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The Acrobatic Fly

Name: The Acrobatic Fly
Director: F. Percy Smith
Released: 1910
Duration: 3 min

Representation Score

2.5/10

Limited

1910

Not Rated

Director

F. Percy Smith

Runtime

3 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

F. Percy Smith’s documentary centers on the kinetic actions of insects, focusing entirely on non-human subjects. Since there are no human characters, the film does not engage with human identity politics or the way different parts of someone's identity overlap. The low diversity scores stem from the film's lack of human social context rather than harmful clichés. Its emphasis on natural observation over moralistic instruction provides a proto-secularist perspective for its time. While it lacks human representation, the film highlights the complexities of the natural world.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Acrobatic Fly have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film focuses solely on the behavior of insects and does not depict any human characters, gender identities, or romantic orientations.

How does The Acrobatic Fly portray gender?

Minimal

The narrative does not involve human gender dynamics. The houseflies exist outside the social constructs of masculinity or femininity.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Acrobatic Fly?

Minimal

As a documentary centered on insect life, the film lacks a human cast and does not feature racial or ethnic representation.

How does The Acrobatic Fly represent religion and culture?

Limited

The film operates within a secular, scientific framework focused on biological observation. It does not prioritize religious instruction common in early 20th-century media.

Does The Acrobatic Fly include disability representation?

Minimal

There are no human subjects present to represent physical or neurodivergent identities. The flies' movements are shown purely as biological functions.

Present on Screen

Shifts the cinematic focus from human-centric narratives to the intricate behaviors of insects.
Highlights the intrinsic role of non-human subjects through detailed biological observation.

Limited or Absent

Does not provide any representation of human racial, ethnic, or gender dynamics due to its subject matter.
Does not engage with social hierarchies or diverse identities.

Official Synopsis

Propped upon the tail-end of a match, a housefly performs astonishing feats, alternately juggling a series of objects - a blade of grass, a cork, a miniature dumbbell… Most extraordinary of all is the sequence in which the fly spins a ball twice its own size, while a second fly perches on top. In the final sequence, the fly repeats some of its earlier tricks while apparently seated on a tiny chair.

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