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What happens when work, play and relaxation is all confined to one space
Humanity at the End of the World: Socialising
Socialising at the End of the World is a satirical sketch by Ife Grillo, exploring the way our relationship to socialising has changed since covid. It is part of a series of films called ‘Humanity at the End of the World’ that explores the ways in which the pandemic has changed what it means to be human.
Socialising at the End of the World is a sketch piece that explores the problems we have with over-commitment. In it, you see me advertise a new product that helps people learn who they want to be around and how they can better prioritise their friendships. The piece also looks at the benefits of having people in your life you’re not particularly close to.
I wrote Socialising at the End of the World because I wanted to explore how covid has changed the way we interact with people.
I wanted to explore how covid has changed the way we interact with people.
I think a lot of us were so excited about being around our friends again and getting to go to places, that we didn’t realise that we’ve become different people. The people we were before covid happened still exist, but our ways of engaging with people have changed. When restrictions started to lift, I made a million plans but my follow through rate wasn’t always the best. It took me a while to accept that my social battery wasn’t what it used to be, and while it could come back, I had to learn to pace myself.
Our goal is to fit in and turning down invitations feels counter-intuitive.
Even outside of covid, I think a lot of us end up over-committing. Naturally, as humans, we are people pleasers. Our goal is to fit in and turning down invitations feels counter-intuitive, especially when it’s from people we enjoy hanging around with. No one wants to be the person in the friendship group who is always saying ‘naa I’m busy’, it can make it seem like you don’t care. However, saying yes to everything can lead to social burnout. I feel like a lot of people reached that point by the end of the summer and I wanted to reflect on how we got there.
The film also discusses the benefits of casual friendships with people.
The film also discusses the benefits of casual friendships with people. During lockdown, while I didn’t get to see my closest friends, I always knew what was going on with them. One of the things I really missed was seeing the random people I’m friendly with, but don’t have a meaningful relationship with. You know, the types of people you’re never going to privately message but if you see them at a party, you’d have a really great chat. I think those types of relationships are shallow, but incredibly satisfying. There’s something light and refreshing about having those moments sprinkled out in your day, and I didn’t appreciate that until covid happened.
Writing a piece that reflects on covid when covid hasn’t finished is difficult, because you don’t know if you’re done with your evaluation. However, I think it is important to make work that talks about covid even if we’re still in the pandemic, as its still relevant to the way we look at the world now.
Has the pandemic changed the way you interact with people? Let us know on our socials and look out for the next piece in Ife’s series.
Film written and performed by Ife Grillo, filmed by Bex Rose, executive produced by Lucy Turner and Ife Grillo.
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About the author
Ife Grillo
Ife Grillo is a writer, producer, performer, and educator based in Bristol. Ife’s work focuses on unpacking what it means to be Human in an innovative and engaging way. As a cultural producer, he specialises in engaging young people in the Arts. Ife was part of BBC New Creative’s 2021 and in 2020, he won the National University Poetry Championships. He is also one of the contributing writers to Penguin’s upcoming Anthology, Black Joy.
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