Download - Anatomy of Facial Recognition in Watchmen
Anatomy of a Face: Watchmen StyleThe recognition of a face is an innate human ability. In Watchmen, the trademark yellow smiley face persists
throughout the novel juxtaposed against the theme of what is a "true face". So, why use a symbol that is clearly
not a true face? What is the nature of the face in Watchmen?
by BlessYourHeart a year ago
TEENSKEPCHICK · A YEAR AGO
This blood spattered yellow smiley face may be the most recognizable symbol from the novel. The yellow smiley
is artificial in construct; our perception of it as being a face is of our own choosing. So, why do Moore and
Gibbons choose this specific form to represent a universe in which the vigilante characters are all searching for a
form of truth? What does this imply about the nature of the human face in Watchmen? The answer may lie in the
human interpretation of what constitutes a face...
SCIENCEMAG
Identifying the Brain's Own Facial Recognition System - Science Now
Oct 23, 2012 ... The ability to recognize faces is so important in humans that the brain
appears to have an area solely devoted to the task: the fusiform gyrus.
Identifying a face is an innate human trait; its an ability that we have used for millennia to survive, reproduce, and
provide recognition abilities within our own species. This ability is so vital that we have a specific section in our
brains that devotes itself to assisting us in this process. What seems a simple action is actually a complex
algorithm that has been designed out of evolution. Elizabeth Norton's article "Identifying the Brain's Own Facial
Recognition System" does a great job of explaining just how this part of the human brain relates to facial
recognition and construction.
https://storify.com/BlessYourHeart/anatomy-of-a-face-watchmen-style
TURNER · A YEAR AGO
Sylvester Stallone's face is carefully diagramed to show facial planes and focal points of recognition both
mathematically and to the naked eye.
So, how does:
DISCOVERMAGAZINE · A YEAR AGO
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GIANTBOMB · A YEAR AGO
And what is it that this face represents to us (the reader/viewer)?
Let's try looking at some facial other examples from Watchmen:
https://storify.com/BlessYourHeart/anatomy-of-a-face-watchmen-style
WIKIMEDIA · A YEAR AGO
Rorschach's initial reaction to his future "true face":
ONIONSTATIC · A YEAR AGO
Rorschach's self-proclaimed search for truth in addition to his statement that he knows the city's "true face" gives
the impression that he has a prerogative for truth. Yet, his preferred disguise is one that is both not a true face
and one that is up to interpretation by the person viewing it. When the reader sees Rorschach in his disguise, it is
natural to immediately try to construct a face out of what is on top of his. However, the innate property of
Rorschach's mask is to be both an enigma and also subjective. Rorschach tests were designed to be constructed
into shapes which could quite literally be anything depending on the viewer. This implies that the nature of faces
within Watchmen is not concrete and, therefore, not subject to a single individual's perception - including Moore
and Gibbons.
COM · A YEAR AGO
A bit of visual irony - Laurie's face is obstructed by steam whilst she explains how Dr. Manhattan's view of people
(and their faces) is like looking at shapes in a fog... No clarity, no features, and no facial recognition. Dr.
Manhattan's view of people and their faces is like a person who has lost the ability to identify faces; he has lost the
https://storify.com/BlessYourHeart/anatomy-of-a-face-watchmen-style
ability to connect with people because he feels disconnected from them. Would Dr. Manhattan see the iconic
smiley as a face? Or just a meaningless construct - a symbol with no meaning? And is the human interpretation of
a face and our ability to make faces out of familiar lines actually associated with what a "face" is?
WATERHOLES · A YEAR AGO
The enigmatic smiley face that appears throughout the novel is often placed within panels that are within the
context of strife, isolation, or confusion. Its appearance here on Mars implies to the reader that what both Dr.
Manhattan and Laurie are experiencing is the opposite of happiness. We recognize its meaning as something
artificial - something that is not associated with a feeling or place of "happiness". Yet, we recognize the face itself
as being a happy one... Perhaps the point here is to imply that Dr. Manhattan's desire for acceptance and a place
where he can be "happy" is only foreseeable somewhere disconnected from Earth and the human idea of what
being "happy" is.
CONNECTION.EBSCOHOST.COM
The Human Stain: Chaos and the Rage for Order in "Watchmen."
The Human Stain: Chaos and the Rage for Order in "Watchmen." AUTHOR(S). Dietrich, Bryan D. PUB.
DATE. April 2009. SOURCE. Extrapolation (University of ...
In Brian Dietrich's article, he discusses how all of the characters in the novel (especially Rorschach and Dr.
Manhattan) desire truth. However, the type of truth that they desire is based on qualities that their universe lacks.
For example, he (spoilers everybody) discusses the conversation in which Laurie finds out that the comedian is her
father and subsequently throws her drink in his face. The Comedian's face is already riddled by the scars from the
Silk Spectre's nails to the point of ghoulishness and Laurie's drink only adds to that effect. He says:
"These scars, perhaps emphasized by his sexist and racist comments during this particular party, make his whole
face appear skull-like when he turns. Just after Blake, rather circumspectly, reveals to Laurie that he is her father
(a recognition that she will not fully digest and understand until much later), she disgustedly tosses her drink in
his face, dousing the bottle scars that cover her mother’s nail scars (IX.20-21). Stains on top of stains on top of
stains." (Dietrich, 126)
This concept of "stains on top of stains on top of stains" is an integral part of understanding the theme of what is a
"true face" in Watchmen; perhaps the implication is that there are no true faces.
https://storify.com/BlessYourHeart/anatomy-of-a-face-watchmen-style
NOCOOKIE · A YEAR AGO
Starting this project, I had no idea what my conclusion might be by the end of it. I assumed that exploring this
topic and deconstructing both what humans see in a face and what the characters in Watchmen see as a face
would lead to some ultimate conclusion. However, after hours of deliberation and research I have come to the
conclusion that the point of faces in Watchmen is that there is no point. The point of there being no point goes
back to Dietrich's idea of stains on top of stains on top of stains. The universe of Watchmen and the characters
within it have been so warped, convoluted, and confused by their own identities that "faces" mean nothing. They
are cynical and disconnected from the world around them because they do not understand it or their place
within it. Rorschach's idea of a "true face" means something that is not a face at all to most people because their
identities have been erased.
Rorschach's struggle for order and clarity, Dr. Manhattan's search for simple meaning in a complex world, and all
of the characters' relative searches for some kind of simple, direct answer in their universe is impossible because
of the very nature of their world and the people in it. It just doesn't happen. Rorschach's overtly rigid way of
viewing the world ultimately breaks him (really after the murder which he can't come to terms with) and Dr.
Manhattan finds that the answer he seeks in life does not and cannot exist within the life on this planet.
Everything in the Watchmen universe is too convoluted, corrupt, and broken for any of the characters to find the
meaning or answers that they desire; stains on top of stains on top of stains.
To that end, the smiley face that is the most recurring and famous symbol in the novel is ultimately a meaningless
one, and intentionally so. It is meant to challenge our (the reader's) response to what he initially see as a happy,
cartoon face. This is this our own evolutionary instinct, and it is one that is prone to both manipulation and
fabrication. Obviously, my conclusion here is one of many and, maybe, the purpose of the Watchmen universe is
that there are no finite conclusion possible within it.
The following panels are from page 28 of Book 6:
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BLOGSPOT · A YEAR AGO
I would love to hear your thoughts and responses to this project! Feel free to post, re-post, share, and the like.
Also, an additional theory worth checking out about the nature of faces and human reactions to them can be
found here:
WIKIPEDIA
Uncanny valley - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The uncanny valley is a hypothesis in the field of human aesthetics which holds that
when human features look and move almost, but not exactly, like natural ...
HOODEDUTILITARIAN · A YEAR AGO
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