Refractory 不应期
2024
Moving Image
This short film continues the story The Little Prince. The story follows the old prince and the little prince as they head out on a journey on the eve of mankind's farewell to the world. They meet different people, faced with the fact that mankind has to go, everyone reflects on their own mistakes, letting go of desires and sincerely apologizing to the world as if next time things will be different.
This is a fable about androgenic hormones. Men are very used to being apologetic, but due to their limitations, tend to repeat the same mistakes. Following a climactic revelation, when perilous circumstances arise, individuals are compelled to acknowledge their missteps and offer genuine apologies. However, it remains uncertain whether such sincerity will persist.
短片《不应期》延续了《小王子》的故事，在人类离开前夕，老王子和小王子踏上了旅途。他们相遇了不同的人，在难以挽回的结果面前，每个人都反思了自身的过错，消解了欲望，真挚的向世界表达歉意。似乎再来一次，就会真的变好。这是一个关于荷尔蒙的寓言——男人很爱道歉，又总是由于自身局限再度犯错。巨大的高潮后，当危险来临时人们终于意识到了错误，真诚的表达歉意，但是这样的真诚会持久么？
The work employs an installation-based approach to assembling film, with a particular focus on the dynamic interplay between material and spatial context. The film features numerous artifacts. The characters are portrayed as props within the film. The characters are symbolic and were performed in a minimalist style. This results in a visual experience of film that can be perceived as an installation.
这部影像采用了类似装置的构建思路，即物质和空间的关联。其中出现了大量的雕塑、装置等人造物，作为重要的物质基础。其中的角色造型比较符号化，配以极简的表演，是一种道具化的人。这些物质与“道具人”又通过影像来展开空间，形成装置影像。
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I see human society as a “male condition”—one shaped by testosterone, which drives the desire for strength, dominance, and the transformation of others. Genuine reflection only emerges after catastrophic failure. But such reflection is short-lived, soon overwritten by the same impulses that caused the damage in the first place.
The title refers to the “refractory period”—a moment of weakness and recovery after a climax—symbolizing a time when human civilization seems temporarily softened and introspective. The Old Prince is like a savior figure in a game—constantly seeking a path forward for humanity, yet doomed to fail each time and forced to start over again. After this latest failure, everyone appears to be quieting their desires, as if preparing for something better next time. But will it really be any different?
它源自于我对当下人类困境的困惑，二战后人类似乎进行了彻底的反思，找到了前进的道路。然而近十年来似乎曾经的过错被忘记，又陷入了同样的循环。我认为人类社会实际上是一种“男性状态”，因为雄性荷尔蒙的影响，会变得强大，然后自我膨胀企图改造他者。只有酿成了巨大的错误后，才会真诚反思。这种反思不会持续很久，会由于雄性荷尔蒙而再次重蹈覆辙。影片的名字来自“refractory period”，指向了一个巨大高潮结束后的人类社会的疲软期。老王子就像游戏中的救世主，希望探索人类前进的道路，然而每次都失败，不得不重新再来。这一次的失败后，每个人都在消解各自的欲望，似乎下一次就会好起来，然而真的会好么？