Wants & Needs
Title
Wants & Needs
Creator
Gish, Shay
Abstract
Wants & Needs is an experimental short film exploring queerness through the transformative metaphor of zombification. With my own experiences of being queer, I wanted to explore how self realization can feel both terrifying and liberating.
The narrative follows Chloe as she confronts her desires within a romantic situationship with Anna. Faced with her attraction and fear of intimacy, Chloe must navigate the tension between repression and longing. Her “zombie” operates as an impulsive embodiment of desire; this symbol is built on the preexisting image of the undead in horror media as impulsive. Here, that horror is internalized. The “monster” symbolizes suppressed queerness, visualized through Chloe’s “zombie arm”. First, it's an experience to fear, however as the zombification progresses Chloe gradually understands and accepts this inevitable part of herself.
With this film I wanted to emphasize movement, rhythm and sensory disruption. The Dance sequences externalize Chloe’s desires, translating emotional and sexual tension into physical expression. However, through manipulating the frame rate and strobe lighting, I hope to create fiction between the static and accelerated images, reflecting her instability. Sound design further shapes the transformation with distorted, slowed ambience blended along fluctuating breathing to evoke intimacy and bodily change.
The narrative follows Chloe as she confronts her desires within a romantic situationship with Anna. Faced with her attraction and fear of intimacy, Chloe must navigate the tension between repression and longing. Her “zombie” operates as an impulsive embodiment of desire; this symbol is built on the preexisting image of the undead in horror media as impulsive. Here, that horror is internalized. The “monster” symbolizes suppressed queerness, visualized through Chloe’s “zombie arm”. First, it's an experience to fear, however as the zombification progresses Chloe gradually understands and accepts this inevitable part of herself.
With this film I wanted to emphasize movement, rhythm and sensory disruption. The Dance sequences externalize Chloe’s desires, translating emotional and sexual tension into physical expression. However, through manipulating the frame rate and strobe lighting, I hope to create fiction between the static and accelerated images, reflecting her instability. Sound design further shapes the transformation with distorted, slowed ambience blended along fluctuating breathing to evoke intimacy and bodily change.
Date
2026
Citation
Gish, Shay, “Wants & Needs,” MU Libraries Digital Exhibits and Online Forums, accessed March 31, 2026, https://library.missouri.edu/exhibits/items/show/321.
Comments