fleshyorgans

My friend Fahad hooked me up with this particular gem: Sideshow Collectibles

This site is interesting to me from more than just the monitor-gnome aspect. I find the psychovisual aspects even more intriguing than the products being sold.

For example, if you look at the Buffy figurines you’ll see that, though they mostly look like the actors and actresses, something’s not quite right. Willow, for instance looks pretty okay from a distance, but when you look at the detail it’s kind of creepy. It’s sort of like you reach this point of fidelity where the replica has to be 100% correct, otherwise it just looks wrong.

But what’s also interesting is there isn’t that aspect on the monsters… Comparing the non-vampire Angel to the vampire Angel appears (to me, at least) that the vampire version is truer to the actor’s actual face from the show.

I don’t think that’s necessarily the case, though. I think, rather, it’s more an issue of being hardwired to know precisely what a face should look like. When a face deviates from expectations (of the human form as well as memory) even slightly, it’s immediately eye-catching. However, if it’s a significant deviation (or something you register as fantasy in the first place) it’s not so eye-catching. At that point you either view it as an entirely new person or something fantastical. This isn’t as creep-inducing as it is when something is almost but not quite the face you were expecting.

Anyway, I also find it interesting that the only Star Trek Voyager figure is Jeri Ryan’s character, “Seven of Nine.” And furthermore that the only depiction is what is commonly known as a “bust.” And finally that, well, that’s what they call the product. Seven of Nine Bust. That’s search engine optimization for you.