Anatomy For Artists Questions...
I'm thinking I might actually like this class. It allows me to overthink things, as usual, and because I found this pretty amusing, here are my posts for the discussion topic for this week.....
Do you feel there is a cultural unease to the examination of anatomy in the United States?
I do feel like there is some level of cultural unease due to anatomy on display in the U. S. such as with the "Living Body" museum displays, etc. I feel like this is primarily due to religious reasons over the sanctity of the body and how many still feel that bodies after death should always be buried with the last rites given due to life after death reasons. Personally, I do not share this belief. I feel like the belief may have originally stemmed from Egyptian religion, with the focus on preserving the body after death, which culturally went to the Christian religion since the two civilizations were so closely interrelated. I feel that it is the right of every person to determine what they would like done with their body after death, and I actually had a discussion earlier with a friend where she stated she wanted to allow her body to be used for research and at the very least, donation of her body parts after her death. I feel like is a bit taboo in our culture because people worry about what others will think about them too often. I feel like my friend and myself have similar views, because I feel like after death, a body is just that, a body, something that might as well be utilized for the greater good, for gaining more knowledge or, at the very least, fertilization of the soil. I realize my viewpoint may be a bit drastic to some people, but I have always tended to be a very practical person, so that is where my belief primarily stems from. However, I don't want to offend anyone with my viewpoint, as I feel everyone has their own choice to make in such circumstances. I do believe in some form of afterlife, but I do not feel like preserving my body is important or necessary for my soul to live on after death.
I do tend to think that anatomy is often seen as gross or has a general "ew" reaction from most people, while I find it interesting to learn what is going on inside me. It is odd to think about, but everyone has the same types of anatomy going on internally every day while they are alive. I feel that it is best to keep an open mind when dealing with matters of anatomical proportions. You never know what you may learn in the long run, and perhaps it will improve your quality of life along the way.
What film or game characters make use of exaggerated anatomical display for horrific effect? How and why is this effective?
The movie that first came to mind for me was "Pan's Labyrinth" which is a rather creepy but thought-provoking Spanish movie that I happen to own.
The character that came to mind instantly was a rather scary, gross fellow who has quite an exaggerated physique. I have had a few nightmares about him, to be honest. Here is a link to a picture of him, please beware that he is a very creepy fellow: http://movieoverdose.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/pans-labyrinth.jpg
Ew.
Obviously, he has very exaggerated nails, which adds to the frightening and dangerous effect that I am sure the director was going for, very wrinkly, pale skin, and I believe his eyes are in the wrong place entirely for any purposeful function. His mouth is not even correct looking, and is more of a sunken hole rather than a functional chewing mechanism, and his nose is also sunken and basically non-existent. He resembles a living corpse, and as we all know, people everywhere are afraid of death, and what better way to frighten us than to create a figment of our deepest psyches that pokes fun at all the things we are afraid of: death, old age, and body parts that are not properly working and not even in the right place. Eyes in the hands is horrific because no one would want such a thing because it seems horrific to not be able to have a proper face or properly functioning hands.
There are other characters in the movie which also have very exaggerated physiques, such as this fellow: http://www.jigsawlounge.co.uk/film/images/stories/joanallenpan.jpg
While not quite as creepy as "Eyes-In-Hands-Man" he has very large, leering eyes, large bulging horns, and a strange face that looks more like an animal than a person. The whole movie utilizes a great deal of special effects that touch on the darkest parts of the human psyche which creates a different aspect of fear than other movies do because of this.
Do you feel there is a cultural unease to the examination of anatomy in the United States?
I do feel like there is some level of cultural unease due to anatomy on display in the U. S. such as with the "Living Body" museum displays, etc. I feel like this is primarily due to religious reasons over the sanctity of the body and how many still feel that bodies after death should always be buried with the last rites given due to life after death reasons. Personally, I do not share this belief. I feel like the belief may have originally stemmed from Egyptian religion, with the focus on preserving the body after death, which culturally went to the Christian religion since the two civilizations were so closely interrelated. I feel that it is the right of every person to determine what they would like done with their body after death, and I actually had a discussion earlier with a friend where she stated she wanted to allow her body to be used for research and at the very least, donation of her body parts after her death. I feel like is a bit taboo in our culture because people worry about what others will think about them too often. I feel like my friend and myself have similar views, because I feel like after death, a body is just that, a body, something that might as well be utilized for the greater good, for gaining more knowledge or, at the very least, fertilization of the soil. I realize my viewpoint may be a bit drastic to some people, but I have always tended to be a very practical person, so that is where my belief primarily stems from. However, I don't want to offend anyone with my viewpoint, as I feel everyone has their own choice to make in such circumstances. I do believe in some form of afterlife, but I do not feel like preserving my body is important or necessary for my soul to live on after death.
I do tend to think that anatomy is often seen as gross or has a general "ew" reaction from most people, while I find it interesting to learn what is going on inside me. It is odd to think about, but everyone has the same types of anatomy going on internally every day while they are alive. I feel that it is best to keep an open mind when dealing with matters of anatomical proportions. You never know what you may learn in the long run, and perhaps it will improve your quality of life along the way.
What film or game characters make use of exaggerated anatomical display for horrific effect? How and why is this effective?
The movie that first came to mind for me was "Pan's Labyrinth" which is a rather creepy but thought-provoking Spanish movie that I happen to own.
The character that came to mind instantly was a rather scary, gross fellow who has quite an exaggerated physique. I have had a few nightmares about him, to be honest. Here is a link to a picture of him, please beware that he is a very creepy fellow: http://movieoverdose.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/pans-labyrinth.jpg
Ew.
Obviously, he has very exaggerated nails, which adds to the frightening and dangerous effect that I am sure the director was going for, very wrinkly, pale skin, and I believe his eyes are in the wrong place entirely for any purposeful function. His mouth is not even correct looking, and is more of a sunken hole rather than a functional chewing mechanism, and his nose is also sunken and basically non-existent. He resembles a living corpse, and as we all know, people everywhere are afraid of death, and what better way to frighten us than to create a figment of our deepest psyches that pokes fun at all the things we are afraid of: death, old age, and body parts that are not properly working and not even in the right place. Eyes in the hands is horrific because no one would want such a thing because it seems horrific to not be able to have a proper face or properly functioning hands.
There are other characters in the movie which also have very exaggerated physiques, such as this fellow: http://www.jigsawlounge.co.uk/film/images/stories/joanallenpan.jpg
While not quite as creepy as "Eyes-In-Hands-Man" he has very large, leering eyes, large bulging horns, and a strange face that looks more like an animal than a person. The whole movie utilizes a great deal of special effects that touch on the darkest parts of the human psyche which creates a different aspect of fear than other movies do because of this.