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.

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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

=

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:

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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

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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.

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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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