Anthropomorphism

Anthropomorphism: The attribution of human characteristics or behaviour to a god, animal, or object.

Anthropomorphism is a larger quality to personification. Personification describes an object doing human qualities whereas anthropomorphism shows the object as life. A good explanation of this could be from Disney's Beauty and the Beast where the objects on the table are all functioning and acting as human beings, singing and dancing. They all have a characteristic and personality even though they are just objects such as cups, kettles, clocks and candles.

Many advertisements use this technique to bring their product to life. One advert that does this is Tango who uses a man painted orange slapping the people drinking Tango. He is supposed to represent the product as it gives you a burst of flavour and the slap is also used to represent this. This gives the drink a character and personality to the audience. Anthropomorphism is a clever way of presenting the product to the audience, giving them an idea of how the product is through human characteristics.

Many ancient tales and fables feature animals as main characters who speak, have feelings, and make complex decisions. These tales and fables were often used to teach lessons and impart wisdom to youths. Some famous authors of anthropomorphic tales have argued that the clear fiction of the story—the listeners are quite aware that animals do not talk—allows for greater truth to be told. Anthropomorphism carries many important implications. For example, thinking of a nonhuman entity in human ways renders it worthy of moral care and consideration. In addition, anthropomorphized entities become responsible for their own actions — that is if they become deserving of punishment and reward.

Many of your childhood fairy tales or Disney films are most likely to be using anthropomorphism. One of these may of been the Lion King, showing the animals to fall in love and make human decisions. All animals used in fairy tales, fables and films mostly all speak or fall in love, making them display human characteristics to the audience. Another show that does this is the Lady and The Tramp, giving them different societies and classes which is a level in human nature.

Anthropomorphism can also be a mistake. For example, some people think that eagles and other birds of prey look angry. But of course that’s just because of the way their eyes are shaped. Birds don’t have the same facial expressions as human beings, so it’s an error to look at an eagle’s eyes and conclude that she is angry – this is anthropomorphizing the bird.