Though I Walk Through the Uncanny Valley of the Shadow of Death
Life Imitating Art
The first fun fact about me: I love the classic television series, “The Twilight Zone”. From its first season in 1959 through its last aired episode in 1964, the television series has always educated me, as well as entertained me. 156 total episodes ranging in variety from show to show — they just don’t make them as they use to! With Rod Serling narrating, you might find yourself watching a story about a woman who wants to be considered beautiful by her society, a banker who loves to read books but never has the time, or aliens visiting Earth with a simple intent to serve man — such variety of contexts and characters — The Twilight Zone invites you into a world where there is neither time nor space, but there’s an abundance of creativity and ethical dilemmas. Even though the stories were diverse, they all shared a depth of insight into the condition of people and a unique perspective on life, with the story’s climax typically resolving with a surprising twist.
I’ve often wondered how The Twilight Zone television series has continued to delight viewers across generations. What made these shows so suspenseful and so good for so long?
The Uncanny
The same question could be asked about other classics of suspense from Alfred Hitchcock and Stephen King; Why are their works consistently viewed with the same level of terror and suspense from person to person spanning over generations?
There’s not just one answer to this question. Stephen King, Alfred Hitchcock, and Rod Serling were master storytellers for a lot of reasons. However, there is one common element that they all incorporated throughout their stories: the psychological experience known as “the uncanny”.
The uncanny is an experience one has when something or someone known and familiar seems off by a small margin, which leaves one feeling eerie, unsettled, uncomfortable, or frightened.
That which was comforting due to its familiarity becomes subtlety and eerily different.
In 1906 German psychiatrist Ernst Jentsch wrote an essay entitled On the Psychology of the Uncanny where the concept of the uncanny was analyzed psychologically for the first time. Sigmund Freud would later expound upon the concept of the uncanny in his 1919 essay Das Unheimliche. Examples of Freud’s uncanny would be a human corpse, an android, a mannequin, a ventriloquist doll, and a porcelain doll. Other related theories have branched out from the uncanny like Sadeq Rahimi’s theory of the mirror stage, where he gives examples of how the uncanny experiences can be associated with themes of blindness, mirrors, doppelgangers, déjà vu, twins, and living dolls.
Look again at the list of examples and think about how many Twilight Zones, Alfred Hitchcock, and Stephen King stories had implemented these examples:
· Twilight Zone: “Living Doll” (season 5, episode 6) = Living dolls
· Twilight Zone: “Mirror Image” (season 1, episode 21) = Doppelgangers
· Twilight Zone: “Judgment Night” (season 1, episode 10) = Déjà vu
· Twilight Zone: “The Dummy” (season 3, episode 33) = Ventriloquist
· Twilight Zone: “The After Hours” (season 1, episode 34) = Mannequins
· Twilight Zone: “The Lonely” (season 1, episode 7) = Robotic Human
… I could go on and on about Twilight Zone’s use of the uncanny, but how about the others?
· Hitchcock: “Psycho” = Facial expressions, shower shadow, a mother
· Hitchcock: “Vertigo” and “Rebecca” = Recently deceased lover
· Hitchcock: “The Birds” = Beautiful wings of a bird
… There is much more from Hitchcock than this abbreviated list, but you get the point, don’t you?
· King: “IT” = Childlike innocence of a clown (more on clowns later)
· King: “The Shining” = Mirrors, doppelgangers, alter-egos
· King: “Pet Cemetary” = A beloved family pet
My point is that these masters of suspense knew what they were doing and were both intentional and excellent at depicting the uncanny.
The Uncanny Valley
The second fun fact about me: I hate clowns. Well, maybe “hate” is too strongly worded. I don’t like clowns. More specifically, I’m scared of clowns. I don’t believe I have coulrophobia (why couldn’t it have been named, “clownphobia”?), but I’ve never been to a circus, nor do I ever plan on going to a circus, capisce?
It wasn’t until my late teens that I learned that I wasn’t alone in my fear of clowns (thanks to the invention of the internet!). Much has been written about why many people are afraid of clowns.
Keeping the theme of the uncanny, have you ever wondered why clowns wear white face paint? Without getting into the history of clowns and the different techniques taught at clown schools (yes, clown schools are a real thing), one reason for the white face paint is very closely related to the uncanny. The white face paint removes shadows and contours from the human face. Eye sockets are not visible and cheek indentations are barely noticeable. Additional makeup can make the eyes appear larger and the mouths wider.
Therefore, when one looks at a clown's face, the eyes register that the face is human, but not quite human.
This theory of how the uncanny affects the viewer was hypothesized by roboticist Masahiro Mori in 1974. He was working on animatronics and noticed that the closer the robot looked human, there was a gap between comfort and discomfort, known as The Uncanny Valley (see below chart):
As the chart shows the connection between familiarity and human likeness, it also tracks objects that are moving and are still.
The uncanny valley is the region of negative emotional response towards robots that seem “almost human”, whereby movement amplifies the emotional response.
This is what happens to many people who look at a clown's face and experience feelings of unease or discomfort or fear. The lack of shadows and contours on the human face is processed for some as the uncanny valley.
A great example of this in robotics would be the 1972 satirical novel “The Stepford Wives” written by Ira Levin. Ira’s book became a movie in 2004, which provided a visual of how creepy the uncanny valley would appear in a societal context. However, I will warn you that even though the movie is labeled as a Sci-Fi/Comedy, for those of us who have been in functional cults like Sovereign Grace Churches or Mars Hill, this movie will feel more like a horror movie replete with spiritual abuse triggers.
The Uncanny Valley of the Shadow of Death
Too many churches have spiritually abused women through the misteaching and twisting of the meaning of Proverbs 31, Song of Solomon, and Titus 2. The heretical teachings which state, “It is your job to look beautiful so your husband will not be tempted to sin sexually” and “There is no higher calling for a woman than to be a wife and a mother” leave women in despair which produces death. These teachings are not Biblical and are not the gospel of Jesus Christ because they do not give life. As Jesus said in John 10:10,
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.”
This brings me to this observation of the evangelical church in America today: Church members tend not to be authentic with one another about who they are or how they are doing. I understand that being authentic makes one vulnerable and vulnerability opens the person up to getting hurt. I get that.
However, I also look at the faces of church members and quickly experience the uncanny valley. When looking at people’s faces I know they are humans, but their clown-painted smile is very unsettling. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone enduring an incredibly difficult trial and all they can say with a robotic-like smile is, “Rejoice always in the Lord!” That’s great if it was authentic… but it’s not. You can tell by the eyes. The eyes always tell the truth.
There is a false gospel in today’s evangelical church that teaches something like, “If you trust Jesus and obey him, then only good will come your way.” So, while enduring hardship, one believes if they cry or complain or merely acknowledge their displeasure, then they have “failed” the test, and now nothing good will come from it, because their faith was too small. Therefore, the clown paint comes on and the smile stays on the face in midst of hardship and/or evil.
This uncanny valley will lead to death because it is serving the idol of self-image. How often are selfies posted on social media when life sucks? Is it only when everything appears to be great that we choose to share our lives with others? Again, a person on Instagram appears to be human, except there’s something off… something weird… Oh, there it is! They are pretending to be perfect!
Perfection is not a good look for imperfect people.
Be Authentic
As people, we are meant to live in the community. In the New Testament, there are 31 “One Another” commands, ten of which imply an authentic relationship with others to obey. Here’s the list, just add “one another” to the end:
1. Be at peace with… (Mark 9:50)
2. Love… (John 13:34)
3. Be joined to… (Romans 12:15)
4. Be devoted to… (Romans 12:10)
5. Honor… (Romans 12:10)
6. Rejoice with… (Romans 12:15)
7. Weep with… (Romans 12:15)
8. Live in harmony with… (Romans 12:16)
9. Accept… (Romans 15:7)
10. Counsel… (Romans 15:14)
11. Greet… (Romans 16:16)
12. Agree with… (1 Corinthians 1:10)
13. Wait for… (1 Corinthians 11:33)
14. Care for… (1 Corinthians 12:25)
15. Serve… (Galatians 5:13)
16. Carry burdens of… (Galatians 6:2)
17. Be kind to… (Ephesians 4:32)
18. Forgive… (Ephesians 4:32)
19. Submit to… (Ephesians 5:21)
20. Bear with… (Colossians 3:13)
21. Teach, admonish… Colossians 3:16)
22. Encourage… (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
23. Build up… (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
24. Spur on… (Hebrews 10:24)
25. Offer hospitality to… (1 Peter 4:9)
26. Minister gifts to… (1 Peter 4:10)
27. Be humble toward… (1 Peter 5:5)
28. Confess your sins to… (James 5:16)
29. Pray for… (James 5:16)
30. Fellowship with… (1 John 1:7)
31. Correct, restore… (Galatians 6:1)
Relationships in the church community are to be marked by these “one another’s”, which require people to be authentic and vulnerable. May the perfect sacrifice of Christ’s blood wipe away our clown-painted smiles, since we don’t have to be perfect as those saved by a perfect Savior.
My prayer is first for myself, to be a person who can learn to trust again and once again open my life up to others. I’m needy and needed. I need others for the community, and I’m needed in a community. So are you. I pray to start from the top down that Christians will become more authentic with one another and drop the facade. May we look at one another’s faces and not be creeped out by uncanny humans striving to maintain perfection, but may we see people who need grace just like us.
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”[1]
[1] C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves
