1. Short film (The Black Button)
Plot information about ‘The Black Button’:
Mr Roberts finds himself awoken inexplicably in a white room. A man sits before him
at a desk and in between them stands a black button. If Mr Roberts pushes it, he will
receive a briefcase filled with millions of dollars. Or he can take the key to the door
and leave penniless. The catch? Pushing the button will result in the death of a
human being. What would you do?
The short film creators state that their short film is “A fictional work and its ideas are
designed to encourage thought and debate, not comment on any particular theology.
We have no particular religious affiliation”
Therefore, even though ideologies are shown very strongly in ‘The Black Button’ the
creators claim they are not favoring any particular views.
Narrative:
Throughout there is a narrative, the films shows different was of defeating the devil.
The story is not complicated and is easy to follow throughout. In the short film there is
a man with a briefcase, in this briefcase is a button, one character says to another “If
you push this button, you will get 10million dollars, but the consequence is that
someone will die” it is therefore the mans greed or want that drives this short film, his
want for material goods power over the want to save a person form dying. At the end
of the short film the man is bleeding and asks if he is dying, another character
answers, “you died in a car accident”, the dying man is given to options, to take the
key and live in heaven, or to press the button again, and receive more money. Again
the man’s greed is so strong; he presses the button and is dammed to hell.
Ideology:
This short film holds many ideals, the film makers however do state on ‘YouTube’
that they hold no real religions affiliation. However the film, for me shows the triumph
over evil, this mans greed is causing others pain. So the ideology that I understand
from ‘The Black Button’ is that people shouldn’t be greedy and want more, to profit
from others demise. There is a clear message that those who think only of
themselves; will in the end be punished.
Analysing short films ways very beneficial, it was useful to see how many shots there
are in short films, and how long different shots tend to be in a short film.