11/05/24
February 01, 2017
67 Swedes Decide Whether to Take the Plunge: "Our objective in making this film was something of a psychology experiment: We sought to capture people facing a difficult situation, to make a portrait of humans in doubt. ... Through an online advertisement, we found 67 people who had never been on a 10-meter (about 33 feet) diving tower before, and had never jumped from that high. We paid each of them the equivalent of about $30 to participate -- which meant climbing up to the diving board and walking to its edge." -- Maxmilien van Aertryck and Axel Danielson
That was great. All of them are a re-enactment of my kid trying to jump to the ground from the top step of the porch. Total height: maybe a meter.
posted by NoMich at 08:13 AM on February 02, 2017
Lately I've grown tired (to say the least) of the dishonesty and cowardice on display whenever many of our elected representatives face decisions in the public eye. To see these people come face to face with a dilemma, and then see many of them reach deep within to find a dignified way forward, well it's very refreshing.
posted by cl at 09:23 AM on February 02, 2017
I liked the long dialogue between the couple Linus and Frida. He finally jumps and she follows without hesitation. I can't tell whether that's because his jump convinced her or because she was always ready to dive.
posted by rcade at 10:11 AM on February 02, 2017
Yeah, that's true love right there. It was touching when he told her to keep talking even though he wasn't able to listen because the sound of her voice was soothing.
posted by NoMich at 10:13 AM on February 02, 2017
Total height: maybe a meter.
NoMich, has North Carolina adopted the metric system? Please advise.
posted by beaverboard at 10:18 AM on February 02, 2017
No. I wanted to keep my story in the same units of measurement as the article. Less confusion (and less internal math on y'all's part) that way.
posted by NoMich at 10:20 AM on February 02, 2017
I think Frida was ready all along.
posted by cl at 10:31 AM on February 02, 2017
I think Frida was ready all along.
I second that. She knew she was jumping, she just wanted to support her man. (How adorable were those two?)
Brilliant short film. Seeing the moment where people resign themselves to do something that terrifies them is tremendously gratifying for some reason. It also provides much insight about the lack of world famous fjord divers.
posted by tahoemoj at 01:38 PM on February 02, 2017
Frida and Linus were definitely the stars of the film. Both of them very attractive and that chatter was great to hear/read.
The part that got me all nervous was the girl in the purple bikini at around 13 minutes. She false jumps at least three times, and that bothered me.
Just recently I jumped off the 5 meter platform at my local pool (because my 3-year-old daughter wanted to see daddy jump, and what are you gonna do, right?), and on my first jump I hesitated once like she did and almost fell off the edge anyways. I caught my balance at the last second, but if I hadn't I would have tumbled awkwardly into the pool and who knows how that would have felt.
In the end, I jumped from that height four times (all controlled, with my arms tucked in and legs crossed for minimal wedgie results). The sensation of falling is great and terrifying, and I would have loved to try the 10 meter platform, but it was closed to the public that day.
posted by grum@work at 04:30 PM on February 02, 2017
The skinny guy in the black shorts from 2:00 to 3:00 did a perfect encapsulated reenactment of Adam Morrison's NBA career.