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★★★★
Directed by: #JordanBrown
Written by: #JordanBrown
"Fingers that are glued to the screen, which are glued to the eyes, which are glued to the screen"
We live in a world of screens. You only need to take a second to look around you while on the train or at work or anywhere in fact to notice that truth. Of course, most of us know this already and most of us would probably admit that we do in fact spend too much time with our faces buried in our digital worlds. And while technology has massively revolutionised the way we live, work and play in such a relatively short space of time, what effect is today's screen culture truly having on humanity and what are the consequences for future generations if we carry on like this?
Stare Into The Lights My Pretties is the first feature-length #documentary from Australian #filmmaker Jordan Brown, which looks at our compulsive obsession with our devices and how screen culture can affect us all physically, psychologically and socially. How has the way we perceive the world changed? How has our capacity for empathy been diminished and how has our ability to obtain knowledge, not just information, been affected?
Created and released for free "for the purposes of critical discourse, education, and for cultivating radical social and political change", the film offers opinions and insights from experts across several fields, from authors to neuroscientists, researchers, psychologists and even pioneers in technology to help explore these issues. The film also discusses our growing acceptance of surveillance, the global companies behind the platforms we use daily and how they are profiting from our device dependency, as well as how the promise of greater freedom and privacy from today's technology might just be a lie.
The #indiefilm is presented extremely well and is consistently engaging throughout, which means that even with its two-hour plus running time, it successfully manages to, somewhat ironically, keep our eyes on the screen. By splitting the film into chapters, this gives the film a nice fluid pace and allows you to take a moment after each to digest, instead of becoming overwhelmed by a barrage of information. Brown compliments all this with a fine blend of visuals, footage and interviews to effectively illustrate the points raised and allow us to really understand them.
The film, as stated above, aims to serve itself as an educational piece in the hopes of creating a better understanding of what truly happens every time we click or tap. Importantly, the film does what all good documentaries do which is leave you thinking long after all is said and done. Whatever your views on screen culture, there is no denying that Jordan Brown has done his homework and his passion for positive social change as well as his filmmaking shines through.
Stare Into the Lights My Pretties tries to make us look deeper into the "black mirror" and open up the discussion about how screen culture is affecting our society and who is really gaining from our obsession. While it might not necessarily have all the answers, it certainly succeeds in asking the right questions.
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