the study of the the social psychology of human primates in elevators has a relatively long history, including contributions from a 1962 Candid Camera episode titled “Face the Rear” which showed how relatively easy it is to induce conformity to unusual “social norms” in the tight confines of an elevator which is just one way we act when the priority is “…to act in a way that cannot be construed as threatening, odd or in any way ambiguous…” which is pretty much what we’d expect in dressed up primates given how non-human primates react in enclosed spaces, “So, if you are a rhesus macaque and find yourself trapped in a small cage with another macaque, you know what to do: bare your teeth and start grooming. If you are a human and find yourself riding in an elevator with a stranger, I recommend you do the same: smile and make polite conversation.”. and now a more recent ethnographic study of elevator user experience finds we organize ourselves according to a clear social order with senior men towards the back, younger men in the middle, and woman in the front. no results were presented on the interactions with the “close door” button, but i assume it was a placebo. ( ethnography study via kottke ).
Tag Archives: elevator
narration scenes from “The Joys of Ridesharing”.
some scenes from filming “The Joys of Ridesharing” movie which is a fun video encouraging folks to use the the rideshare van at work. you’ve already seen a scene from me “playing” the part of the “lonely guy” riding in his gigantic car all by himself trying to catch up on his reading.
and now, in an internet exclusive ( take that TMZ! ), here are a few images of us filming the narration scenes which will humorously tie together all the footage. the scenes were filmed in and around driftless books in the forgotten works warehouse to give it a masterpiece theatre vibe.
it was a whole lotta fun helping put this together with macon luhning and mister koppa. as you might imagine it took us more than a few takes to make it through some of the surreal scenes.
there’s always some interesting reading in general metaphysics. you can tell when i’m standing around getting a little bored while mike and macon are rehearsing dialogue.
more standing around pondering interesting scenes between the scenes at the forgotten works warehouse.
macon and mister koppa making comedy gold.
just finished with my “lay on the floor and roll mister koppa into the scene on a ladder” duties and notice the more things change the more they stay the same ( published in 1968 ).
the “tricycle and elevator” scene where mister koppa descends in the elevator, flings open the door and somberly states, “driving by yourself can make you lonely. make you sad.” this was the hardest scene to film and keep it together. there are a lot of outtakes that end with one of bursting into uncontrollable laughter. my sole job was to stand off to the side and help mike open the elevator door while sitting on the tricycle.
rumor has it that if you view the finished movie you can see my disembodied hand flinging up the door.
it’s not every day you can get a shot of a man on a tricycle in an antique elevator, so i savor the moment.
spontaneous scene set-up.
spot the secret message in this scene?
mister koppa opening the scene with “my mother, my self an electric fire accompanied by me playing a sappily sad piano tune in the background.
the final scene with more than a few allusions to mister rogers’ neighborhood.