Hourglass

Vid
Title:	Hourglass
Creator:	Giandujakiss
Date:	May 19, 2008
Format:	digital vid
Length:	3:45
Music:	Hourglass by Squeeze
Genre:	Meta
Fandom:	Multifandom
Footage:	X-Files, Stargate SG-1, Supernatural, Xena, Day Break, Medium, Tru Calling, Charmed, BTVS, Lois and Clark, Blood Ties, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Early Edition, Groundhog Day, Andromeda
URL:	Dreamwidth giandujakiss.com
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Hourglass is a vid by giandujakiss that explores the Groundhog Day trope and the joy of repetition within variation or variation within repetition. The vid summary: "All this has happened before and will happen again."

Her vidder's notes ("Some meta and notes on 'Hourglass'") declare:

Hourglass was essentially meant as a rebuttal to those who criticize fanworks as unoriginal, as though that fact in and of itself was enough to condemn them.

For starters, the vid is meant illustrate critics' hypocrisy - "professional" art isn't exactly brimming with originality.

The vid is also meant to demonstrate the pleasure that comes from repetition-with-variation. Time loop stories are about the aesthetics of repetition - the minor variations take on significance precisely because everything else is the same. So, in this vid, I tried to capture the fun of a time loop story arc - and for me, that appeal is the emotional toll it takes on the people within the loop. The vid thus roughly tracks the emotional distintegration typically seen in a time loop story - it starts with the characters' initial confusion, then runs through various stages of frustration, desperation, and resignation.

Reactions and Reviews

I love time loop stories, and it turns out that many TV shows do too. This vid perfectly captures their chaotic energy and escalating drama.