I've been thinking about you a lot lately.

March 21, 2017 10:37 AM

Hi Stranger is a brief animated film by Kirsten Lepore. It features sincere affirmations and also a totally benign claymation butt.
posted by cortex (24 comments total)

(seriously nothing weird happens with the butt, there's just, hey, it's a butt, heads up that there's a butt in case you're in a place where a claymation butt would be a problem, I feel like I'm accidentally overselling the issue and making it seem like a trick, I promise there's no trick, it's just a butt)
posted by cortex at 11:11 AM on March 21, 2017 [6 favorites]

This was beautiful. She also made the fantastic Story from North America.
posted by robotmachine at 11:11 AM on March 21, 2017 [5 favorites]

I like that I was expecting this to go the usual hip gory/scary/meta route that art seems to rely on these days and it just ended up being kind and sweet and something that feels a little better each time you watch.

We need more of this.
posted by sonascope at 11:19 AM on March 21, 2017 [2 favorites]

Admit it cortex - you just like saying "butt" don't you?
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:27 AM on March 21, 2017 [2 favorites]

WHAT'S WITH ALL THE GREGS
posted by cortex at 11:30 AM on March 21, 2017 [6 favorites]

Saw this in an animation compilation a few months ago, loved it, but couldn't find a discrete copy to post here.
It's just such a lovely, humanistic little piece, which plays so subtly with your expectations (of what can/should be done in animation, among other things).
posted by progosk at 11:31 AM on March 21, 2017

there is no gregcab gregabal cagregbal whatever
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:40 AM on March 21, 2017 [1 favorite]

Like an alien parasite being that tries to draw you in and suck the energy out of your soul.
posted by Segundus at 12:01 PM on March 21, 2017

Lolbutt.
posted by goatdog at 12:17 PM on March 21, 2017

I, too, kept waiting for it to take some terrible turn and then it didn't. It was actually just genuinely sweet. In a weird way, sure, but still just genuinely sweet. It reminds me of a bizarre take on some of the guided meditations I listen to. I like this.
posted by darksong at 1:01 PM on March 21, 2017 [2 favorites]

I really wanted to like that, but Vimeo's streaming tech sucks on less than ideal connections...
posted by Samizdata at 1:03 PM on March 21, 2017

cortex: "WHAT'S WITH ALL THE GREGS"

Also, are you saying this is a Gregpocalytic scenario?
posted by Samizdata at 1:03 PM on March 21, 2017

Favorite piece of trivia about this: the music is just the Windows 95 startup sound by Brian Eno slowed down.
posted by infinitewindow at 1:04 PM on March 21, 2017 [10 favorites]

This was that collection: Late Night Work Club presents STRANGERS; out of the seven pieces, five are really interesting, but Hi Stranger was definitely the standout for me.
posted by progosk at 2:49 PM on March 21, 2017

The Elder Gods exist, and some of them are pretty chill and just want to immanentize a nice butt for you to look at while pretending the neverending orbs of acid and flame searing the abyss of the void beyond worlds are a nice sunset you can share together.
posted by Slap*Happy at 3:44 PM on March 21, 2017

With a little pause I sent this to a woman who I'm quite interested in. She responded excitedly with:

    "I *LITERALLY* ALMOST SENT YOU THIS THE OTHER DAY!!!".

I'm smitten.
posted by brokeaspoke at 7:51 AM on March 22, 2017 [4 favorites]

I found it creepy for a while, but by the end it just seemed sweet.
posted by edheil at 12:14 PM on March 22, 2017

I'm smitten.

Not to jinx your new love interest, but damn, if someone sent me this I'd marry them.

I don't know why, but something about the narration reminds me of Laurie Anderson.

Also the giggle he does after the "you can look at my butt" is golden. Thanks for posting this. Loved it.
posted by GospelofWesleyWillis at 10:18 PM on March 23, 2017 [3 favorites]

I love this animation so much.
posted by Going To Maine at 11:11 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

Why is everybody so creeped out by this? He's adorable!
posted by OverlappingElvis at 11:46 AM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Not to jinx your new love interest, but damn, if someone sent me this I'd marry them.

Going To Maine: We've been taking this very slowly for over a year partly because of distance, partly because life is complicated. Our mutual interest has sorta rocketed recently. But yeah, this helped affirm that I can see being with her a good long while even if not marrying her.
posted by brokeaspoke at 11:16 AM on March 27, 2017 [1 favorite]

Okay, the rest of the Internet finds this creepy, but here we love it, which is totally like the mirror opposite of how this usually works. It's kinda fascinating.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:25 PM on March 31, 2017 [1 favorite]

This was so great. I want to love this more than I'm digitally capable of doing. I've already posted it everywhere and texted it to everyone and I want to stand on a street corner loudly blasting it to strangers. LOOK AT THE BUTT. AND FEEL LOVED.

also

Metafilter: I promise there's no trick, it's just a butt.
posted by numaner at 3:22 PM on April 3, 2017 [1 favorite]

also: Colbert Late Show's take on the video, featuring scrotus.
posted by numaner at 3:38 PM on April 3, 2017