werewolf-woman wrote:i would like to say that beauty is subjective and it seems like there is a sense of hostility towards the monstrous werewolf.
Honestly I haven't seen the hostility. If it were so hostile there'd be more "pretty" werewolves and less monstrous ones. Since that isn't the case, why is even the mere subject of having something less outwardly hideous coming across as hostile? Remember that text is devoid of emotion, and we tend to read into it what we are feeling at the moment. So even simple sarcasm can come across as nasty or 'tude-ish.
Now, I could be wrong entirely. but so far most of this thread has been a bouncing of ideas, a simple debate of pros and cons. Based on the fact that there is so
few "pretty" werewolves, and that there is in fact a demand for such things. And it's not even the "cutesy" fluffy cuddle werewolf that is being asked for, far from it. No. It's a more naturalistic wolf-like werewolf.
So please, if someone has been outright hostile, educate me. If I've been wrong on this assumption I'd prefer to be corrected.
werewolf-woman wrote:Many of the artists who work on the practical effects for werewolf films do so as a labor of love, they seem to really care for the genre and their monstrous masterpieces.
I've gone to school with, help on projects with, and even
bled on projects of those who have gone to school for Special fx. So I know first hand the amount of work and devotion to complete such projects that is required of a person, and how much that can cost one (and not in money). This whole film project is one giant labor of love, otherwise folks wouldn't be getting touchy about some subjects, neh? ;)
It seems to me that, and again I could be wrong, you may be applying some of our desires to have a "pretty" werewolf as an /insult/ to fx artists. At least that is how this sentence reads to me. Again, I could be wrong.
werewolf-woman wrote:I think werewolves are monsters and if they are in a horror film it is appropriate that they are depicted as such.
Ah, but that is one opinion among many. Many of us are fans of the werewolf
in general, and can appreciate the different forms. However, few of us (aside from a collection of the fluffy-loving individuals) want werewolves to loose that feral monstrosity. It's what makes them scary. What AB is trying to say is that the true monstrosity comes from the human mind within the feral beast.
Just because a werewolf is pretty on the outside does not mean that it is not ugly on the inside. Heck I've know fairly ugly-on-the-inside
people who are gorgeous on the outside.
werewolf-woman wrote:The werewolf is bestial and sometimes shown as gruesome to exemplify the horror of a supernatural curse.
Yes, as an animator I understand the need of exaggeration for the sake of getting the message across. What I'm supporting is that there is more then one way to do it, and that I'd like to see a non-traditional style body-type used.
werewolf-woman wrote:I think a graphic transformation and the look of the werewolf only exemplify the tragic nature of curse. If the id was embodied it could be rather horrific and ugly.
That's a good point. Actually they are both very good points. With Ab's werewolves the "badness" doesn't come from the "curse" (in this case virus). The "badness" comes from the person. You know the saying, "with great power comes great responsibility"? Well becoming a werewolf places a ton of responsibility upon a person's heart and mind. Another good quote that I feel fits here, "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely."
See, a power hungry (or popularity hungry) person made into a werewolf, that has /control/ over that can become a mad-person and a danger to everyone. More so then any "insane" or "non-controlled" monster. Why? Tactics. This is why predators are so scary. They can /think/. This is why, imo, that the wolf-beasts in the book Wolfen made me almost pee myself in fear (long story), and they were nothing but fictional beasts. I've seen a ton of werewolf flicks in my time.. that book is the
only thing to instill that level of paranoid fear in my heart. Ever. Suspense thrillers come a close second, but no other werewolf or werewolf like film has ever touched off that cold heart of fear within me.
That is what /I/ want to see one day. A good solid werewolf film, with a solid plot, that scares the ever living crap out of me.
werewolf-woman wrote:I think gruesome werewolves serve to reiterate that being a werewolf is undesirable.
Understood, and yes I agree. This technique has lasted for so long, and even with a pretty werewolf, this message can be passed along. The girl in Red Riding Hood denied ___ ______, when she was given the choice. That "wolf" werewolf wasn't fugly on the outside, but it sure was fugly on the inside. (trying to avoid spoilers here). That was made obvious when it couldn't control itself anymore.
werewolf-woman wrote: If you are going for the whole beauty and the beast thing, well the beauty would be the humanity and the beast is the werewolf...
Agreed - but that doesn't have to be mutually excluded to physical form. Plus the physical beast is still that, a beast. Some of us are asking "why not a pretty beast", it still doesn't change the fact that the beast is a beast aka non-human.
Added: Humanity is a bit of a misnomer to be honest. Humanity's root is human. Part of being human is suppoedly being humane... thoughtful... considerate ...and more. It's the ability to think, make choices based on a code of conduct w/ the understanding of repercussions and consequences of those choices.
I've seen plenty of human that lack humanity.
werewolf-woman wrote:I think werewolves like the new wolfman film and American Werewolf are amazing and i can appreciate the beauty and artistry in the design. Another comic reference for a stunning and beautiful werewolf design would be Frazetta's wolfman versus Dracula comic. a few years ago they released a statue and i was amazed at the beauty of it.
Regardless of fugly versus pretty, and regardless of tech limitations, there is a reason why there are werewolf fans... and the artistry behind the fx is part of it.
A big part of it.