beyond the cup

animation/aftereffects/illustrator/poem

The animation depicts the meaning of a Vietnamese idiom: 
“Ếch ngồi đáy giếng”,
which humorously refers to individuals with limited perspectives who perceive themselves as paramount. 

In 'beyond the cup,' we delve into the world of a man whose worldview is confined to the reflection on his small water cup. Mistaking himself as the epicenter of existence, he magnifies his significance beyond measure. 

Symbolically, the goldfish embodies the Sun, the true center of our solar system, against the restrictive confines of the water cup, symbolizing the human's narrow outlook. Since the Sun rises from the East and down to the West, mirroring its journey, the goldfish in the actual sky swims from the East to the West, while it moves in the opposite direction within the cup, exposing the illusion and pointing out the misperceptions of the obsever.