Heat Death of the Universe (2019)

When people are at the early stages of their lives, as they are not yet lulled into the comfortable numbness of order, routine, and predictability, they are more free in their decisions. They are not afraid of making mistakes. As they get a job, move out from their parents’ place, get into serious relationships, build a home, buy some furniture, replace some of those with nicer ones, decorate their home exactly as they like it, balance their bank account, figure out all their income, all the bills, all the mortgage payments, and divvy up the remaining amount into various, age-appropriate social and cultural activities, a holiday, once a split-second decision, becomes a one-weeks-notice affair, then a part of their yearly holiday plans, then a flat out impossibility. They wouldn’t want to take the risk of disrupting the delicate order and balance they have built into their lives, with much, much effort. They might stop doing a lot of the things they used to do, so as not to endanger the house of cards they have oh so carefully built. This video depicts a couple, so afraid of losing the order and structure they have built into their lives, they are now unable to move a finger.

I have likened their situation to the concept known as the heat death of the universe. Every interesting or exciting event in the universe happens not due to energy, but a difference in energy. When a mass of very warm air meets a mass of cold air, that creates turbulence. During this initial period they swirl into each other and create a plethora of interesting patterns. However, as time passes, temperatures of the two masses equalize. They settle down. After the thermal equilibrium is reached, nothing interesting happens ever again. Heat death of the universe is the same thing, but on a universal scale. When every star depletes all of its fuel, when every piece of matter reaches thermal equilibrium, when there is no energy difference, no useful energy, the universe will turn into a lukewarm, dark, lifeless place, and stay like that until the end of time.

This experimental short film, “Heat Death of the Universe” is the first installment of my Stasis Trilogy.