In psychology, the shadow is the part of the unconscious that swallows threatening information and experiences that a conscious mind cannot hold onto and, at the same time, remain functional. However, a periodic confrontation with the shadow is necessary for a healthy psyche. In a Lynch film it is often the job of some sort… Continue reading David Lynch’s Doppelgangers
Tag: doppelganger
Pop Song as Product Placement: Doublemint “Forever”
If you watch the latest Doublemint gum TV commercial — featuring Chris Brown dancing in the dark with the product’s new “slim” package — you might be wondering: gee, that song and dance is nice but what happened to the infamously kitschy jingle and the wholesome set of twins? The ad itself is a twin: … Continue reading Pop Song as Product Placement: Doublemint “Forever”
Bread that Talks
Obviously, no one believes bread can talk. But Schwebel’s ‘taliano — “The Bread with the Foreign Accent” — would like us to believe its Italian bread has an identity so Italian that it can speak to us. I used this example in my recent lecture at the Alpha Science Fiction & Fantasy Workshop for Young… Continue reading Bread that Talks
Cractroids
Parody is a good barometer for popularity. The humor magazine, Cracked, sends up The 7 Creepiest Real-Life Robots. Robert Brockway’s bawdy, Rated-R write ups include hilarious (yet astutely observed) rationales for “why it’s so, so creepy,” like this one for the “Actroid” robot pictured above: The Actroid is fairly tame on the creepy scale …… Continue reading Cractroids
Twins on the Train to Weirdsville
Improv Everywhere has performed a fun uncanny experiment called “Human Mirror”: in it, a long line of identical twins sit in opposite seats in a subway car to catch commuters off guard. Here is the video from their site (if you don’t see it, it’s also available on youtube): The trick is fascinating, and provides a sly… Continue reading Twins on the Train to Weirdsville
Medical Manikins and Suffering
Today I stumbled onto Oobject — a weird multiuser “curations collection” that exhibits photos that members spot online, organized by offbeat themes. One of the most uncanny exhibits of them all is a collection of “medical manikins”. The above shot by Tomer Ganihar (a shot taken as part of a series he did in an Israeli hospital… Continue reading Medical Manikins and Suffering