United

Peng Luo

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In United, Peng Luo explores generational evolution in water consumption. Luo’s video suggests that the most prominent difference between water consumers “now versus then” is the process bottled water goes through compared to standard water from a faucet. Although Luo shows a gap between two generations of consumers, he also implies that there is potential to convince an older generation of newer ideas, indicating that there may be a possibility for a shift into “cleaner” water consumption—even despite the cost of purchasing as a commodity what can be had for free and the environmental cost of plastic waste.

The performative exchange between an older man (played by Luo) and Luo himself shows an age gap in understanding: the older character is stubborn about accepting healthier water consumption from pre-packaged containers. Luo identifies as the other side, the younger demographic of drinkers, who find comfort in bottled water because it is the “cleaner” option even while it may pollute. In the end, even paying for water was not enough to deter Luo from consuming what he suggests is the safer alternative to drinking water, expressing a disconnect between both generations.