Anthropomorphic is a term meaning "humanoid", that is, in its structure or appearance resembling a person. Modern man does not even realize how often he has to meet with such creatures.
The concept of anthropomorphism
When transferring properties and qualities typical of people to natural phenomena, animals, inanimate objects or creatures from myths and legends, we are talking about such a concept as anthropomorphism. This means that things and beings, initially devoid of certain physical properties and emotional qualities, in particular feelings, acquire certain human traits and a pattern of behavior.
Anthropomorphism is widely used in literature, for example, when describing various natural phenomena (the earth wakes up, the sky frowns, the sun smiles). Thus, the qualities inherent in man are transferred to the outside world. Primitive people, or rather their thinking, always endowed nature with a universal mind. The objects of worship were also provided with a human form, so most religions can also be considered anthropomorphic.
Anthropomorphic creatures in mythology
Legends and tales of different peoples of the world have long noted a certain degree of kinship between people and animals. Among the mythological characters, most of them are occupied by humanoid creatures. There are descriptions of such unusual monsters as centaurs. These creatures are half human, but only to the waist, below it is already a horse with hooves and a tail.
There are also references to certain sirens, who were a mixture of a woman and a bird of prey. Or, for example, mermaids are quite common and popular heroes of the myths of many peoples of the world. It was their inhuman half that gave these monsters supernatural strength, made them stronger.
The famous Minotaur, a monster with a human body and a bull's head, 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.
Fabulous creatures with human features
If you recall the famous children's fairy tale about the beauty and the beast, then there is an example of an anthropomorphic creature, however, bewitched by an evil witch. In this case, we are talking about the priority of the internal qualities of the personality, and the appearance should go by the wayside, but the monsteryet turns into a handsome prince. Something similar happens to the little mermaid from a fairy tale, who falls in love and takes on a human form and soul.
In a magical story, a girl given to a fearsome dragon discovers an enchanted young god.
What does "anthropomorphic" mean? This definition also applies to animals that behave exactly like humans. In The Frog Princess, one of the king's sons married a talking toad who caught his arrow from a bow. In fairy tales, everything usually ends well, and ugly anthropomorphic monsters turn out to be beautiful princes or princesses as a result.
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 humans, walk on their hind legs, play football, read books, talk, fall in love, be sad, make friends, and so on. Most cartoons with animals are made in an anthropomorphic manner.
Initially, people imagined supernatural beings in the form of animals, and along with them there were anthropomorphic representations of deities, demons and spirits. And the ancient Egyptians and the inhabitants of some other ancient states believed in gods with the appearance of a man and features of animals. This is the so-called zooanthropomorphism.
The use of images of anthropomorphic creatures inadvertising
Anthropomorphic images are pictures in which various animals are humanized. They are sometimes used for promotional purposes when the intrinsic properties of the goods are not so pronounced. In order for a product to successfully compete and outperform similar products, ordinary things are endowed with unusual features and qualities. In advertising on a grand scale, they use the presentation of a product with human properties. For example, consider the confectionery company M&M'S.
Viewers are already oversaturated with modern advertising, it is extremely difficult to captivate them with something new, so advertisers, through various experiments with the appearance of the product, arouse genuine interest in the audience. Thus, a kind of contact, communication is established between the character or product from the advertisement and the consumer. This interaction makes the promotion of certain goods and services as effective as possible.
"Anthropomorphic" is a fairly commonly used concept 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.
