In the not-too-distant future, one of the most powerful forces on earth is plotting a final assault on their enemy. Dispirited with all their assaults thus far being thawed by the resilience of the enemy, they are now desperate to make a final push. Unable to rout the enemy forces in the battlefield, they now discuss ways to strike below the belt. Inside the war room, the atmosphere is grim, and tempers wild. The warlords are to take a vote to implement ‘operation existential threat’, a final push to destroy the enemy by hook or crook. The General then describes to the board, the details of ‘Operation Existential Threat’ which sound very similar to things we see around us today.
‘They don’t scare easily’ is a narrative short from director Bruce Barker. In this short film lasting less than three full minutes, the director addresses some far-reaching issues that plague our society today. When the General lists out the details of their final weapon, ‘operation existential threat’, he is confident that it will bring victory. The director has used examples from our current social scenario to highlight the absurdity of the situation. Manufacturing hysteria through planted stories in the press, employing social media to echo the panic, Brainwashing the population with half-baked models, conveniently ignoring facts and giving importance of emotions over logic in every discourse are some of the common tricks employed by the authorities that we are too familiar with now.
‘They don’t scare easily’, is a cynical look at our society today, and how authorities use the cheapest tricks in the book to maintain their vice-grip over the population. It looks at how these deceptive tricks keep entire populations terrified, forcing them to remain silent against the oppressors. They use the most primordial of human emotions, fear, to their benefit. The film also tells us how one small change in the perception can throw the most well-laid plans of the enemy out of the window. A population that does not show fear scares the enemy.
