Do you want to be an ant?

This is one of my favourite scenes from the digital movie , Waking Life. The film indulges you with many esoteric yet intriguing concepts such as lucid dreaming, free will, neo-humanism and its possible impact on evolution, the film theory of André Bazin and so on. Like icing on the cake, this show has been nominated and won a couple of awards for its technical presentation : “The entire film was shot using digital video and then a team of artists using computers drew stylized lines and colors over each frame.”

” I don’t wanna be an ant, you know. I mean, it’s like, we go through life with our antennas bouncing off one another continuously on ant auto-pilot, with nothing really human required of us.

Stop. Go. Walk here. Drive there.

All action basically for survival. All communication simply to keep this ant colony buzzing along in an efficient, polite manner.

‘Here’s your change.’ ‘Paper or plastic?’ ‘Credit or debit? ‘ ‘Want ketchup with that?’

I don’t want a straw. I want real human moments. I want to see you… I want you to see me. I don’t wanna give that up. I don’t want to be an ant, you know? “

I don’t think real human moments are necessarily difficult to experience. Spending that extra few seconds to hold the door for a stranger, flashing a smile and greeting the sweeper that routinely cleans your estate every single morning, or giving a loved one that unexpected hug from behind. No, real human moments should be deeper than that. I don’t think it’s enough to merely evoke a simple reciprocation, especially not if it’s simply a basic courtesy gesture. Real human moments should leave you coming back for more, like a sheikh who’s lost in the desert and just had his first sip of water in days from an oasis. Any parties involved should feel engaged, a communion of souls so to speak. Real human moments should make you feel alive and jolt you out of your daily ritualistic routines. I do think that it’s possible, and a terrible waste, to go through life without actually living it.

Alternatively, being on ant auto-pilot mode isn’t that bad too, right? Just accept and absorb whatever society throws at you : the hottest fashion trends, political ideologies and consumerism’s latest flavour of the month, whatever that may be. It’s so much easier and simpler. I guess apathy works for certain people :/

While we’re on the topic of ants, I saw this clip floating around the net not too long ago. Maybe being an ant has its perks after all if we’re able to produce such an elaborate and amazing structure…