SMILE! Building Fear Part 3

 You probably saw the ads, or the news stories, even if you did not see the movie.  Smile got a lot of attention for its guerrilla marketing campaign.

What makes some smiles creepy?  Nadira Goffe writes what she says psychology has to say about it.

From the article: "If I look at the smiles from Smile (like the one above) without any other context, holding out my fingers to block everything but the face itself, I can register some as normal smiles. The ones at the baseball game are a little more eerie, but there are other reasons for that: the actors’ body language, their stiff posture, the immobility of their smiles, etc. Realizing that I can’t tell just from their facial expression alone whether someone may want to kill me is not exactly comforting, so if you need me, I’ll be second-guessing every person who smiles at me on the street."

A smile that is a little too wide seems unnatural.  A smile held for too long seems unnatural.  A smile out of context makes most people wonder just what the HELL that person is smiling at.  

One thing Ms. Goffe did not mention is just why tilting the head down might make the smile more ominous.  Humans tend to tilt their chin down to cover their throat before attacking.  It's a common predator trait.

Anyone staring at you - much less approaching you! - with their chin tucked raises some very primal red flags.  Add a smile to that?  It can be downright unsettling.

So, smile, everyone!

Happy Halloween!