Funky_Gibbon Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Do these pictures make people look 'bad' by default or is there a deeper reason for why bad people often look bad? How someone looks has nothing at all to do with them being good or bad. If the photos we see of evil people look evil then it's because those photos have been selected and published for that reason. Newspapers do this regularly when they have a negative story about someone. They pick the most unattractive photo they can find to go with the story because a photo of someone giggling and holding an Andrex puppy doesn't give that right sense of menace. TV do the same thing but they also add in a deep, unsettling soundtrack so that you know that person is bad. I have the classic evil goatee beard and my last company ID card made me look like an axe murderer... but I'm not. However were I do something bad you can guarantee that they'll print that photo rather than any where I look reasonably human. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draggletail Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 It's down to the media - they just publish the ugliest photos they can get hold of. These might not be a fair representation of the person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyfriday Posted July 21, 2008 Author Share Posted July 21, 2008 How someone looks has nothing at all to do with them being good or bad. If the photos we see of evil people look evil then it's because those photos have been selected and published for that reason. Newspapers do this regularly when they have a negative story about someone. They pick the most unattractive photo they can find to go with the story because a photo of someone giggling and holding an Andrex puppy doesn't give that right sense of menace. TV do the same thing but they also add in a deep, unsettling soundtrack so that you know that person is bad. I have the classic evil goatee beard and my last company ID card made me look like an axe murderer... but I'm not. However were I do something bad you can guarantee that they'll print that photo rather than any where I look reasonably human. Totally agree, issues like this highlight the importance of how images and people are shown publicly. These Breugel-esqe pictures reinforce our subconscious impression of what 'bad' people look like..and we form an opinion when we see the stereotypical 'criminal', whilst in reality they rarely present themselves as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bacon Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 I have the classic evil goatee beard and my last company ID card made me look like an axe murderer... :hihi::hihi: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CottonTop Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 If you separate evil from nasty, I think the face can tell a lot. A nasty person is very negative and usually has a scowl on his/her face. Over time, that person develops wrinkles in certain places due to the scowl. Now an evil person, who has no conscience probably has no need to scowl because they take delight in their evil activities. Leona Helmsley - The Queen of mean....nasty even after plastic surgery Ted Bundy - Serial Killer. Attractive but pure evil Jeffrey Dahmer - Serial Killer. Normal looking fellow....possibly more evil than Ted Bundy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tulip Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Just been reading this horrendous news item on The Star website: http://www.thestar.co.uk/headlines/Baby39s-life-of-horror.4172040.jp The couple involved have what I can only describe as a malevolent 'look', whatever that might entail. But it got me thinking about the mugshot pictures of famous murderers such as Myra Hindley, Peter Sutcliffe and The Wests. Do these pictures make people look 'bad' by default or is there a deeper reason for why bad people often look bad? If people who are evil really looked evil no-one would go anywhere near them and they would have a hard time doing their evil deeds. You are looking at pictures in newspaper. The media diliberately make people such as Myra Hindley, Peter Sutcliffe and The Wests look menacing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tulip Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 If you separate evil from nasty, I think the face can tell a lot. A nasty person is very negative and usually has a scowl on his/her face. Over time, that person develops wrinkles in certain places due to the scowl. Now an evil person, who has no conscience probably has no need to scowl because they take delight in their evil activities. Leona Helmsley - The Queen of mean....nasty even after plastic surgery Ted Bundy - Serial Killer. Attractive but pure evil Jeffrey Dahmer - Serial Killer. Normal looking fellow....possibly more evil than Ted Bundy Some people scowl because the have had hard lives. They might look nasty and spiteful but when you get to know them, they are nice gentle people. It's a cliche but I do think it's true 'never judge a book by it's cover' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyfriday Posted July 21, 2008 Author Share Posted July 21, 2008 If people who are evil really looked evil no-one would go anywhere near them and they would have a hard time doing their evil deeds. You are looking at pictures in newspaper. The media diliberately make people such as Myra Hindley, Peter Sutcliffe and The Wests look menacing. I agree, I wasn't supporting the supposition only opening a debate about it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom3t0 Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Plus there was a thing in victorian times, people with eyes that are too close together and all that jazz. People still adhere to that today in lots of cases. Still very common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubydazzler Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Someone said to me that every mischievous/nasty/troublemaker they'd ever met had pointy eyebrows ... you know the ones - like an inverted V ? Since they mentioned it, I've been on the lookout for that characteristic, and it's often true. Herr Fritzl being the latest of the type in the News What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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