Seeing like an insect?

December 7, 2010 8:44 PM

What examples of film, theater, or other art attempt to approximate the experience of seeing like an insect? Or like another animal? I feel like i have seen film-makers attempt to simulate the experience of having a compound eye. Perhaps in The Fly? Any leads would be most appreciated.
posted by mortaddams to Media & Arts (13 answers total)

I know in the X-files episode with cockroaches, there's a part where Mulder picks up a cockroach and looks at it and it shows the cockroach's point of view. I don't remember if they did anything to represent the compound-eye, but it's possible.
posted by RobotHero at 10:59 PM on December 7, 2010

or other art

If you count literature, the Arthurian classic Once and future King. Merlin turns Arthur into many animals to teach him wisdom. We the reader are "seeing" thru those eyes.

Merlin, knowing the boy's destiny, teaches Arthur what it means to be a good king by turning him into various kinds of animals: fish, hawk, ant, goose, and badger. Each of the transformations is meant to teach Wart a lesson, which will prepare him for his future life.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 11:12 PM on December 7, 2010

In an episode of The Simpsons there is a scene from their pet dog's point of view. Both sound and sight.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 11:59 PM on December 7, 2010

The film Microcosmos is devoted entirely to the bug's eye view of the world.
posted by effluvia at 1:00 AM on December 8, 2010

the film "Beastmaster" has some animal viewpoint scenes (I think I remember a hawk and a tiger/lion)
posted by alchemist at 2:59 AM on December 8, 2010

The Acid House, adapted from Irvine Welsh, has a segment where a guy is turned into a fly and flies around while taking revenge on his unfaithful girlfriend. Lots of fly-POV.
posted by shortfuse at 6:05 AM on December 8, 2010

Beetlejuice, I believe, has a fly POV shot.
posted by hermitosis at 6:42 AM on December 8, 2010

Also, there is in fact a compound eye shot in the 1958 The Fly. You can watch the whole film on Netflix Instant.
posted by hermitosis at 6:45 AM on December 8, 2010

IIRC there is a POV shot of the creature in The Dunwich Horror that does the compound eye thing.

Also Meet the Feebles.
posted by heatvision at 7:47 AM on December 8, 2010

Then of course you have Predator [alien PoV], Robocop [cyborg PoV], Terminator [robot PoV]. The last two are pretty basic, with mostly some digital readout type stuff added, but Predator has the beasties viewing things in a non-human light spectrum.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 7:57 AM on December 8, 2010

The 1981 Oscar-winning animated short "A Legy" shows the world from a (mostly) airborne flys perspective. It's pretty clever.
posted by elendil71 at 8:31 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

And just because I'm a stickler for science, the whole cinema compound-eye thing is probably NOT how insects actually perceive the world.
posted by elendil71 at 8:41 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

Oh yeah, the original Bedazzled with Dudley Moore has a scene where he turns into a fly and as I remember it fits your criteria.
posted by heatvision at 8:20 AM on December 9, 2010