The
Outsider
Unreal Engine Short Film - Thesis Project
Unreal Engine Short Film - Thesis Project
Unreal Engine Short Film - Thesis Project
University of Michigan, Taubman College
ARC 662 Thesis
2022 Winter
Instructor: Jose Sanchez
Individual Work
This thesis attempts to explore narrative expression, not as a mere representation of form or a certain spatial quality, but as an exploration of human perception and architectural context based on the connection between storyline and architecture. To construct a more impactful expression for human perception. The structure of the narrative in my thesis project is inspired by Foucault’s “Discipline and Punish”, in which Foucault illustrates the history of the interrelationship between the modern soul and a new power of judgment. The self-will as a human being is reconstructed in such a disciplinary society to become the person that society wants to produce. Therefore, this thesis reflects through a cinematic production to explore the formation of human self-will in a disciplinary society as well as the society of control, and ultimately the reconstruction of self-consciousness.
"After a long survey, the colony of ants in the tank declared that from the birth of the continent beneath their feet, it began and ended with a colorless wall that could not be crossed, and there was no world beyond. The Outsider struggles in her ecstasy, her mind more active than ever, as she sees the ants in the tank - creatures that have never been identified before - and the watch on her wrist constantly warns: "Please regulate your consciousness". She is a devout servant of the Queen Ant and is familiar with the creation of this master, but the trapped ants are gradually eating away at her faith - the greater secret seems to be hiding behind the throne ......"
Story Background
The Panopticon is a design that set up a watchtower at the center of the building, making it possible to keep an eye on all the prisoners with just one watcher. Each prisoner is isolated and observed, unable to see the watcher, in a state of constant tension, self-governed and self-regulated, Foucault illustrates it is an invisible oppression that enslaves the individual at all times, while power is exercised in the most concrete and subtle way, but at minimal cost.
“996” in China: where people work at 9:00 a.m. and finish at 9:00 p.m., six days a week. The capitalists have never directly forced the employees to comply with this system, they are just stealing the concept of equating this meaningless vicious competition as a way to achieve self-realization.
Study of Power Representative
Utopian Obedient World Map: The entire human race lives in an era where the mind can be monitored for purity by data, the only task of every human is to serve queen ant, the god of this age. Each person has a watch in their hand, always monitoring the purity and loyalty of the user’s thoughts, thoughts are quantified.
The entire city is divided into a grid, the center of the city is the big grid, the distribution of the city's several important places, hospitals, police stations, schools, factories, office buildings, and sanctuaries. People are selected and controlled at birth by the queen ant. This hierarchical system is only good for consolidating the supremacy of the queen ants to ensure the proper functioning of the regimented society.