I have been watching a lot of crazy toon serials that get air on all the famous cartoon networks, contrary to the toons that I watched as a kid, there was this certain cuteness factor missing in them - like Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Tom and Jerry and the likes... they are now replaced by doraemon, oggy and the cockroaches, some of them so shapeless and ugly that they would make you experience retro peristalsis (that nauseating feeling when you are about to puke!!) as soon as you watch the first frame.
And the kids love them, hmm... so is it a bad influence or a good one? I've heard my brother complaining that the names sound like they are some Hindi swear words (like "masuda", the kids do know what that rhymes with, thank you!!) and that they are as shapeless as an amoeba... I don't know whether its good thing or bad but what I can definitely say is this: from a rather balanced perspective, it looks like kids nowadays are exposed to cultures other than the conventional American culture, the formlessness probably will enable them to appreciate the abstract.
Even the most beautiful face on earth is not perfectly symmetrical, so it's really helping them appreciate what doesn't conform to the old and conventional. One of my Friend's Kid is nearing her teens and her daughter loves LadyGAGA, now I know what kind of reaction that might trigger in some of the folks reading this, but in a way she is trying to break barriers for the women in the music industry. Agreed that some of that stuff is raunchy, bitchy or probably even awfully presented but on the positive side she really isn't the typical conventional beauty, dressed to kill which is expected out of the conventional pop stars. Come to think of it Madonna did come up with a couple of rather unconventional videos and costumes, but that is not even half as imaginative as what Gaga is doing. She wears clothes that are unconventional, heels that are crazy, I think even her make up is not perfect and my point is - why should it be perfect?
What is this big obsession with all things beautiful and symmetrical? I think up until now the only person who has tried to make asymmetrical look appealing was Picasso, his paintings were so asymmetrical but were in such perfect balance and taste that it really look beautiful! And isn't it our imperfections that give us that edge? The slight curve of Mona Lisa's enchanting smile, The unusually big pair of pearly whites that adorns Julia roberts' smile, that grey of Richard Gere's hair? It's so unconventional and yet so appealing!
When I first watched these cartoon characters I felt they looked ugly, their expressions hideous, and their tone croaky! And when I saw her for the first time, I thought LadyGAGA's attire is crazy. But after a while it really struck me that what's not mainstream isn't necessarily bad/ugly/unacceptable, its rather unique and has to be appreciated for what it is, which is "Unusual/Unconventional". It took Barbara Streisand to break the barrier of the quintessential Hollywood actor but just look at her! look at the beauty of her upturned nose, those sparkling eyes, that mesmerizing smile! Its not perfect but its got a charm to it, an unspoken vulnerability and that understated innocence, her eyes did all the acting than her face... That's what made her Unique, that's what made her THE Barbara Streisand!! So the next time you see something that isn't very appealing at first, try to look at it again and again and again and probably you will see that it's the asymmetry that makes it perfect, after all slow poison is the best poison!!
And the kids love them, hmm... so is it a bad influence or a good one? I've heard my brother complaining that the names sound like they are some Hindi swear words (like "masuda", the kids do know what that rhymes with, thank you!!) and that they are as shapeless as an amoeba... I don't know whether its good thing or bad but what I can definitely say is this: from a rather balanced perspective, it looks like kids nowadays are exposed to cultures other than the conventional American culture, the formlessness probably will enable them to appreciate the abstract.
Even the most beautiful face on earth is not perfectly symmetrical, so it's really helping them appreciate what doesn't conform to the old and conventional. One of my Friend's Kid is nearing her teens and her daughter loves LadyGAGA, now I know what kind of reaction that might trigger in some of the folks reading this, but in a way she is trying to break barriers for the women in the music industry. Agreed that some of that stuff is raunchy, bitchy or probably even awfully presented but on the positive side she really isn't the typical conventional beauty, dressed to kill which is expected out of the conventional pop stars. Come to think of it Madonna did come up with a couple of rather unconventional videos and costumes, but that is not even half as imaginative as what Gaga is doing. She wears clothes that are unconventional, heels that are crazy, I think even her make up is not perfect and my point is - why should it be perfect?
What is this big obsession with all things beautiful and symmetrical? I think up until now the only person who has tried to make asymmetrical look appealing was Picasso, his paintings were so asymmetrical but were in such perfect balance and taste that it really look beautiful! And isn't it our imperfections that give us that edge? The slight curve of Mona Lisa's enchanting smile, The unusually big pair of pearly whites that adorns Julia roberts' smile, that grey of Richard Gere's hair? It's so unconventional and yet so appealing!
When I first watched these cartoon characters I felt they looked ugly, their expressions hideous, and their tone croaky! And when I saw her for the first time, I thought LadyGAGA's attire is crazy. But after a while it really struck me that what's not mainstream isn't necessarily bad/ugly/unacceptable, its rather unique and has to be appreciated for what it is, which is "Unusual/Unconventional". It took Barbara Streisand to break the barrier of the quintessential Hollywood actor but just look at her! look at the beauty of her upturned nose, those sparkling eyes, that mesmerizing smile! Its not perfect but its got a charm to it, an unspoken vulnerability and that understated innocence, her eyes did all the acting than her face... That's what made her Unique, that's what made her THE Barbara Streisand!! So the next time you see something that isn't very appealing at first, try to look at it again and again and again and probably you will see that it's the asymmetry that makes it perfect, after all slow poison is the best poison!!
2 comments:
nicely put...all I wondered about was if the opposite also holds true..
No denying the fact that symmetry is always preferred! just that asymmetry should not be plainly rejected!
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