Fairy Tale Spotlight: Cream [Short Film Review]

Anyone know a man by the name of David Firth? You may know him by his dark comedy series called Salad Fingers. But I am not here to talk about that. I recently viewed his 2016 film "Cream."

It's about 12 minutes long. I'll place a link to it below so you can watch it. I recommend you see it before you read further:

Cream by David Firth

The first half of this film feels more like a comedy. The utterly freakish way that the humans are animated and the silly wit of the writing leads one to believe that this is just a throw-away visually shocking film. I almost stopped watching part way through it. But by the end of the film, you'll be well-aware of the point. And I guess there's the rub: there is a point.

The film is a strange-looking allegory about a very real thing. The titular Cream represents all the potential of human beings. It's actually a very optimistic viewpoint. David Firth, who is more known for writing dark topic animations, actually placed a lot of optimism in the hands of a good portion of human beings. But the darkness was still there, and it was the worst thing imaginable.

The film shows a minority of humans who did not like the idea of humans advancing infinitely forward. They go out of their way to ruin it for everyone so that they could retain the paltry power that they have. This... actually... happens. The movie is just being honest about something that does really happen in the world.

I am sure that can be a very frustrating pill to swallow for an artist. Can you imagine being a creator that is forced to conform to a society that he never signed up for? I can't speak for David Firth personally. I'm unaware of his beliefs spiritually or politically, but that does not make this animation any less relevant. Regardless of his intentions, he made a work that is true.

Not every human being cares to create. Some like being in a rut, even if it makes them miserable. But those who want to go out and be somebody shouldn't be forced to dance the dance of the lukewarm. We creators need room to breath. If given enough room, there is no limit to how far we can go. At the end of the day, we need the Cream from that short film. It's the freedom to grow and prosper, which is what we were meant to be doing for all of our existence.

"Cream" by David Firth. Highly recommended.

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