I Spy with my Little...
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
The phrase from the age old nursery game rings a truth more profound that anyone could have ever imagined for when I see, I engage in espionage. With my eyes, I take in unto myself an unconstrained influx of images and with it I invade the sanctum of others without touching and without permission.
The rights of a person, as bestowed upon us by the society and the Law, extend exclusively unto himself. I can, if I so choose to, conduct myself as I see fit and do unto myself anything that I pleased. This with the exception of suicide for with that action I infringe another human right and that being the right to life. However, if I touch without permission, be it violently or intimately, another person then I infringe on their rights for I have denied them their right to self-determination.
Technically, however, when I look upon a naked person, be it by or against her volition, I do not in fact infringe on any of her rights for surely this person holds no ownership over the light that reflect off of her. Sight at the end of the day is merely absorption of light into our eyes and the physical being is no more diminished when I keep for myself, a mental image of it.
Perhaps that then explains why we cover ourselves up, for if I cannot stop another from processing a mental image of me then I must hide what I sights I wish to deny others. It is when I make a deliberate attempt to see what is concealed by another individual against her volition, am I then in violation of the Law. This however, delves into the concept of privacy which I am disinclined to address.
At this point of time, call the name of the person closest you and if you do not know his name then grunt loudly to get his attention. Look unblinkingly into his eyes and hold eye contact. It is of the greatest likelihood that this person will avert his gaze and break off eye contact. One can reconcile this with the invasive nature of sight. In the same way one covers his naked self up to fortify himself against the onslaught of the visual invasion of another, he breaks eye contact because he desperately wishes to evade the piercing gaze that seeks to take from him that which is more important than the physical self.
It is said that, “The eyes are the mirror of the soul.” Unlike the physical self that one can armour against the assault of sight, the soul is bare and one can only run from the encroachment into his spiritual territory. When prolonged eye contact is made, it is almost as if the person is looking into you, inside of you and all that you have done and all your deepest darkest secrets are being drawn out from you against your will; it is the deepest level of an invasion of privacy.
It is no wonder that many cultures find sustained eye contact to be offensive. The Native Americans regard it as invasive for they believe that if you look someone directly in their eyes, you could steal their soul. The Japanese find it to be a sign of aggression. Yet American cultures as well as those of European descent feel that eye contact is a sign of respect and to not do so, is to imply that one is of a higher social caste. But even if you were to now stare unblinkingly into the eyes of a European, he would likely avert his gaze in discomfort.
In general, prolonged eye contact can only mean one of two things: love or aggression. This explains why two people, often lovers, can stare into each other’s eyes for extended periods of time. They have laid their soul bare for their partners and have nothing to hide. Pope John Paul XXIII could have no better portrayed this when he said, “I have looked into your eyes with my eyes. I have put my heart near your heart.”
It is perhaps then, the reason why the art of Japanese animation appeals to so many people. The characters possess huge cutesy eyes that seem to suggest that even if you were to peer into eyes and into their soul you will find no devils and only innocence. Conversely villains in animation are often portrayed to be of small and shifty eyes. Their eyes are inaccessible and suggest that they have much to hide and will avoid direct eye contact.
The invasive nature is similarly reflected in the some iconologies involving the eye. The Eye of Providence reminds that no deed is unseen by the eye. The concept of the All Seeing Eye is also only possible if the invasion of privacy is so complete and whole that nothing can be hidden. It is of course no coincidence that the eye is used instead of any other icon for only the eye can take in everything unrestrained despite the futile attempts of concealment. Similarly the Eye of Sauron as depicted in the Lord of the Rings was able to glean information forcefully from Merry the Hobbit regarding the location of the One Ring against his will by mere eye contact; another instance where the eye is depicted for its ability to entirely trespass into the territorial lands of privacy.
In the end, there is more to sight than a photographic capturing of images. There is a visual molestation of flesh that one can only seek to shield himself with his clothes and there is an intercourse of souls when two are in love and in other times, an attempt to invade into the core of a person for there can be only one defence: to shut your eyes. Look with caution and wield the weapon of sight carefully for your eyes live in the world of spies.
Sprouting Nonsense Since 1984 {8:00 am}
