Sock 5: Three Skins Without Men, David Firth

I've been a huge fan of David Firth ever since watching the original Salad Fingers videos (particularly 'Shore Leave). His animations could be described as Lynchian, but without the pretentiousness that usually comes with the label. It's a shame to see his YouTube videos filled with comments which just say 'wtf', because although that's a pretty accurate first impression, it implies these videos have been made purely to shock rather than having any real depth to them.

I only found out about the 'Sock' series (which 'explore[s] narratives that flow like dreams') a few days ago, and Finnegans Wake immediately sprung to mind. Finnegans Wake (Joyce's last work) is generally believed to be the drunken sleep of an Irishman, and the language in it is designed to reflect the vagueness of dreams. If this is true, then the main problem (except that it's almost completely unreadable without annotations, etc.) is that dreams are primarily visual. They are almost like films that someone else has written - you are a character who can only watch as your actions and those of others happen and you generally can't do much about it - yet you can still understand what's happening. I've yet to find a book which combines the ambiguity of dreams whilst still being readable and knowing what's going on, and I reckon it's because the only way you can truly explore dreams in this sense is through a medium such as film - to present the film as you see and hear it.

Sock 5 is the best episode of the sock series so far. One reason for this is the change in animation style. It's been over five years since the last episode, and Firth has changed from using drawn animations to manipulated photographs. This style is reminiscent of surrealism, hyperrealistic sculptors like Ron Mueck and Duane Hanson, as well as other YouTube animators such as Cyriak. Trees and grass wobble in the background rather than fluttering in the breeze, people walk sideways like crabs, and body parts frequently part from their owners and fly out of shot, never to return. It is these visuals which retain the dubiety of dreams whilst still allowing the viewer to understand the events shown.

However, the main reason why it is the best episode so far is because it's just incredible to watch. I realise at least some of the people watching the video have tried to come up with some hidden meaning of symbolism buried in the work, but it is this sort of analysis Sock 5 avoids.

That isn't to say the video is completely random - there is a definite structure to the vignettes we are presented with. One part of the video, 'Three Men Without Skins', is a spot-on parody of sharp gangster film dialogue as perfected by Tarantino, whilst the gun shop scene ('Brilg & Spowegg') is exquisitely tense in itself.

Sock 5 creates in ten minutes what other filmmakers can't in over two hours. It presents us with a world which is disturbing, surreal, yet horribly relatable.

Click here to watch Sock 5