Director Emily Downe Speaks Exclusively with CMRubinWorld about the Pros and Cons of Perfectionism in the Age of Technology and Social Media

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Downe’s acclaimed experimental animated film, Better, questions a perfectionist culture and how it impacts our lives and wellbeing.

Better, Emily Downe’s acclaimed short animated film, explores a perfectionist culture in the age of social media. The story follows its main character through a fantasy jungle that acts as a portal for idealised worlds to become external. In an exclusive interview with C.M. Rubin, Founder of CMRubinWorld, Downe, who describes herself as an idealist and a perfectionist, recounts the film as “biographical”.

Downe did significant research into perfectionism while making the film and says she was struck by the amount of media stories focused on life being about self-creation; “be more interesting, be funnier, achieve more, be better.” When asked whether society is better or worse off thanks to technology and social media, she supports the former but notes that the new media “comes with a brokenness to it – it’s not perfect and the people who use it aren’t, so it is bound to do harm as well.”

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Emily Downe is an acclaimed London-based animator, director, and illustrator. Her films explore research-based topics in science, philosophy, and the human story expressed through her hand drawn 2D animation.

CMRubinWorld’s award-winning series, The Global Search for Education, brings together distinguished thought leaders in education and innovation from around the world to explore the key learning issues faced by most nations. The series has become a highly visible platform for global discourse on 21st century learning, offering a diverse range of innovative ideas which are presented by the series founder, C. M. Rubin, together with the world’s leading thinkers.

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David Wine

David(at)cmrubinworld(dot)com

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