Have you ever felt unwanted or like the action of smiling would take every ounce of energy out of you? I think everyone has.
One thing many people don’t know about me is my growing obsession with short films. I’ve fallen in love after watching two Italian strangers fall in love at a restaurant in the span of 3 minutes, and I’ve felt empowered after watching a teenage girl fight off the forces of her disgusting boss. Yet one of my favorite short films would have to be Kurt Kuenne’s Validation.
Validation uses comedy to capture the plot line of a society of people that need the validation that they are good enough, that they are smart enough, and that they are worthy enough to smile. Hugh Newman, played by Bones’ TJ Thyne, is the scruffy validator to give these people what they need (and free parking). Within the span of 16 minutes, Validation takes on the battle of falling in love and finding reason enough to smile.
The artistic structure of Validation is also unlike any short film of its time. When other films are focused on the HD picture, beautiful actors and actresses, or the most luxurious backdrops, Validation uses a black and white color scheme and incorporates normal people with normal problems in order to project the message of wanting to feel more, well wanted. The film uses humor with great social issues of the time while simultaneously showing the importance of  feeling good about yourself through the act of giving kind words.
Personally I feel like as a society we don’t spread kindness enough, to strangers or to the people we know. It’s one of the easiest and most free forms of giving known to man, but it just isn’t utilized enough. Why is that, do you think? I’m not saying that I’m the next Hugh Newman when I’m around people, but as a result I do view how people interact or don’t interact with others differently.
I could go on and on about the amazing-ness of this short film, as I said it is one of my favorites, but it’s just something you have to experience for yourself.
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