Analysis of (OO) (Seoro Oh, 2017)

(OO) (Seoro Oh, 2017).

(OO) is an animated short film directed by Seoro Oh in 2017 that illustrates the unpleasant experiences that someone encounters when they catch a cold. The unnamed protagonist’s journey begins with a sneeze but escalates into a cold. He is shown struggling with breathing through his nostrils and, as a result, finds himself constantly blowing his nose into a tissue. Everyone, at some point in their lives, experiences the feeling of not being able to properly breathe through their nostrils, whether it is because of a cold, being sick in general, or allergies. In this blog post, I analyze the artists’ use of clever visual metaphors, graphic symbolism, and the incorporation of objects, environments, and basic shapes to evoke emotions from the audience that enable them to empathize and relate to the protagonist’s experiences. My analysis also covers various animation principles used in the film to construct its image of ill-health, such as timing and spacing, squash and stretch, anticipation, and exaggeration, which collectively enhance the impact of the animation and sharpen its abstract realisation of the protagonist’s symptoms.

Fig. 1 - Seoro Oh’s (OO).

Metaphors are a powerful tool in storytelling, particularly in animation, and throughout (OO), they are used to convey emotions and ideas in a visually compelling way and to communicate with the audience the series of unpleasant symptoms—which include nasal congestion and sneezing—that the protagonist suffers. According to Jeffrey H. Millstein, metaphors “can bring in something familiar in order to understand a complex idea” or help explain a personal experience through imagery, particularly in relation to what he terms the empathy of health conditions (2020, 305-306). Within the field of animation studies too, metaphor has been central to the medium’s vocabulary of visualization by presenting and processing several worldly phenomena. As Paul Wells argues, “Animation is basically an art of ‘metaphor’” because it is “perfect for all kinds of role-play to show different perspectives and ideas about the culture we live in” (2006, 33).

At the start of the (OO), we see these tactics of metaphor in operation. The main character casually strolls towards the camera with his phone in his hand, but then, suddenly sneezes (Fig. 1). The second sneeze becomes more intense as the protagonist’s face turns red, and we see the start of the first metaphorical comparison: a gunshot. He begins to create the feeling of “firing” out a sneeze so forceful and uncontrollable that it starts to affect his daily routine. In this case, the use of metaphor is compared to the feeling of a gunshot release when the protagonist releases a sneeze. Such association effectively engages the audience and draws them into the story, as they can understand the deeper feeling behind the sneeze. As the story progresses, the protagonist gets sicker, and his sneezes turn more obviously into a runny nose. To highlight the unpleasant symptoms, the animator intentionally uses water-based metaphors, such as water running through cracks in the walls where water should not be running. The cold and the protagonist’s frustration intensify, and he is repeatedly seen wiping his nose so much, causing the skin under his nose to become rough, red, and irritated. Again, the film draws from artistic techniques, such as using careful line work, to convey the discomfort and friction caused by the constant rubbing. Additionally, the animator builds the intensity of the sensation of using a rough tissue that progresses from a mild one—a brush—to a more intense one—a match that ignites on the nose through friction. These consecutive metaphors effectively emphasize the protagonist’s increasing discomfort, providing recognisable experiences and familiar metaphors to “open a much wider door to empathy and human connection” for his audience who have experienced similar symptoms (Millstein 2020, 305-306). As the cold worsens, each metaphor used takes on a more powerful and overwhelming force. What was once a small crack in the wall becomes a hole in the wall where water rushes through the other side. The frustration of being unable to stop a runny nose worsens, and the metaphor of the environment surrounding the character as it visually change communicates his whole-bodily experience.

(OO) also conveys the difficulty of breathing during a cold by comparing the sensation to breathing in polluted air by displaying a fish struggling out of the water, a whale washed ashore and covered in oil, other objects where water struggles to exit, and tools failing to function. The audience can infer that the protagonist gets increasingly frustrated with his cold because his nose is seen being battered and beaten as if it is at fault for the entire unpleasant experience. However, hope is conveyed through the sudden change of environment, with clear starry nights and multiple sunrises across natural landscapes. That is when the protagonist emerges from the sand, takes a deep breath, and blows through his nose, finally experiencing relief as cars and boulders drop to visualize his feelings of relief. The feeling of being able to breathe properly is compared to scenes of nature, grass blowing, fish swimming, and trains and cars traveling through tunnels. The artist used these metaphors to convey the protagonist’s sense of relief and ‘role-play’ (Wells 2006, 33) his renewed vitality.

The principles of animation popularized by the Disney studio in the Golden Age, such as timing and spacing, squash and stretch, anticipation, and exaggeration, can enhance animation’s potential for metaphor to make certain scenes more appealing and emotionally impactful. Throughout the film, the animator effectively uses timing and spacing to “control the mood and the reaction of” the character, objects, and scenes (Coron 2022). For instance, during the sneezing scene at the beginning, the rate at which the protagonist sneezes gradually increases because his cold worsens. Similarly, the film slows down its pacing when depicting the protagonist’s sickly state, as evident through the slow or lack of movements of the dying fish, thick water dripping, and polluted areas. In comparison, to highlight the protagonist’s recovery, the animator then increases the pace, with stars and the sun moving quickly across the screen. Finally, to signify the clean nostrils, the objects and environments are at a fast pace, with each metaphor, such as trains, cars, and fish, quickly crossing the screen.

The second principle of animation used in the short is squash and stretch. For example, the tissue stretches and bounces back unusually when the protagonist blows his nose. This adds a sense of realism to the scene and creates the “illusion of gravity, weight, mass, and flexibility” (Coron 2022). The principle of “anticipation” is used when the protagonist is about to sneeze. The tensions build up, which is then reflected in his bodily movements as he takes a breath and pauses before releasing the explosive sneeze. Even in a film with a straightforward narrative, exaggeration creates more dynamic scenes as they emphasize the growing intensity of the sneeze, the discomfort of the cold symptoms, and the frustration that the protagonist goes through when struggling with being sick. Such frustration is evident in various scenes, including when the protagonist tugs at his face to squeeze out the water and when he pummels his nose. The director Seoro Oh uses these various animation principles in combination to ensure the protagonist and their performance is altogether more expressive and dynamic, and despite its short run-time and plot, allows (OO) to communicate more complex ideas and concepts behind the emotions of the unpleasant symptoms.

In an interview with Vimeo, Seoro Oh revealed that he has “suffered from rhinitis,” a medical condition that causes inflammation and irritation of the nasal passages, since he was a child (Bowers 2019). He goes on to explain that the purpose of the animation (OO) was to “animate the feeling so people could empathize” and to “have a conversation with his audience” (Bowers). Even if one has not personally experienced rhinitis, they have likely encountered its symptoms, including a runny nose, nasal congestion, itchy eyes, and sneezing, at some point in their lives. Oh effectively uses familiar animated metaphors to establish a strong connection between the audience and the protagonist’s experience in his short film. Furthermore, Oh leverages certain animation principles to heighten the impact of these graphic metaphors and symbols, making them more resonant and emotionally charged. By emphasizing the power of storytelling visually and by weaving in compelling metaphors and animation principles, he effectively engages the audience as a way to richly dramatize and ‘animate’ the most everyday actions.

**Article published: October 13, 2023**

References

Bowers, Jeffrey. 2019. “Staff Pick Premiere: "(OO)".” Vimeo Blog (July 17, 2019). Available at: https://vimeo.com/blog/post/staff-pick-premiere-oo/.

Coron, Tammy. 2022. “Understand Disney's 12 Principles of Animation.” Creative Bloq (December 9, 2022). Available at: https://www.creativebloq.com/advice/understand-the-12-principles-of-animation.

Millstein, Jeffrey H. 2019. “Renewing Empathy with Imagery and Metaphor.” Journal of Patient Experience 7, no. 3: pp. 305–306.

Wells, Paul. 2006. The Fundamentals of Animation. London: Thames & Hudson.

Biography

Jessica Shen is a University of Texas at Dallas Graduate with a degree in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communications with a concentration in Animation, focusing on Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special Effects. She works as UX/UI Researcher and Designer. Earlier versions of this text were developed with the help of Dr. Christine Veras and peers from the Animation Studies course.