Anthropomorphic is a term meaning "humanoid", that is, in its structure or appearance resembling a person. The modern person does not even know how often he has to meet with such creatures.
The concept of anthropomorphism
When transferring typical human properties and qualities to natural phenomena, animals, inanimate objects or creatures from myths and legends, we are talking about such a thing as anthropomorphism. This means that things and beings, initially devoid of certain physical properties and emotional qualities, in particular feelings, acquire certain human features and behavior patterns.
Anthropomorphism is widely used in literature, for example, when describing various natural phenomena (the earth wakes up, the heavens frown, the sun smiles ). Thus, the qualities inherent in man are transferred to the outside world. Primitive people, or rather their thinking, have always endowed nature with a universal mind. The objects of worship were also supplied with a human appearance, so most religions can also be considered anthropomorphic.
Anthropomorphic creatures in mythology
Legends and legends of different peoples of the world have long noted a certain degree of kinship between people and animals. Among mythological characters, most are humanoid creatures. There are descriptions of such unusual monsters as centaurs. These creatures are half human, but only to the waist, below this is a horse with hooves and a tail.
There are also references to certain sirens, which were a mixture of a woman and a bird of prey. Or, for example, mermaids are quite common and popular heroes of myths of many peoples of the world. It was their inhuman half that gave these monsters supernatural power, made them stronger.
The famous Minotaur, a monster with a human body and the head of a bull, is considered a symbol of the dark half of human nature, which is hidden in the dark. The anthropomorphic type of myth is those legends and tales that mention a humanoid creature with traits inherent in some animals.
Fairytale creatures with human traits
If we recall the famous children's fairy tale about a beauty and a monster, then there is an example of an anthropomorphic creation, though enchanted by an evil witch. In this case, we are talking about the priority of the internal qualities of the person, and appearance should go by the wayside, however, the monster still turns into a handsome prince. Something similar happens with a little mermaid from a fairy tale who falls in love and takes on a human appearance and soul.
In one magical story, a girl surrendered to a terrible dragon discovers an enchanted young god.
What does anthropomorphic mean? This definition is also suitable for animals that behave completely like humans. In The Frog Princess, one of the royal sons married a talking toad, which caught his arrow fired from a bow. In fairy tales, everything usually ends well, and the ugly anthropomorphic monsters turn out to be beautiful princes or princesses.
Anthropomorphic animals - what is it?
Anthropomorphic is a characteristic of objects and phenomena of animate and inanimate nature, attributing to them human qualities and corresponding behavior. Anthropomorphic animals are creatures that behave like people, walk on their hind legs, play football, read books, talk, fall in love, feel sad, make friends and so on. Most of the cartoons with animals are made in an anthropomorphic manner.
Initially, people imagined supernatural beings in the form of animals, and also with them there were anthropomorphic representations of deities, demons and spirits. And the ancient Egyptians and residents of some other ancient states believed in gods with the appearance of a person and features of animals. This is the so-called zooanthropomorphism.
The use of images of anthropomorphic creatures in advertising
Anthropomorphic images are pictures in which various animals are humanized. They are sometimes used for advertising purposes, when the intrinsic properties of goods are not so pronounced. In order for a product to successfully compete and surpass similar products, familiar things endow with unusual features and qualities. Advertising on a grand scale uses the presentation of a product with human properties. For example, you can recall the company for the production of confectionery M & M'S.
Viewers are already oversaturated with modern advertising, it is extremely difficult to captivate them with something new, therefore, advertisers, through various experiments with the appearance of the product, cause genuine interest in the audience. Thus, between the character or product from advertising and the consumer, a kind of contact is established, communication. This interaction makes the promotion of certain goods and services as efficient as possible.
"Anthropomorphic" is a concept that is often used in various areas of life: literature, animation, science fiction films and video games. And animals with human behavior can be seen on television, billboards, and not just in descriptions of ancient myths and legends.