Man this really hit me in a cathartic way!!
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First of all, I gasped at the white-out silhouette shot of Anita where her mantis shape became so visible !!! incredible foreshadowing there and I was kicking myself for not noticing earlier.Secondly, I feel super seen by this in such a strange way -- like surface matters aside; I think this level of callousness will say enough about me as is -- but I don't think many queers who were young and on the internet haven't been groomed like Anita has. In fact, anecdotally, it's a repeat occurrence for most of us.
Thing is, for me and my brain chemicals, that ended up manifesting as moral OCD, compounded with still being a teenager during quarantine -- Sunny was the internal monologue instead of another 'me' like Anita.
Thing is, and correct me if I'm wrong, I'm pretty sure that Sunny had that experience too. The fact that we know so little about Sunny except for what she exposited about herself to use as leverage feels incredibly intentional. All the same, I feel like I could hazard a pretty good guess as to her past experiences based on her incredible fear. I also found the way their coping mechanisms differed so interesting, obviously Sunny's behaviour was objectively more harmful, but I don't think Anita's would have been any more productive had it been realised.
I create a lot of vent art, material very similar to what Anita is implied to have made, and I do show it to people, just people I know will interpret me in good faith. Having friends and a support system is so lifesaving in that way. That said, that isn't the internet, I really liked the excerpt you used regarding morality not being a bad thing in of itself, but it becoming weaponised against our very selves by algorithms. Then again, Anita did feel like she had no other option because of her isolation, because she threw all her eggs in one basket when she was a kid, and as an adult they've grown brittle and terrifying to move.
Thank you for making this!!
