Today's class was pretty much entirely spent on watching the works of Co Hoedeman and Frédéric Back. I don't think I've ever watched so many stop motion and animated films in one sitting. It was good though. At times I couldn't fully grasp the message, particularly in the stop motion film, The Sand Castle. It had me stumped because it seemed so simple. The story begins with a sandman creating an assortment of creatures. They work together to build a sand castle, all the while playing around and having fun. Then a sand storm approaches, and the sandman escorts everyone safely inside. The end. 

I'm so used to wrapping my mind around seemingly simple things, and coming up with ridiculous messages for them. I'm thinking of those english and art classes that have students "think deeper and be more critical learners." Like the colour blue on a girls dress for example. The meaning behind blue couldn't possibly mean it's just a colour; rather, it symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven. Hooooooow on earth could blue mean all that?? I don't know. And I don't know how anyone would really know. To me it's just a colour, but I know higher level education tries to show students otherwise. 

My takeaway from The Sand Castle was that the plot is what it is, and nothing more. For the first time in a while, my brain could take a breather, and I could simply watch something without having to find its deeper meaning. I enjoyed the other films, but The Sand Castle was the best plainly for that reason.