Do Geese See God?

It would have been better to have the instruction for the click on the roses on the first page so that the film did not have to be viewed twice. I thought that was a waste of time. Actually, one viewing was quite enough. I did not see the palindrome until I read the comments of others. In my opinion, that was the most clever part of the film. I felt it was a waste of time and I could have been out "smelling the roses." But, the product placement was interesting and I like the actor. I look forward to viewing the rest of the films in the series and hope they are more interesting. Also, I did not know about the ten line summary and had to rewrite and lose this several times. I am a person of few words.

What a fantastic short!

I would not have picked up on Dr. Awkward being a palindrome without the help of other reviewers, so I wanted to add some thoughts to the theme as well. Did anybody notice that the shoulder bag strap that the human/rat wears is labeled with the infinity sign? That's when it occurred to me that the character isn't being referred to box 181, it's a call to return the character to the same struggle, over and over again, for infinity - the infinity sign is in between two parallel lines on the box key.

Same DVD, same run, same message, and this snatch of time starts over again.

What I enjoy about the theme is that the cycle continues only as long as the character lets it continue.

There's some really interesting post-modern theology in this short: humanity's view of God, of time, of the "important" things in life.

The film is a metaphor for "the rat race." Get it? That's why the rat imagery appears throughout the film. All over the film. The film is a rant against the rat race. The lesson, therefore, is the more obvious "hey, we need to stop and 'smell the roses.'" I found the film enjoyable, and I accepted the recurring scenes as they were intended: without them, you'd have no film. So I simply didn't let the repetition get to me. I looked for inconsistencies in the images as I watched them again and again; that is, I looked for changes during the recurring events. (No, I didn't see any.) But, again, the rat race metaphor is really very clever, and I didn't understand the rat metaphor (assuming I'm correct) until the film started its second cycle. I did not find the "product placements" to be intrusive -- which I'm sure is what the film makers intended.

For all of you users that are confused by the movie, it is interactive. You can click on the movie at the right time and it changes, breaking the loop.

For those of you who got so mad, either at the editing, the product placement, the 'pointless' theme, etc..... Hey, just take off your watch....

I need to add some more text to this post so it will accept this. It is too bad I have to resort to this type of silly workaround to make a simple point about the movie, one which I hope will help others see it a little differently.

There, I hope that is enough to keep the IMDb gods happy....

Scott

This movie intrigues as a post-modern existential play. The backdrop of human existence is the fast paced, tecno-driven urban encounter of man and technology. The search for meaning is conveyed by the false sense of urgency or danger. Life is depicted as being driven by screens: plasma screens, watch screens, t.v. screens, pda screens. Flash memory configures and guides it all.

The titles "Dr. Awkward" and Do Geese See God each spell the same thing forward and backward, further symbolizing the relentless swing of the pendulum of life.

The "rat" life, as man in a rat cage running is cleverly depicted by the three blind mice, the mouse that is really the "weasel" which pops constantly from the turning of the handle; the quote of Einstein, re-configured to suggests that "time" cannot save, but confuses. It is the nature of humanity immersed in time to be anxious and driven.

The photo of the untied, clean, unused shoes....and the statement of the street person" I am God" must be heard backward: I am "Dog". To society, only dogs lay around and enjoy things.

Under the metaphor of the flower we accept the message, which is not bland, but sends us to search the rest of the movie for hidden clues to how to be still. We are not to be fooled by the taking off of the watch. That is too easy. As the number 181 is the same number forward and backwards, taking off the watch is just the backward action of putting it on again. We do this every morning and every night, which is symbolized by the repetition of finding the CD and starting the sequence all over again.

The meaning of the film is found in the emotion, the rush, the pace, and the incongruent of the screen life with the evergreen that sits quietly at the "real screen" of the window of the city. Dr. Awkward never look out of this screen, to contemplate the world. He rushes from one manufactured screen to another. Like us.