EMBODIED COGNITION:
a growing research program in cognitive science that emphasizes the formative role the environment plays in the development of cognitive processes.
that's the first response from google.
Let's review the concept while lying comfy with a cherished ***anime***
Introduction to Embodied Cognition Through Media
Death
Note, a Japanese manga series that has gained popularity for its anime
adaptation, follows a young boy who seeks to better the world (VIZ, 2014). From manga to television set, audiences watch as
the boy, Light Yagami, attempts to cleanse the social landscape of evil with
the help of a death note, or supernatural notebook, that allows the holder to
kill any known person whose name he or she transcribes.
From a rating pool of 530,473 who watch
the Death Note anime, the show scores
an 8.75 out of 10 (myanimelist.net). The
high rating lends to media success through synergistic media deals. The stories and iconography of the anime echo
those of the original manga edition, from author Tsugumi Ohba and artist
Takeshi Obata. What occupies the minds
of forum fans, however, is not Ohba’s moral dilemmas, or Light’s questionable
heroism; instead, they ask, why does L, another character, squat “when he can
jolly well just sit?” (Minitokyo.net).
Figure 1 shows a freeze frame of L in
his characteristic stance. He is
crouched over with both feet flat on the armchair, facing a porcelain tea set. Forum users suggest explanations for his
behavior: he thinks he is so “special that he can’t do what normal people do”;
“he probably sat like that as a child and it’s a habit he can’t get rid of”; “his
intellect will drop by 40% if he sits normally.” Later posts do in fact corroborate the
statistic; Ohba’s manga notes that if L were to sit “normally,” with both feet
flat on the ground, his concentration power would drop.
Authors and artists often create behavior
specific to characters. The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper dons
comic t-shirts and a gawky stance; Orange
Is The New Black’s Galina “Red” Reznikov maintains her hair a dyed bright
red; Family Matters’ Steve Urkel
stands wide-legged with pelvis forward and walks, as another character
describes, “like you still have the hanger in your shirt” (phantomflapjack,
2009). The behaviors are specific to the
characters and play a role in defining their personas. As a forum user writes of L, “it won’t be
normal for a weird guy to sit properly” (Minitokyo.net).
Media representations are planned and
purposeful. They form cameos that come
to affect character relationships. In
the untelevised social word, social presentations can be just as specific to an
individual as the “hanger” walk is to Urkel. Likewise, psychological state can be as
conditional on behavior as L’s mental prowess is on his squatting.
Visual culture reflects everyday human
understanding (Greysen & Chretien, 2010; Van Cleave, 2010). Interpretation of one’s social world is
ongoing, as is research in the field of social psychology. By shifting study from the observable world
to the body, social phenomena and issues can be understood differently. Theories of “embodied cognition” postulate social
thinking, influence, and relation as originating within the body and being
maintained through bodily interpretation and action. The emerging literature interprets social
life as emanating from an organism, rather than from the surrounding world.
