When we say the next floor, the common assumption is the current floor + 1, i.e., we rise above, because 10 comes after 9, so 10 is the next floor and not 8. However, minutes into the video, we realize that the only way to the “next floor” is through the bottom...
Everyone is dressed differently and seems to represent different things, be it a noble lady or a commoner. While everyone is busy consuming anything and everything—from lion and deer meat to dog fetus and pig brains—the duo who do not seem to display gluttony are the ones catching our attention.
Only the male patient (who represents Stephen Hawking and therefore scientists) and a particular young lady doesn’t display the same wanton desire towards food like the rest of the people on the table. The scientist (the patient) looks on helplessly while the rest are numbed by their endless desires. He doesn’t participate in their activities yet he falls to the bottom together with them. He is proof that even the intellectuals of our society are helpless when it comes to stopping the endless greed and desires of our society. He also represents the ill, the helpless ones in our society. They suffer from an inability to partake in the competition like the rest of us (so they technically aren’t part of what leads to the consequences) yet they have to endure the same consequences as us.
While the others are busy competing with each other on food consumption, the young lady appears uneasy. The camera gives a closeup to her feet where they move uneasily. We see that her eyes are filled with anxiety. She rejects the waiter who attempts to put more food in her plate. The waiter doesn’t outright reject her rejection yet we see more food piled on her plate. She represents the young people just entering society. They observe then they get anxious. They try to repel. They try to object. But they simply aren’t firm enough. I’ll reject the meat. Oh, it’s still on my plate. Then I won’t say anything anymore.
This entire short film perfectly conveys what it means to live in a dog-eat-dog world, both figuratively and literally. Are they not like dogs? Following each other’s actions so closely like dogs all out of the fear of missing out and therefore gaining a disadvantage. Are there not dog meat on the table? The dog fetuses on the table say hi. Then, are they not consuming dog meat despite being dogs themselves? This is a dog-eat-dog world.
It is also interesting to see how the lower they go (physically, down the levels) the lower they become (they behave in a more lowly manner). In the beginning, they simply competed for food. Towards the end, they resorted to stealing food from each other’s plates. They’ve lost all dignity and succumbed to their animalistic desires on the table. Although from the eyes of a detached observer one only feels repulsed from the gross amount of food they’ve consumed, they seem to have been numbed to the point they cannot sense sufficiency. They may have worked their way up the top but their endless greed will only weigh them down and send them spiraling down the bottomless pit.
Here are a few details that struck me the most amidst all the other meaningful ones. The use of food consumption to symbolize greed (excessive desires) is an apt one because it makes everything seem more primitive (eating with their hands, stealing food) and cruel (bloodshed), hence doubling the effects delivered. The setting is also always dark and dull with a bright lamp above. The lamp follows the table very closely whenever they fall one level below. Towards the end, the table falls too fast and the distance between the lamp and table gets too wide. This demonstrates that humans are straying further away from “the light”. Another scene that struck me was a close-up of the hands of the noble lady. Everything was dull due to dust until she slowly dusts the dust off her ring. Then the bluish purple of her luxurious ring and the red on her nails are seen. The bluish purple is a symbol of royalty and prestige while her red nails represent her cruelty. She wears the ring of prestige and royalty that she achieved through cruel means on her and this prestige (the ring) starts to weigh more than herself (her hands). It is also noteworthy how she chooses to dust the dust off—not her hands even though she was eating—but her exquisite-looking ring. This leads to the question... what is the point of your achievements when they start to be valued more than yourself? This is a film filled with details that add depth to it and it is definitely one that is worth watching over and over again just to catch onto the little nuances and their connotations.
As a young adult watching this short film, I vehemently remind myself to not succumb and change myself. However, I am also reminded that the young lady in the film probably once promised herself so. Despite so, we still see her swallowing her food with wet eyes. It is her inevitable acceptance of fate, her surrendering herself to society! Who are we to claim we that we’ll achieve otherwise? It is also interesting to note that no one in this film escaped the consequences of greed (excessive desire). Perhaps, just perhaps, to succumb or not to succumb isn’t quite the question because an individual will inadvertently bear the consequences of a society. I recommend this to anyone who sees himself or the past him in the young lady.
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