Thousand-Yard Stare

The thousand-yard stare (or two-thousand-yard stare) is a phrase often used to describe the blank, unfocused gaze of combatants who have become emotionally detached from the horrors around them. It is also sometimes used more generally to describe the look of dissociation among victims of other types of trauma. It is the gaze of someone who has looked into an incomprehensible world and has been defeated by its complexity. It alludes to a void, a black hole, a sense of loss. It is the kind of gaze that defines the human being in the digital age, an age of information overload, constant distraction, and meaninglessness. This short film critically describe this state of affairs, by emphasizing the role of surveillance and control. Created with Grand Theft Auto V, Thousand-yard stare was inspired by the works of Marc Augé, Mark Fisher, Baudrillard, Paul Schrader, and Godfrey Reggio.