Episode 205 - What about bodyshape?
Feb 9, 2015
This week Banes and I were inspired to talk about body shape in the depiction of figures in comics, inspired by some famous images from photographer Howard Schatz's 2002 book, Athlete. In it there are photos of many athletes who're at the peak of their sports and yet their bodyshapes are vastly different, subverting the idea of an "ideal" bodyshape or what it means to be a top athlete or even fit. too often bodyshapes in comics follow a very narrow range, not getting much past what we think of as the current popculture ideal. We all know that idealised model shape is a problem and yet we all still perpetuate it, most of the time you can only tell most "realistic" characters apart by their hairstyle or costume, especially in superhero comics. And that invents a second problem: the myth of the "normal" shaped body as opposed to the ideal- there IS no such thing as normal, and even the ideal is always changing throughout the ages. There's even a lot more to body shape than the famous categories: Mesomorph, Ectomorph, and Endomorph, or Skinny, Pear, Athletic, Hourglass and Apple. We also have a beif mention of how stylised characters (Sponge Bob, Calvin and Hobbes etc) are exaggerations of these shapes and differences.
Topics and Show Notes
Topics and Show Notes:
Featured comic:
Onward - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Onward/
Links:
Some of the athlete photos here - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2502477/Can-guess-sport-shape-Olympians-body.html
Bodyshape pics taken from here - http://bonytobombshell.com/the-scientific-reasons-why-some-women-are-naturally-skinny/
Typical DC superheros - http://s3.media.squarespace.com/production/465215/5366925/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/dc.jpg
Special thanks to:
Gunwallace, guitar shaped musician - http://www.virtuallycomics.com
The theme song by Gunwallace this week was for:
YOUR CHOICE - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/YOUR_CHOICE/ - by VinoMas
Abt_Nihil at 2:33PM, Feb. 17, 2015
Couldn't agree more with Genejoke.
Genejoke at 5:39AM, Feb. 13, 2015
with superman, why is he so big? he doesn't need to be and how the hell does he eat enough and work out enough to be that big. As for batman, he is supposed to be like an athlete with all his training but yeah often too big. Wolverine looks best when drawn short and buff. the guy is supposed to be 5'3'' but so many artists draw him too long limbed.
Gunwallace at 4:35PM, Feb. 12, 2015
Glad you liked the theme tune.
BonesOfRuin at 8:41PM, Feb. 11, 2015
Great podcast guys! loved it!
Ozoneocean at 4:18AM, Feb. 11, 2015
Thanks Vino! Gunwallace always does a great job on his music interpretations :D
VinoMas at 12:26AM, Feb. 11, 2015
WOW!!! Gunwallace, I am in awe of your theme song for your YOUR CHOICE...it was exactly what I would think it would be. WELL DONE!!! Banes and Ozone, nice discussion on body image!