MET's Got Talent: Finding Identity Through Bollywood

Summary: Two old warriors wake up in present-day London, are entirely overlooked, and then end up participating in a talent show under the spotlights.

What I Built It's a funny and energetic short film in which two imposing suits of armour from the MET collection, a Japanese Gusoku and some European plate armour, come to life in the present day. After marching through Trafalgar Square and being ignored by a crowd who are too preoccupied to notice five centuries of history walking past, the two warriors discover their real purpose somewhere they were never meant to be: on a brightly lit talent-show stage, where they launch into a lively and perfectly synchronized Bollywood dance routine.

Why I Built It I want to challenge the way we are accustomed to looking at objects from war. Armour is heavy, stolid, and disciplined- things that we link with violence and rigidity. That is why I gave these intimidating figures the very things they stand for instead: the joy, expressiveness and pure kinetic energy typical of Bollywood. The film rests on this contrast between the stiff, realistic style of bronze and steel and the fluid, celebratory choreography. It is an approach that uses visual irony to break down the museum's unspoken "do not touch" rule, and enables these two instruments of war to find a new identity based on performance and joy.

MET Artifacts Referenced: Armor (Gusoku) · European Plate Armour| Instagram Reel - https://flyn.im/cfzNZTH #floramuseumchallenge