Identify: Lunch

Lunch is a part of the Food short animation trilogy made by Jan Švankmajer in 1992. In this series, Švankmajer examines the human relationship with food. There are two characters in this animation: a businessman and a vagabond. They are in a restaurant trying to get the attention of the waiter. Unfortunately, they could not get the waiter's attention and they started to eating random objects in their surroundings including their clothes, and the film concludes as the businessman approaches the vagabond to devour him.

I think that Švankmajer is trying to make a point that people are being passive in terms of political activism as both of the characters do not take initiative to call the waiter which can be identified as the one who is in authority to deliver their needs (food). Instead, they tried to figure their own way to solve a problem by defying social norms. As a consequence, they started to consume everything in sight to the point that they devour each other.

Claymation and pixilation allows Švankmajer to achieve the unearthly effect where the human in the story can eat metals and woods. Therefore, he can effectively communicates the message that the characters are losing their sanity by munching inedible objects.