In the poem Thetis, Duffy writes of a sea nymph who tries to escape the clutches of her suitor by changing her physical form. The suitor, however, is persistent and is able to reciprocate each change. In the end, Thetis gives in and marries the suitor, before giving birth to a child. Although the suitor is never mentioned in the poem, we feel his presence due to his determined chase of Thetis. Although Thetis, at first look, is the story of a woman’s plight to get away from her suitor, Duffy also looks at the transformations of Thetis in contrast to male transformations. Her suitor changes his own shape in the poem, to rival her shape and to be able to contain her. Another aspect of male and female relationships that Duffy is exploring is the power struggle between the two. All through the poem, Thetis changes herself to become more powerful with each transformation in order to have the power to escape from the ‘strangler’s clasp’ of her suitor. He, however, will not allow her to gain such power and changes himself to be something of higher power than Thetis. Thetis undergoes a different and final transformation as a mother and as the mother of a male child, her attitude to masculinity is tempered by maternal love. She is ‘turned inside out’ after all, which suggests a full and complete change.

The film and website were produced in collaboration with SATURDAY MORNING, an artistic organisation established by officials in the advertisement industry who developed ideas that draw awareness to and change attitudes toward racial bias and injustice in contemporary America. “The Look” begins with an African American man waking up in bed. As he makes his way through the city, he encounters looks of hostility or suspicion from white people – both wealthy and not – despite whether he’s wearing a stylish overcoat or a hoodie, training his son to swim or shopping in a high-end store. The closing scene reveals the faces of those in a courtroom before the black man moves behind the counter in a judge’s robe. The only words said in the film are uttered by the bailiff, “All rise.” After the judge sits down, he smiles looking at the camera. The camera angles in the film are mainly medium or close up shots, this is to emphasize the characters facial expressions because almost not a single word is spoken throughout the film. The focus on the facial expressions and reactions of the individuals puts a stronger emphasis on the message of the campaign, which is all about the look. The music at the beginning fo the film is a simple piano background sound. As the film continues, towards the end, the piano is now accompanied by strings which creates a hopeful mood.