Nuggets Claim Cite Clarify

CLAIM(Thesis-the whole essay will prove), CITE, CLARIFY: Theme in Nuggets

Sample to discuss Topic=Drug addiction

In the short film “Nuggets,” the animator use color, sound, and plot to convey a message that addiction hooks you with good feelings then crushes you by forcing you to keep using a substance. The video is a very simple animation of a kiwi, a flightless bird, that finds a substance that makes him feel like he is flying. The problem is, the more he takes it, the less able he is able to fly. By the end, it is almost dead. The plot, therefore, conveys the message that addiction kills by leading us through the choices the kiwi makes. In fact, the plot shows that he takes the drug even when he knows it will not make him feel better.

Because the animator wants us to understand the effects of addiction, he uses color to represent the changes the kiwi goes through. CITE In the beginning, the kiwi is white, and when he takes the drug, he turns a golden yellow. CLARIFY This shows the pleasure of the drug. CITE However, by the end, the kiwi is dark grey and black and the drug does not change him to any shade of yellow. CLARIFY The colors show that addiction is the loss of pleasure. In fact, in addiction, one is compelled to take the drug anyway.

But the clearest technique the animator used to show the results of addiction is through the use of sound. There are two main sounds he uses. The first is the pace of the kiwi’s footsteps. At first, the kiwi is strolling. When he loves the drug, he begins to run. But once the drug affects his health, his footsteps slow down. He is ravaged by the drug, and he looks like he does not want to even be alive.

The second sound, and the clearest reflection of the thoughts of the kiwi, is the music. When the kiwi first takes the drug, he feels light and free, like he can fly. The flying is accompanied by beautiful, fluttering music. However, as the drug’s effect lasts less and less, the music become shorter and shorter. By the end of the film, there is no music, no pleasure, only an empty openness of sound- nothing.

The film “Nuggets” is a powerful video meant to convey the message that, while the initial feeling of taking a drug might be pleasurable, addiction to the drug is not! Through the plot, the colors, and the music, the animator shows us the true results of trying drugs: addiction crushes you by forcing you to keep using the drug.

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