An Unwitting Consumer Finds Himself Out of His Depth in the Stop-Motion Animation ‘Five Cents’

Stumbling upon a coin purse, a lone consumer finds himself in possession of a bit of extra change in the stop-motion animation “Five Cents.” Aaron Hughes created the film by using thousands of market analysis pages from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Financial Times, on top of which he applied layers of ink, Wite-Out, gold leaf, and gouache. A symbolic and witty criticism of capitalist society and how economic mechanisms like inflation impact the everyday cost of living, Hughes’ solitary character purchases essentials like glasses and an umbrella before being hoodwinked into unnecessary purchases.

“Five Cents” won the 2022 South by Southwest Animated Short Audience Award, and you can see more of Hughes’ work on Vimeo.

A still from the stop-motion animation film about capitalist society made with ink on newspaper market analysis pages. A figure walks with an umbrella and a label reads "Mirror 25 cents."

All images © Aaron Hughes

A clip from the stop-motion animation film about capitalist society made with ink on newspaper market analysis pages. A figure puts on glasses. A still from the stop-motion animation film showing a black outline figure holding a nickel and a red coin purse.

A clip from the stop-motion animation film about capitalist society made with ink on newspaper market analysis pages. A figure with glasses bobs in the water near a flotation device. A label reads "Flotation 95 cents."