 5 million on Facebook.

Earlier today, the clip was shared by YouTube’s official Twitter account. The reaction has been about what you’d expect:

Reckon it’s better or worse than the Big Chook?