BME: Body Modification Ezine

A tattooed person suspends from hooks, laying flat, one leg higher than the other. Their head is back, and they seem to be smiling, dark hair dangling like an anime character.

Celebrating body modification culture since 1994.

Author: Rob

  • The dragon tattoo and the girl

    Written by

    Rob

    I’ve intentionally been avoiding writing a story about the Millennium Trilogy for a while now. While I haven’t read the books, I have seen the films which are believably good, but despite the title, the tattoo in question doesn’t really play a major role in the films. Sure the character of Lisbeth sports a massive back piece, but seeing as how you only see it a couple of times and the actress, Noomi Rapace, didn’t actually get it tattooed on herself I just assumed that the entire thing was a non-story.

    Today I was pleasantly proven wrong.

    Before we begin, here’s the trailer for the first film: “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

    I use Google news alerts to flag stories that have specific key words in them.  Tattoo of course being one of them.  So you can imagine that with these films gaining international acclaim, the books being bestsellers, and casting rumors flying around for the American adaptations, my inbox has been filled for the past few months of stories about the trilogy.  For the most part I just dismiss them, but since they finally got around to casting the role of Lisbeth in the American films, the e-mails have died down.

    Yet here I am today, talking about the thing I promised not to discuss on ModBlog.  The reason I’m bringing it up now?  Well, I’ll let this article from The Mirror fill you in.

    Winning a career-making role in the Dragon Tattoo films brought a strange mixture of pleasure and pain to rising star Noomi Rapace.  The 30-year-old actress knew she had to nail the part of androgynous anti-hero Lisbeth Salander – or risk offending the many fans of the creator, best-selling author Stieg Larsson.  So to really convince as the punky, chain-smoking, kick-ass computer hacker, Noomi embarked on a remarkable transformation.  She went on a strict diet, trained in kickboxing and Thai boxing and even took her motorcycle licence. A non-smoker, she began puffing her way through “thousands of cigarettes” both on-set and off it.  And she wouldn’t even consider faking all those piercings in Salander’s ears and nose because, as Noomi puts it, “I wanted to feel those piercings in myself.”

    You’ll often hear of actors undergoing massive physical changes for a role.  De Niro gained a significant amount of weight for his role in Raging Bull, while Christian Bale lost a frightening amount of weight in a short period of time for his role in The Machinist, only to gain it all back plus more in a couple months to be ready for his role in Batman Begins.  Actors are required to change themselves to some degree for a role, sometimes it’s simply a costume, and others require a lot more commitment.  So for Noomi Rapace, in order to fully transform into the character of Lisbeth she drastically changed not only her physical appearance, but also her behaviour months before filming.

    While the diet and smoking is one aspect of the transformation, this being ModBlog I wanted to focus on her mods.  You get a brief glimpse of them in the trailer but having seen the films it is obvious that she didn’t just opt for one or two piercings to personify the character.  I counted about 10-12 seperate piercings spread out over her lobes, cartilage, nostrils and septum.  While by ModBlog standards this isn’t anything too significant, to see an actress portray a character so well, and commit to that many mods is something significant.  While the character of Lisbeth is certainly troubled, and goes through several drastic events over the course of the series, what we’re seeing is essentially a mainstream film that doesn’t treat modifications as some form of joke or used as shock value.

    I’m sure we’ve all seen films where a “punk” character appears on screen wielding a vast array of facial piercings simply to appear intimidating to the viewer, yet in these films the piercings appear to be just a natural extension of the character.  In fact, in the scenes where she isn’t wearing her piercings you get a sense of discomfort looking at her, as if something is missing.  Which of course there is.  I think an accurate analogy to this would be the NYC skyline post 9-11.  The image of the skyline had been etched into the minds of millions of people, and now, looking at it, there is something missing.  I’m not making any political statements or anything like that, but the idea that something is removed from an image that everyone was used to seeing makes one feel that sense of “not right”.  Of course the NYC skyline itself evokes a lot of feelings, but I think you get where I was going with this.  I really think that with Noomi Racpace’s commitment to the role, combined with a skilled filmmaker, that this may be the first portrayal of a modified person that actually captures the essence of the modified culture.  Where the focus is on the character, and not the mods, yet when the mods are removed you can tell something has changed not only on her physical exterior, but something inside her as well.

    If you were to take a look in a mirror one day and all of your mods were gone, how would you feel?  What about those close to you, how do you think they would react if a modification you’ve had for years was suddenly gone without a trace?  Because we don’t treat our modifications as something other than what they are, an extension of our ideal selves, we can sense the incompleteness that occurs with a mod is removed.  Yes I realize people retire mods all the time, but even then, those first few days really can reveal how much our mods are a part of us.

    Looking back at these films with the knowledge of the actor’s commitment to the part, it really shines a light on how a person who is modified isn’t defined by their mods, but by who they are as a person.  While this isn’t anything new to us, there still is a large portion of the population that doesn’t realize it.  Given that the titular dragon tattoo is the one modification in the film that isn’t a real mod, I thought I should close this post out with a real dragon tattoo from the BMEzine.com tattoo galleries.

    dragon

    I’m sure I’m not the only one who has seen the films.  Can anyone else who has seen them weigh in?  Did Noomi Rapace actually getting the piercings done change your view of the films and her portrayal, or does her performance stand out on its own without the piercings being a factor?

  • Move over vajazzling, there’s a new sheriff in town

    Written by

    Rob

    Well it turns out that when Jennifer Love Hewitt appeared on a talk show ranting about her vajazzle, it was only a matter of time before someone thought to get creative with paint instead of jewels.

    A while back I brought you some interesting news on the fine art of Vajazzling, which as we all know now, is the act of adorning one’s vagina with little Swarovski crystals.  Enhancing the mons pubis has since been an explosive trend in 2010, and I’m happy to bring you the latest installment: vatooing (also spelled “vattooing!”).  Vatooing, is also known as “twatooing,” “vatuing,” or simply “vagina tattooing.”  Except these tats (vats?) aren’t painful because they’re applied painstakingly with an airbrush

    So while this isn’t a permanent (or even semi-permanent) mod, it is always interesting to see what people will do to modify themselves when they know it has 0 chance of being permanent. The Completely Bare chain of spas in NYC are the ones trying to make this fad as popular as the gluing of crystals to your nether regions. Although after watching the video, I’m not completely sold on the “painstakingly applied” technique. As far as I can see they’re limited to using a pre-made stencil with an airbrush.

    I know I’ve posted about body painting in the past, and in a lot of cases an argument can be made that it is a form of art.  Can the same be said for this procedure?  Or do you think that this is just a quick way to cash in on the fad of women who want to live on the wild side, but not have any real permanence to it?  This also begs the question, is this trend limited to women?  Essentially they’re only adding gems and paint to the area around the vagina, couldn’t men get something done down there as well?  There’s already a debate going on as to whether this should be called “Vattooing” or “Twatooing”, if we add men to the mix, should it be called something else?  Possibly “Dattooing”, no, that name is taken by the guys trying to create digital tattoos.  What about “Cockattooing”, I think it has a nice ring to it.

    Now if this temporary tattoo/gemming business really isn’t your cup of tea, there’s always our genital tattoo galleries where you can go to see the real thing.

  • Being heavily modded is a disease?

    Written by

    Rob

    First, watch this video until the end.

    This ad, designed by Zeitsprung Commercial in Germany got sent to me last night by ModBlog reader Broodje.  For those that can’t watch the video at work, allow me to sum it up for you.  A man dressed in a bear costume is walking around the streets to cheerful music giving out hugs to people as he strolls along.  Then, the lighting darkens as the man in the costume pulls off the bear’s head to reveal his heavily modified face.  The tagline of the ad appears as he roars at the camera and stalks away:  ”You can’t see H.I.V.  But you can prevent it”.

    I’m not sure how you may react to this, but I’m on the same page as Broodje, in that we’re both more than a little upset by the implications that this PSA gives off.  While the message itself is a good one, the end result may be giving a lot of people a bad impression of the modded community.  To me this is saying that not only can you get H.I.V. from a hug, but that someone who is heavily modified is probably infected and it is best to stay away from them.

    As for the actor in the bear costume, I have no idea if he knew what the PSA was for, or if it mattered to him how he would be portrayed in the final cut.  The fact remains that as much as we try to show the world that modded people aren’t any different from the rest of the world, things like this come along and tap into some base fear that people have of the unknown, setting any progress that has been made back in the process.

    I think what troubles me most about this, is that this type of thing is exactly the reason that Jessie had such a huge media circus around his arrest.  The media is consistently associating heavily modified people with as many negative connotations as they can.  Now we’ve come to a point that not only are heavily modified people scary because they’re “all violent”, but they “all have H.I.V. and should be avoided at all costs”.

    What do you think?  Am I reading too much into the ad, or is there really an undercurrent in the media that is directly attempting to demonize a group of people just because they choose to take control of their bodies.

    UPDATE:  It turns out that this video was part of the 2009 HIVisible campaign, and is starring none other than BME’s own IAM:Sicko.  So it appears I was completely off base with my interpretation of the ad.  Thanks to Bastian for filling me in and clarifying the message.

  • The subtle art of the facial tattoo

    Written by

    Rob

    Last week I featured a facial tattoo that was not only large, but was also brightly colored.  Today I want to look at the other side of the coin.

    Okvit uploaded this image of his facial tattoo, which I think is a good example of a smaller, subtle piece.

    face1

    Before I talk about this specific tattoo, I want to take a step back to look at the art of facial tattoos and the significance they play in the wearer’s lives.  Now I obviously can’t speak from experience, and I would love to hear some stories from those of you who do have facial tattoos.  Now when it comes to visible modifications, the facial tattoo is probably one of the more drastic changes, at least to the unmodified world.  Our face, for the most part, is what people notice first about others.  When talking to someone, unless you’re a woman talking to a guy at a bar, chances are they’re looking at your face.  So when one chooses to modify their face, they are in essence changing the part of them that is seen the most.

    The ramifications of this change differ from person to person, but the fact remains that any kind of facial tattoos are an intentional modification that will permanently alter the way you are seen by others.  But I’m saying things we already know.  What I want to focus on is what constitutes a subtle facial tattoo, or is any kind of facial tattoo significant enough to go beyond the realm of what most would deem “subtle”.

    So looking at the lines above Okvit’s brow, would this fall into the same category as the girl who has the bright flowers covering half of her face?  Or does this qualify as a smaller piece that isn’t as significant?  Then again, I suppose it is all about context and who is viewing the tattoo vs. the wearer’s own feelings about the tattoo.  To the modified community, I think it’s safe to say that this piece is much more subtle than the other image, yet to those who are unmodified, does the same apply?

    In the end, does it really matter?  I suppose the person sporting the tattoo cares about what it looks like to themselves, and the views of others are secondary.  Yet in a cultural sense, facial tattoos have always held a position of significance.  Be it the facial lines of the Ainu, or the masks of the Maori, over time many cultures have adopted facial tattoos as a means of transformation.  The tattoos can show familial and tribal ties, they can denote when a boy becomes a man, when a girl is ready to be married, or in many cases, as a form of intimidation towards their enemies.  So while today’s world is drastically different in many ways from the past, the facial tattoo has remained in a position of denoting a significant change in the wearer’s life.

    I know that ModBlog has a lot of readers with facial tattoos and I would love to hear some of your stories about how things have changed for you, or if they haven’t at all.  Those without facial tattoos, what are your thoughts on them?  Are they something you would consider getting, is there a reason why or why not?

  • Around the world

    Written by

    Rob

    The urge to travel.  Some of us have it, some don’t.  Those that do can have it more than others.  To those that do, sometimes the journey is more important than the destination.

    Read that again, only this time replace “travel” with “be modified”.  Of course it could be applied to a great many things, which is what happens when you talk in generalities.  But lets get back to the travel bug.  I’ll admit I enjoy getting away, be it a road trip, camping, or hopping on a plane.  No matter the destination, there’s this thrill involved in putting your life into a suitcase and leaving everything else behind.

    Personally, I like to keep track of the places I’ve been.  Be it little mementos, photographs, or just dots on a map.  Whether the experience is good or bad, to me just being able to have the journey is enough to satisfy me.  So when I see a tattoo like this one, I can’t help but think to myself, where have I been, and where would I like to go.

    map

    Obviously this is still a fresh piece, and I don’t know if it is completed or not, but just looking at it makes me want to hop on a plane.  I traveled around the US this summer camping in a lot of national parks, so I think my next trip will either be spent visiting friends, or grabbing the first flight overseas and seeing where my travels take me.  Of course if I ever meet the anonymous submitter of this tattoo, I may ask if I can use a sharpie to mark off all the places I’ve been.

    It’s interesting to think of the ritual of travel, and how it varies for each person.  Like I mentioned I try to keep some form of memento of the places I’ve been.  For others, just the experience is all they need.  To some, packing as much as possible is the only way to go, others pack as little as possible to allow for some freedom while going across a country.  Then there’s the technology question.  Which in this day and age is becoming more and more significant a question.  When you travel do you bring your electronic gadgets?  Obviously those travelling for work would, but what about the rest of the people?  Do you “need” your iPhone if you’re hiking through the rainforest? Is your laptop vital when you’re walking the streets of Prague?  These are all questions travelers are faced with now.  20-30 years ago, these weren’t even options available to those going on a journey.  Have things changed so much that we can’t live without them, or is it still possible to just disappear off the grid for a while and enjoy where life takes you?

    Is there a special place you’ve been to recently?  Maybe one you’ve always wanted to go to?  Can you point it out on the map that’s tattooed on the person above?

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