Assorted Grotesqueries

I don't really have much to talk about right now although I feel like I should post. I guess the most I have been thinking about this class comes when I'm walking through business districts. I can't believe how often things considered grotesque are used everyday anymore as an appealing form of advertising. No longer the repulsive, fear-instilling, and lesson-teaching purposes the grotesque traditionally holds (as per Eco's book), grotesque figures are so often used now in mainstream entertainment. Take one look at the new Alice in Wonderland (or pretty much any of Tim Burton's films). Walk past a tattoo parlor, where you are often greeted with "hip", crazy scary paintings of unearthly beings. Watch an episode of TV, not just the weirdest current ones but even things like Ren and Stimpy (how crazy was that?). So I don't know, I think if anything this class has made me observant towards when potentially grotesque forms appear in my day, and make me just a little bit more aware of the reasons for such depictions.

-Colby