Body Worlds 2

Body Worlds 2 is in Boston until Jan. 7th. I am definitely going to go see it. This display has been a big hit in Europe and the people I know that have seen it have raved about it.

Not the "freepers" though. They see the exhibit as an abomination and a celebration of the "culture of death."

Nothing shocking about this, you say, it's just what passes for modern art these days? Ah, but there's an important difference. Von Hagens' "Bodyworks" exhibit is not representational art -- the usual paintings or sculptures or even photographs -- but actual human bodies or body parts from 200 dead men, women and children preserved, dissected, mutilated and put on display to entertain. [My emphasis]

Ok, I'm pretty sure I will be entertained. But I'll be educated while I'm being entertained as well. The "freepers" are concerned whether consent was obtained from the persons whose bodies are used in the exhibit.

You would think the "freepers" would visit the Body Worlds website to obtain some information. Maybe they could even download the information concerning body donation (pdf file).

Von Hagens' purpose is simple: He wants to reduce the human body to a mere object. How better to do it than to take real bodies and defile, manipulate and pervert them from flesh and blood into plastic for the purpose of amusing those with a particularly ghoulish appetite? In the process, he goes way beyond objectification. He denigrates not only the human body but life itself.

I guess I'll never understand the "freeper" mindset. The human body is something to be hidden, kept secret, not talked about. I really don't see how the "freepers" are any different than those that prevented human dissection in the dark ages. We certainly don't want anyone to learn the anatomy, physiology or health conditions of their bodies! "Freepers" must believe that there is no need for a person to understand their body. And the children! Think about the children! The exhibit is appropriate for 5th graders on up.