Posted on 03/22/2008 7:16:02 AM PDT by shrinkermd
...Sure enough, that's what Body Worlds is all about. The cadavers, (relatively) whole or in parts, are fascinating, sometimes beautiful and inspiring, and remarkably low in ick factor. They could be plastic or ceramic; when you see them, you have to keep reminding yourself that they're dead people, and then you get to pat yourself on the back for how well you're taking this. A practically skinless man is leaping over a hurdle, though given the lack of clearance, he is perpetually headed toward really hurting his private parts. His aerodynamically sliced brain, however, seems like overkill. There's no apparent educational reason for this. It is, I deduce, Art.
Likewise the giant posters of loving people (the theme of the exhibit is ostensibly the heart), inscribed with quotes from Khalil Gibran. What do these have to do with agate-like slices of brain revealing a stroke? Or the nerves, in a display case all by themselves and understandably looking a little frayed? Let's stop the pretense to poetic thinking. This is a curiosity, an informative bit of voyeurism, and that's good enough for me.
There's an archer and figure skaters, a flamenco dancer and a torch carrier, their athletically graceful poses (and paucity of skin) showing off their lean muscles, the interplay of bone and tendon and ligament. Of course, anyone's abs would look ripped if they weren't hiding under a pad of fat. And with a couple of notable exceptions, fat was banished. Finally.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
What????
My teenagers when to see the body show when it was in Raleigh.
Tickets were a bit pricey and they were not impressed very much - since it was their money they spent for the day.
I have heard that some, if not many, of the Bodyworks specimens were executed political prisoners and dissidents. Is there any truth to that?
I ask because most articles I have read about the exhibit have been nothing less than glowing, this one included.
APf
I saw one of the demonstratons is Houston, and it was worth every cent.
Seen it. They had a pacemaker on the wrong side of a cadaver’s chest at the beginning of the exhibit. Wish this had been around when I took anatomy, as it puts it all into a great perspective. Too bad the “angel” and a few others start to jump the shark at the end.
Mutter Museum in Philadelphia. That’s where I’m going. (We have a family plot in there!)
There have been several articles posted here about it. Here’s one....
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1971250/posts
There are some copy cat shows that have been accused of still purchasing bodies of chinese “criminals”. The founder of Bodyworlds who does most of the plastination process said that they do not accept any bodies without provenance as to where they come from. However, there was a period of time some years ago that they may have inadvertently taken some chinese bodies.
Of these shows BodyWorlds is the most reputable.
Prop me up on the couch with a bag of cheese puffs and a Fat Tire beer; then just dust me off every few months.
My understanding is that some of the “Donors” came from China,so there was some question of who are they and where are the consent forms.
I saw Bodyworks when it came here last year(?). Some was interesting, some was creepy, and the rest was over the top.
I don’t know who put in the keywords “cultofdeath” and “worshippingdeath” for this post, but that is not what the Body Worlds show is about.
The show, if anything, is intended a celebration of the amazing workings and great versatility of the human body. Yes, it uses actual cadavers, similar to the way medical students and scientists use cadavers to gain necessary knowledge into anatomy and body constructs. And yes, there is a bit of queasiness involved in knowing that the displays you are viewing are all actual dead human bodies (from people who have donated their bodies to science through a donation program).
But they are presented as scientific models, and the plastination process does make them look a bit unreal — shiny and artificial.
If you look at it as a way to see the “wondrous machines” that our bodies are, it’s pretty fascinating actually. As part of a few physiology classes, I’ve seen medical cadavers and even preserved children who died from birth-defects such as acute encephalitis, so the plastinated bodies were actually nice-looking compared to those.
This has nothing to do with “worshipping death.” It has much more to do with examining life, studying a part of what makes us what we are.
Not even death can end the vanity of Baby Boomers ...
Disgusting.
I agree. Saw Bodies revealed in Kansas City. It wasn’t meant as an art form but as a valuable teaching tool. Anyone who wants a job in the medical field should go.
Most of them go on the left, but they occasionally do get placed on the right.
-ccm
I saw it last summer when I went to Houston to visit family. But I think some of the displays were not respectful of the donors. I thought the poker players sitting around a poker table wasn't dignified. The reaction of most children to seeing it was laughter.
I have to admit that when I heard about this in the past (and, indeed, in the recent past), I was really disgusted and grossed out. However, I am now studying to become a personal fitness trainer and am studying anatomy extensively. My yuck factor and my disgust factor are still there, I have to admit (this still remains mini-morgue material to me), but the temptation to go see this now, based upon what I’m learning (and marveling at...God is truly amazing!) is also there. I won’t go...but I’m tempted to!
I didn’t have that particular reaction, but I guess I could understand kids feeling that way.
My main reaction was that I was expecting something like a frozen autopsy in progress, and it was nothing like that. It was instead of a way of truly appreciating the complex structure of our bodies that arguable involved elements of art.
I found it very informative, much more so than looking at color pages in an antomy book.
The one display of the complete nervous sytem alone, floating like a ghost was staggering.
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