The Emoji Story

source: Picture Character

Chrissakes, if you're making a film you'd like to be tongue-in-cheek but still be taken seriously, for the love of all things holy, find people who can voice thoughts without CONSTANT USE OF THE WORD 'LIKE'! I completely understand the wish to seem more liaise faire but at least decide where you're going within 10 minutes of the opening, then proceed accordingly. This meandering snoozefest couldn't decide what it wanted to be, say, symbolize, etc., and within 7 minutes I was looking for something new. Don't waste your time unless you're willing to completely waste your time, along with the lost brain cells you'll likely lose after banging your head off the wall due to the ridiculously cartoonish subjects they've somehow decided warrant attention.

Elements of design simplicity were originally intended to facilitate understanding in differing languages, but now have exploded into exercises in expression with communications both complex and whimsical. Emojis -- as other elements of language -- need to be understandable across computer languages, and it is the work of a Unicode Committee of computer scientists and linguists to select which designs to include in the global lexicon. The film chronicles the presentations of new emojis for inclusion by several groups and individuals, each earnest and heartwarming in its own right. Strongly recommend this documentary for anyone interested in design, creativity and communication. Pretty much for everybody, come to think of it.

Overall I thought the documentary was well constructed but felt like there were wild swings with little follow-up in regards to the history and/or benefit/drawback in emoji use. While interesting a somewhat entertaining, after watching I ended up with a 'so what' attitude. And while I don't expect documentaries to 'change my life' I often find that when I watch one and it was good, no matter the underlying themes and measures, I would recommend it to another to watch as being of possible interest or entertainment to them. This one I do not. It was well constructed, filmed, but had no real 'you gotta see this one' feel to it. If you have an hour plus to kill, watch it. If you need something to ease you into a restful night sleep, watch it. If you want to find out about the history and management of emojis, Google it.

Picture Character