Uncanny valley
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Mannequin (alternately, manikin, mannikin, manakin, dummy or lay figure). The word comes from the Dutch word manneken, literally meaning 'little man'. Mannequin is the French form.
- A jointed model of the human body used by artists, especially to demonstrate the arrangement of drapery. Also called lay figure.
- A life-size, articulated doll mainly used to display clothing.
- Mannequins with simulated airways are used in the teaching of first aid, CPR and advanced airway management skills such as intubation.
- In computer simulation, virtual manikins are used to model the behaviour of the human body.
In popular culture
Mannequins feature prominently in the early paintings of De Chirico.
In the mid 1970s, "mannequin modeling," a human model posing as a mannequin figure, was made famous by New York City's major flagship department store Abraham & Straus, which was located in Downtown Brooklyn.
Mannequins are a common theme in horror fiction, although not nearly as common as baby dolls. While an intense, irrational fear of mannequins (known as pediophobia) is rare, many people nonetheless find them disturbing (due in part perhaps to the uncanny valley effect), especially when not fully assembled.
In "realistic" (non-supernatural) horror, the presence of mannequins or mannequin parts can be a visual cue for insanity, particularly insanity of a violent nature, as in the early Stanley Kubrick film Killer's Kiss, the climactic fight scene of which takes place in a storage room of mannequins (parts of which are used as melee weapons, and the hands of some of which feature prominently on the DVD cover). In The Silence of the Lambs, mannequin limbs are among the objects found in the killer's storage unit. In Dean Koontz's novel Velocity, a group of mutilated mannequins is found at a suspect's house, causing the protagonist (and reader) to believe the suspect to be the shark, or at least seriously disturbed. In the television series Carnivàle, the camp site of a twisted Texas back country family is strewn with mannequin parts of all sorts. There is a scene in Dead Silence where a character falls through a theatre stage into a lake filled with mannequins.
Another instance of mannequins occurs in the psychological thriller Condemned: Criminal Origins where, in one level, the player is inside an abandoned department store strewn with mannequins. The player can pick up a mannequin arm and use it as a melee weapon also. As the player progresses through the level there are certain stages where the mannequins are actual, disguised people. They come alive and try to kill you.
There is a scene in the horror game "Silent Hill 3" where the player is in a room full of mannequins. All of the mannequins, except for one, are headless, legless, and armless. When the player moves to the other side of the room, a scream is heard, followed by a thump. When the player returns to the one mannequin with a head, the mannequin's head is laying severed on the ground in a pool of blood. In the previous game "Silent Hill 2", mannequins are a common enemy.
Another setting found in numerous movies is abandoned nuclear test sites consisting of entire towns populated by mannequins, creating an eerie and unsettling atmosphere. This setting appears in such films as Kalifornia, Mulholland Falls, and the 2006 remake of The Hills Have Eyes.
A theme which appears both in horror and science fiction is mannequins coming to life, usually with somewhat zombie-like attributes. A recent example is "Rose", the first episode of the current Doctor Who series, in which a vat of sentient alien plastic seeks to take over the world, using animated mannequins called Autons as its primary enforcers. The mannequins have gunlike weapons inside their hands, and there are many scenes of them smashing through shop windows and wreaking havoc in a London shopping mall. The Autons are also seen in the earlier Doctor Who episodes Spearhead from Space and Terror of the Autons.
Much more rare in fiction is a heroic or virtuous mannequin, although examples do exist. DC Comics' hero Brother Power the Geek is a mannequin brought to life by a lightning strike who gains super powers and befriends a group of 1960s hippies. His comic book series only lasted two issues. In the movie Mannequin and its sequel, the protagonist's love interest is a mannequin who magically comes to life.
British pop band Yazoo often uses mannequins on its covers, including the album Upstairs at Eric's, the hits compilation Only Yazoo, and the 1999 singles "Don't Go" and "Situation".
"Mannequin" is also a song performed by British black metal band Cradle of Filth. In the Marilyn Manson song "Tourniquet" from the 1996 album Antichrist Superstar the subject is a mannequin. The ska band Reel Big Fish's music video for "Where Have You Been?" from Cheer Up! features frontman Aaron Barrett's fictional ex portrayed as a mannequin. "Mannequin" is also the title of a pop song by Britney Spears off her 2008 album Circus. The German electronica band Kraftwerk brought the concept of a group of mannequins coming to life to their 1977 song Showroom Dummies.
See also
