Why mannequins scare me

[CupOfWater]

Hi

I just understood why mannequins in cloth stores freaks me out. It's because of somthing called the Uncanny Valley. As an object or robot start looking more and more like a human, we like it more and more. We find their human characteristics cute and appealing. But that's only a certain point. Suddenly, we think they look weird, scary, and almost zombie-like. That's because they look so much like a human being, that we start focusing on the things that are NOT human. This freaks us out.

I have for as long as I can remember, been scared by mannequins, but first today I got the explanation. For me, mannequins resides deep in the uncanny valley.

Here is a good example of the uncanny valley. Most people have a bad reaction to this video, because he looks almost human, but still, our brain are able to spot the tiny faults.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyhf3JmODHE


EDIT:
Here is a great video, explaining the phenomena. Some of those robots are just... Extremely creepy :shock:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNdAIPoh8a4

 

[Otokogoroshi]

The uncanny valley has been an issue in video games and movies for a few years now. The movie Final Fantasy (not advent children) is a good example of this phenomenon. Though it was well animated for its time the movements of the characters looks stiff and very unrealistic most of the time, the arm gestures are typically the ones that stand out as being the worst. However the animation of the monsters/spirits is instantly accepted in the human mind because they are so inhuman.

If you look at the face of someone suffering from Down Syndrome you can instantly tell there is something wrong with them. Personally I've always found them to be super freaky looking (me being insensitive but honest again ) In essence this is a fine example of how we are programmed to spot the differences in people. Not only could they be from say... another tribe and thus compete for the same resources but they could have a genetic problem you don't want to spread to your children.


The Uncanny Valley has always been something I've found interesting. Some dismiss it but I think its just too... real to ignore.

 

[GoodKat]

Hmm, I don't know if I've ever experienced this, not even when I watched the video.

 

[AzureInsanity]

Pediophobia--The fear of dolls. According to the source of all knowledge(WIKI!!!!!) it's related to the uncanny valley @_@

Meh, I kinda have this. Though it's only with quarter scale dolls that have moving eyes. For some reason when a dolls eyes look like they're dilating or are on a realistic scale for the size I get uncomfortable ~.~ Also* If you've ever seen the horror 'Child's Play"...

 

[GoodKat]

the horror 'Child's Play"...

that was a comedy.

 

[Th1sWasATriumph]

Anyone ever played Condemned 1? Lots of freaky mannequins there. Really scary.

 

[AndromedasWake]

Anyone ever played Condemned 1? Lots of freaky mannequins there. Really scary.

I was just about to say that. Don't EVER play condemned. :?

 

[Th1sWasATriumph]

I was just about to say that. Don't EVER play condemned. :?

Man up, you were scared just sitting there watching - I was the one getting herded by faceless dummies. Sort of like church in that respect.

TAKE THAT CHURCH

 

[AndromedasWake]

Man up, you were scared just sitting there watching - I was the one getting herded by faceless dummies. Sort of like church in that respect.

TAKE THAT CHURCH

At least I could actually watch it. Greg was curled up in the corner, wetting himself. The game is sitting on my shelf taunting me...

 

[Th1sWasATriumph]

At least I could actually watch it. Greg was curled up in the corner, wetting himself. The game is sitting on my shelf taunting me...

And yet you're fine with FEAR.

Actually you got yourself scared, as we all do. I'm pretty sure Greg was playing bongos and somewhat ruining the frightz.

 

[CupOfWater]

Pfff, FEAR was not even slightly scary. Try playing Penumbra.

 

[infrared]

Anyone ever played Condemned 1? Lots of freaky mannequins there. Really scary.

yes I have, and I laughed at that cheap scare HAHA HA!

no relay, not that scary, and at church they dress differently so faceless dummies have personality.

 

[Exodus]

Silent Hill 2 is the only game I've played and found remotely scary. I fondly remember Condemned (not for being scary) but didn't play the sequel as it received poor reviews. Dead Space is good for a few shocks too, nothing particularly scary but quite a lot of jumpy moments.

 

[scikidus]

Related:

 

[GoodKat]

Silent Hill 2 is the only game I've played and found remotely scary.

I've never played any scary games, although Bioshock weirded me out.

 

[BlueNova]

I can't say i've ever found them scarry but i can understand completely the part about animation or robots/manequins looking non-human no matter how advanced the respective technologies become. I personally always have that little bug in the back of my head telling me its fake. Also I found it interesting the part about not noticing it as much with nonhuman subjects, it really hadn't occured to me, yet it makes so much sense.

 

[Pulsar]

This reminds me of that famous Dove commercial:



Welcome to the Photoshop era...

 

[darthrender2010]

Silent Hill 2 is the only game I've played and found remotely scary. I fondly remember Condemned (not for being scary) but didn't play the sequel as it received poor reviews. Dead Space is good for a few shocks too, nothing particularly scary but quite a lot of jumpy moments.

condemned 2 scared the shit out of me... course that could also be due to me playing at 2 AM with the lights off...

 

[kafka_off_the_beach]

Interesting article on Slate about the Uncanny Valley:

http://www.slate.com/id/2102086

But I do wonder where they were able to dig up some zombies to be used to graph human reactions in this cart: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mori_Uncanny_Valley.svg

 

[Pulsar]

But I do wonder where they were able to dig up some zombies to be used to graph human reactions

Hmmm...

That this is thriller, thriller night
'Cause I can thrill you more than any ghost would ever dare try
Thriller, thriller night
So let me hold you tight and share a
Killer, diller, chiller, thriller here tonight