Ugh.
Posted 02.27.2013 at 11:30 am
12 Comments
Anne Hathaway
Wikimedia Commons
Anne Hathaway is the most despicable actress in Hollywood, according to the Internet, which used to hate Katherine Heigl and Shia Labeouf and every last Kardashian in pretty much the same way. The reasons for hating Hathaway are all over the map, but mostly they center on the notion that in public life she behaves like nothing so much as a robot built from scratch by the world's most insufferable high school theater class.
Hating celebrities is something of a pastime. But for whatever reason all the Hatherade--my coinage; step off, Perez Hilton--surrounding the Oscars triggered a national spasm of bloviating and handwringing--what does it mean that America hates her so much?--with all the hootin' and hollerin' culminating in this: Someone tried to make a scientific case for why we loathe Anne Hathaway. From Salon’s Daniel D’addario:
But it may, indeed, be Hathaway’s face that fuels her haters, if only subconsciously: “When times are good we prefer actresses with rounder faces,” says psychology professor Terry Pettijohn, who has conducted academic studies on actress preference. “They convey these ideas of fun and youth.” Hathaway, on the other hand, has a “mature face” made distinctive by its slender shape and bone structure: “It suggests she would be popular when times are more challenging.” As the economy improves, Hathaway--whose peak of fame, post-boyfriend, pre-Oscar-hosting, came amid the 2008 economic crash--may just be a reminder of bad times.
So we hate her face? And we hate it because we’re rich? Well, at least there's one thing in the world more insufferable than Anne Hathaway.
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The economy is improving?
Cost of living keeps going up, gas keeps going up. And they upped everyone's taxes at the beginning of the year.
Yeah, sounds like things are improving. :/ ?
By the logic of the 'study', Hathaway should be getting more popular.
Viva Anne!
Sorry fox and vixen, she is married. :)
Seriously?
What is happening to Popular Science? This is one of the most pointless articles I have read yet. I come here for science, not for some celebrity drivel with a bit of junk science thrown in. Please stop writing these awful unprofessional blog pieces.
Prices and taxes going up aren't necessarily indicators that the economy isn't improving. They're just indicators of inflation, government inaction (taxes) and in the case of gas, price gouging.
This article does not belong on PopSci. There is absolutely no science behind it. The idea that the state of a society determines whose faces are more appealing has no empirical evidence to back it up. As well, there is no way to accurately determine the popular opinion of a society from a quick search of the internet. Finally, such nonchalant talk about hating someone who hasn't earned any animosity belongs in elementary school.
Wttp/jaec45
I like Anne Hathaway's face. I find it attractive and amusing with her delightful smile. Her facial features are kind of classical and may well be a good subject for a portraiture.
I hate Anne Hathaway, but not because of her face... she's just #!%* annoying.
As an aside, I will admit that I dislike looking at her face, but that's because it reminds me of her awful personality, not the economy.
If she would stop sticking her finger down her throat after every meal and put on a few pounds she would likely be very pleasing to the eye
I've always found Anne Hathaway to be quite beautiful... even if she is so skinny I'd be afraid to touch her.
I don't hate Ann Hathaway. I like her, she is a good actress. I don't care if she is pretty or not pretty, she has been on a couple of movies I really like, especially Big Fish.
She was married to William Shakespeare, I saw her cottage in Stratford. I think she was an OK kind of woman. Why would anyone hate her, she has been dead a couple of hundred years.
@mike13323 @Ardent Ward
a) Last time I checked, Psychology was considered a science.
b) It's called POPULAR Science for a reason and I don't mean popularity of celebrities, but science that has broad appeal.
c) Lighten up. A little balance in life will make you much more effective with the things that you love. Plus, there are plenty of articles here related to more "serious" pursuits.