Eyebrows!

Eyebrows-- did you raise them when you read the title of this blog post, wondering what I could possible have to say about eyebrows?  Or did they furrow, perhaps? Or maybe you just chuckled, probably inwardly, and let your eyeballs express your emotion for you by letting them roll.  Yes: eyebrows.  They are important.

Eyes may be the windows to the soul, but the eyebrows frame the eyes and are important, too, because:
- they work in concert with the eyes to express various emotions
- they help stop sweat from rolling directly down the forehead and into the eyeballs (usually)
- they are defining feature in the landscape of a face.  Groucho Marx and Brooke Shields are just two people (the first names I could instantly draw from memory) who are known in part for their distinct brows.  In the early days of the Obama administration, FLOTUS Michelle Obama was perceived has having "angry-looking eyebrows" for the way they were (and are?) very arched; I think that since then her eyebrows are not as arched or curved or sloping ( I can't figure out the most apt adjective so just choose one of those and pretend I got it right in one go).

Going back to the first listed point: considered the plasticine character Gromit, of the many "Wallace and Gromit" films, short and feature-length.  He doesn't speak at all but conveys exactly how he feels through the use of his motions, especially with his brow (singular).  Just look here:



Fantastic, yeah?  The Power of the Brow!  Often you hear or read about people raving about a celebrity's gorgeous eyes or full lips or curvaceous body but less often is there admiration given to eyebrows.  I don't regularly wear make-up but recently I've been filling in my eyebrows before going out.  Technically that counts as make-up, doesn't it... but it doesn't look like I'm wearing anything on my face (apart from my glasses, of course).  My eyebrow hairs are dark but they are sparse, so I draw short strokes wherever there are balder patches; to me the end result is noticeable and improves the balance of my face, but I wonder how much a difference it seems to other people.  It's a subtle effect, but I like the way it looks when I take the time to do it and do it properly.  I can't be bothered to alter any other facial feature on a daily basis but I do feel like it's worth giving my eyebrows some special attention, important as they are.

Movie Review: The Wrong Trousers

I have "The Adventures of Wallace and Gromit" on DVD, which includes the following 30-minute short films: A Grand Day Out, The Wrong Trousers, and A Close Shave. Yesterday I watched the second film, which features ex-NASA robo-pants, the machinations of penguin disguised as a chicken, and a chase sequence on a model train set. Fantastic stuff.

The Wrong Trousers is the second film starring Wallace and Gromit but it isn't necessary to have seen A Grand Day Out to enjoy it. It's not a sequel but the first scene gives a tacit nod to the first film by means of a newspaper headline. It starts on Gromit's birthday, and Wallace has spent quite a bit of money for gifts for the dog. One present is a collar and lead (leash); the other is the titular trousers, which feature vacuum-suctioning feet and can be programmed to walk the dog. Wallace, the man and inventor, is thrilled about this, but Gromit is...not. And much to Gromit's chagrin, Wallace sublets a spare room to a penguin in order to recompense the money spent for gifts. Gromit has a bad feeling about the penguin, and his suspicions are confirmed when...well, you'll have to find out for yourself.

The animation is much improved but still maintains charm, soul and inventiveness. Like the previous film, Wallace has the only dialogue in the film--if it can be called dialogue. He speaks but gets nonverbal responses. Gromit has a mouth (somewhere in that head) but doesn't use it to speak. He conveys a range of emotions with his expressive little brow and gestures. The music does a lot to give more weight to the actions, and has a sort of 1950's-B-horror-movie vibe to it. Ah, and there are so many little visual gags put in, some that are quietly tongue-in-cheek and others that are laugh-out-loud hilarious. This is cinema: great storytelling, artfully directed visuals and complementary soundtrack. A half-hour very well spent.

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