Acta Universitatis Danubius. Communicatio, Vol 6, No 1 (2012)

Abstract

Objectives: This article presents some alterations of body language, due to the interventions in/on the body.

Prior Work: Body language has been theorized a lot in the last decades, and one of the most important authors we will refer to is Paul Ekman and his micro-expressions theory. Ekman tried to give a universal decoder of involuntary face reactions, and this is important now more than ever, because micro-expression are more and more diminished, due to the latest chemical and technical interventions in/on the body (especially the face).

Approach: Using observation and some new works in the fields of both philosophy and sociology, we will analyze the effects on body-language of these alterations of the body.

Results: Minimizing a lot the micro-gestures and face-expressions, as well as stressing the functional aspect of an artificial body, body-language has a lot to suffer. It gets reduced and people begin to read bodies only through their presence, not by their expressions.  Standardization and a very simplified body-language and non-verbal cues are also consequences of an artificial body.

Implications: All of this makes body-language hard to express and at the same time hard to decode.

Value: This paper stresses the effects that an artificial body has on body-language, and also the importance of choosing a right path in the future interventions in/over the body.