Zombie anthropological report

L U M I N E S C E N TP R O S O P A G N O S I A C S

An Anthropological Study

Shuley BegumNicola BradleyAmelia DrayRebecca DrayMatthew EdgsonEli MerisonSarah Smith

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Luminescent Prosopagnosiacs: An Anthropological Study

C O N T E N T S

I. Preface

II. Introduction

III. Origins

i. Technological Structure

ii. Medical Structure

IV. Societal Effects

V. Behaviours and Adaptations

i. The Universal Facial Language

ii. Popular culture

VI. References

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P R E F A C E October 9th 2083

The luxury of an occasional gust of polluted air that rose from the shadowed depths of the tunnels is a welcome memory in comparison to this metal and concrete tomb of which they now crawl through.

The barriers obey to my command as I reluctantly stare into the blinding red light, feeling the strobes tear deeper into my retina. Stunned, I slip through onto the pathway. The social blinkers are up, leaving us all blind to the draw of our own destinations. Funnelling through to the separation of the weak and the strong, of whom when conquering the stairs, the rush defines the sheer scale of desperation.

The obstacles continue as the deceptive allure of the platform edge reveals itself to be the entrance to yet another engineered human chain, progressively stripping us of our emotional awareness. When the platform eventually appears, movements start to resemble patterns of blood flow, with the sporadic clot refusing to give way to the infection of ravenous businessmen.

I notice pairs of slightly scuffed, luminous trainers identifying a group of enthusiastic tourists infesting this new territory, foreign to their open breathable air. Their heads move violently; seemingly scanning the faces of black suited drones. The rebellious few newcomers will ignore the forbidden act of communication and eye contact, naïve to the unspoken rules of our underground world.

I tear my gaze from the thoroughly inspected concrete floor to watch the outsiders. My heart sinks at the appearance of their faces, eyes and mouth meticulously stitched closed with the flawless, plastic skin of their cheeks spreading over their features. No definition between mother and daughter, between husband and wife. I notice the soft, falling curls of a woman, yet I am blind to the delicate creases under her eyes, the blood rising in her cheeks or the happiness in the curl of her mouth. My fingers go numb at the memory of what I used to see.

Fig. 1 Diary extract of Joseph Hind, commuter and patient of Dr. Janet McGrath.

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I N T R O D U C T I O N

Prosopagnosia (also known as face blindness) refers to the inability to recognise people from their face. This can vary from not recognis-ing faces to, objects, cars and animals. The disorder also affects aspects of face processing mak-ing it difficult to distinguish race, gender and age for example.

Luminescent Prosopagnosia is a condition that results in the inability to depict any features on the face. Initially it caused confu-sion for sufferers and doctors, but as the disorder became more prominent sufferers accepted it and developed ways to cope with their daily lives in society.

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Fig. 2 What a Luminescent Prosopagnosiac would see

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Since their emergence, the Luminescent prosopagnosics- being born of the tube network- are native to London. Those who travel into London from outside of the city expand out into their native areas, form-ing subcultures within areas dominated by non- sufferers. The way that these two groups will interact is an interesting pros-pect, especially concerning communication.

Fig. 3 Mapping out the Luminescent prosopagnosiac territories and sub- territories.

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O R I G I N S

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T E C H N O L O G I C A LS T R U C T U R E

Luminescent Prosopagnosia began to develop around 2020 due to technological advances in the consumer electronics industry, as well as the development in the underground travel system.

The many users of tablets, kindles and phones while travelling on the underground, which led to a higher demand in updates for the consumer electronics industry. A fault in the technology affected the fusiform gyrus, which therefore im-paired the ability to recognise faces.

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Fig. 4 Transition from the screen to the fusiform gyrus

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The immediate implementation of these technologies (such as retina scanners, improved retina advertisement displays e.t.c) onto the underground network resulted in a much improved service in the underground- but was the dawn of the luminescent prosopagnosiac community (and the subsequent growth of said community.)

T F L A D A P TAT I O N S

Fig. 6 (right) Plans for a three tier platform from TFL, incor-porating a format to transport

as many passengers as possible.

Fig. 5 (above) A sample ad-vert promoting the rise of the

retina scanner technology.

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Fig. 8 Technical drawing showing the design of the three tier tube train- to maximise passenger turnover.

The format of this new tube system, in attempting to maximise passenger turnover- actually exposed a mass group of commuters to these technologies, resulting in exponential growth of the Luminescent Prosopagnosiac community.

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Fig. 7 Diagram documenting the protocol to deliver caffienated vapour to the body.

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M E D I C A LS T R U C T U R E

Many people used tablets, kindles and phones while travelling on the underground, which led to a higher demand in updates for the consumer electronics industry. A particu-lar strobing pattern in the device overstimulated the fusiform gyrus, which therefore impaired the ability to recognise faces.

The disorder was not recognised for many years, causing a lot more peo-ple to be exposed to the problem. The release of the retina scanners in 2070, helped to advance Lumines-cent Prosopagnosia and it began to spread easily.

Fig. 9 The location of the fusiform gyrus.

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Fig. 10a Extracts from the medi-cal journals of Dr. Janet McGrath M.D- who has researched extensively into this condition- documenting the stages as it progresses.

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The journals and writings of Dr. Janet Mcgrath proved very useful in tracing the development of Luminescent Pros-opagnosia. She writes of her meetings with one of her patients- Joseph Hind.

The implications of the environmental factors affecting his lifestyle- in particu-lar the underground network, became evident through the many meetings they had.

Extracted from one journal entry de-picting the failure of Hind to replicate facial features:- “I also asked him to replicate a draw-ing/ photo of a person and again he replicated without facial features.I have never seen this before.”

Fig. 10b Recorded notes from the sessions between Dr. McGrath and Joseph Hind.

Left: Mr. Hind’s Patient overview

Right: Quotes from the medical journals of Dr. McGrath- documenting the deterioration of his facial recognition skills

Far Right: Extracts from tests undertaken by Mr. Hind. Notice the severe lack of cognitive facial recognition.

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“I am beginning to think this could have been brought on by environmental factors.

No previous history of eye problems or prosopagnosia in the family. No sudden changes to suggest brain injury/ damage.”

“I also asked him to replicate a drawing/ photo of a person and again he replicated without facial features.

I have never seen this before”

McGrath, Vol 5, Hind, 2073

McGrath, Vol 5, Hind, 2073

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Fig. 11 Medical referral letter from Dr. Janet McGrath M.D

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Fig. 12Dr. McGrath’s notes on a patient developing Luminescent Prosopagnosia

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S O C I E TA L E F F E C T S

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P E R S O N A LI M A G E

The rise of Luminescent Prosopagnosia would lead to a drop in profit for many industries.

The beauty industry would decline in later years as the disorder developed and became prominent. Cosmetic surgery would still gain customers through due to a rise in liposuc-tion, laser hair removal and buttock, arm or thigh lifts. Breast enlargement/reductions may increase rather than decrease as people would want to enhance body definition. The same effect would happen in hairdressers.

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Fig. 13 Examples of Hairstyles adopted by members of the LP community-

to increase personal identity without the benefit of a face.

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E M P L O Y M E N T D I V I D E

Certain work roles, such as security guards, bouncers or prison guards would not be open to people that suffer from Luminescent Prosopagno-sia. The disorder would inhibit their ability to fulfil the job role. This led to unrest between many sufferers because they feel there is a certain extent of discrimination against the disorder. However, in the long term the disorder actually helped discrimination. The sufferer cannot judge people by their appearance, ethnicity or their facial expressions.

Although the sufferer has a way to communicate through the “Universal facial language”, their disorder has resulted in a reduction of jobs which has increased the number of unem-ployment by 20%. Retail companies like John Lewis, where job roles at John Lewis involve a lot of commu-nication, has resulted in less employ-ment amongst the percentage of sufferers that exists. This is making it difficult for sufferers to get back into the working world as their disorder has restricted communication for them.

Fig. 14 An eyewitness suffering from luminescent prosopagnosia becomes very

unreliable- imagine all suspects in a lineup having no face!

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Fig. 15 A negative politically focused propoganda poster

questioning the motives of a “skinface”.

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B E H A V I O U R S & A D A P TAT I O N S

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A lack of facial features (to a L.P) means that communication of emotions through the face becomes impossible. This disorder does not impair speech or hearing, there-fore extreme emotions such as laughing or crying can still be heard, which means that the sufferer needs to find another way of communicating. This can be done by over exaggerating expressions and mannerisms using body movement and hand gestures. This disorder has restricted the sufferers from having an emotional connection with the people around them.

Universal Facial Sign Language has been es-tablished to help sufferers and non-sufferers communicate throughout their daily life to reduce the feeling of isolation. Adapted from the facial expressions for the corresponding emotion, the abstracted expression commu-nicates the intended idea without resembling a face- eliminating the problem presented to the Luminescent prosopagnosiac. It would create unease between the sufferer and non-sufferer if they are unsure of whether to begin using the language but as the disorder becomes more widespread it would become the norm in society.

T H E U N I V E R S A L F A C I A L L A N G U A G E

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Fig. 16 The transition from the facial expression to the gesture From top to bottom: disgust, fear, surprise.

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Fig. 17 Illustrations from the Incoll’s pocket dictionary: Universal Facial Language,

depicting the hand shaping, positioning and motions. Starting above and moving

clockwise: Anger, Sadness, Happiness, Disgust, Fear and Surprise.

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P O P U L A RC U LT U R E

Development of communication translates into popular culture and cinema. Many films have been remade to abide by the inclusion act of 2089. The universal facial language aids Luminescent Prosopagnosiacs to understand and relate to emotion in film and television. The language began as a literal concept and developed into a more figurative language as time passed.

Fig. 18 Screenshots from the Good, the Bad and the Ugly [1966]

(Adapted for the luminescent Prosopagnosiac community).

Dir: Sergio Leone

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R E F E R E N C E S

- Untitled Diary, Joseph Hind, 2083, Extract: October 9th.

- Ordnance Survey Map: Luminescent Prosopagnosia communities,

2095, Ordnance Survey.

- Medical records of Joseph Hind, 2075.

- Medical Journals Volumes 3- 9, Dr. Janet McGrath, 2072- 2075.

- Incoll’s Pocket Dictionary: Universal Facial Language, 2098,

Incoll’s Publishing.

- The Good, The Bad and the Ugly [1966] (Adapted for the lumines-

cent Prosopagnosiac community), Dir: Sergio Leone.

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