Film
Duration：9:56
时长：9:56
Every day begins as a small rehearsal — of walking, of waiting, of looking, or not looking at the light. The voice drifts through people, animals, and things, repeating the same question until it loses meaning. In this quiet circulation, seeing becomes a gesture of uncertainty, and the ordinary turns slightly strange.
当我们将不断出现的日常都当作是一场小小的排练——走路、等待、看，或不看那盏灯。声音在人与物之间飘荡，不断重复同一个问题，直到意义被消磨。在这静默的循环中，观看成为一种不确定的姿态，日常也随之变得微微陌生。
There’s no such thing as catching it in your peripheral vision but then deliberately turning away—because if you saw it, then you saw it. Even if you try to convince yourself that you didn’t, you still did. But then, there are people who genuinely don’t look at traffic lights. They walk with their heads down or looking around, and I find that really strange, you know? I mean, I think both kinds of people are strange. But I’m just talking about looking—about looking at traffic lights. Don’t read too much into it.
Traffic lights are simple. Of course, they’re not called "traffic lights" everywhere. Deciding whether or not to look at a traffic light takes only a very short moment. If you ask me which kind of person I am, I’m the type who looks. In fact, I stare at them. I’m afraid of dying, you know? I’m not saying I’m not weird—I know this whole question is weird. But whether you look or not, it’s a simple conclusion: you look, or you don’t.
But am I actually that scared? I’ve almost been hit by ambulances and police cars multiple times because I was staring at the traffic light. The yellow light is actually the most interesting part of the traffic light. But is there anyone who sees the red and green but doesn’t notice the yellow? If it exists, I mean. But the yellow light is just part of the traffic light, and it’s not really important. What matters is whether you look or not.
But looking at traffic lights should be a personal choice, right? Or maybe not. Maybe some people don’t want to see the traffic light but end up catching a glimpse anyway. But the result is the same—they saw it. Some people want to see the traffic light, but the traffic light is broken.
Traffic lights are supposed to be things that give directions, right? A broken traffic light is still a traffic light, don’t you think? But some intersections don’t even have traffic lights, and that really frustrates me. How can an intersection not have a traffic light? Even if there’s no road, there should still be a traffic light, shouldn’t there? Traffic lights should be at every point where paths turn, split, or merge, right?
Looking at traffic lights should be a personal choice. Even subconscious choices are still choices, aren’t they? But traffic lights have existed in my memory since I was born. No one ever asked me if I agreed with their existence, did they? I don’t even remember when I started looking at traffic lights. But I do look at them.
But we’re only discussing the issue of looking or not looking—don’t overanalyze it. I’m just talking about looking at traffic lights, nothing more. Of course, we’re not talking about situations where external factors prevent you from looking at a traffic light. Just the simple act of looking or not looking. But what if it’s a hypothetical situation? Do you look at the traffic light or not? Then it becomes uncertain, doesn’t it?
But even if I say I look at traffic lights, how do you know I actually do every single time? Even I can’t guarantee that I always do. I’ve lost track.
Oh, and remember—don’t take this to some higher level. It’s just about looking at traffic lights, okay?
So, do you look at traffic lights?