Boober's lack of eyes

[Alpha Centauri]

Was it ever explained why Boober was made without eyes?

 

[dwmckim]

He was the last one constructed and they ran out.

 

[Princeton]

But really, can we ever really imagine him with eyes? I know I can't!

 

[beakerboy12]

But really, can we ever really imagine him with eyes? I know I can't!

You have a point!

 

[Alpha Centauri]

For some reason I always imagined him with small black beady eyes.

 

[Dearth]

I think it was an intentional artistic experiment. Can we make a character who lacks something basic in our understanding of a person's feelings, and still have their emotions 'read' to the audience solely through performance and characterization?

This goes back to the 'less is more' axiom. The less specific details you give to the viewer, the more you engage their mind as they fill in certain blanks for themselves. And so it becomes far more personal to each person.

One could argue that it's just an extreme example of the earliest Muppet designs, with their abstract features and simplified shapes. The less 'literal' something was, the less defined, then the more people it could reach and resonate with.

DN

 

[MuppetLabsBoy]

To build on what was just said, Boober's character is a very neurotic "person." The lack of eyes help express that; if he did have eyes, he would appear to be smarter, even if they were just black bead eyes.

I think it was an intentional artistic experiment. Can we make a character who lacks something basic in our understanding of a person's feelings, and still have their emotions 'read' to the audience solely through performance and characterization?

This goes back to the 'less is more' axiom. The less specific details you give to the viewer, the more you engage their mind as they fill in certain blanks for themselves. And so it becomes far more personal to each person.

One could argue that it's just an extreme example of the earliest Muppet designs, with their abstract features and simplified shapes. The less 'literal' something was, the less defined, then the more people it could reach and resonate with.

DN

 

[frogboy4]

Boober's lack of visible eyes is just an artistic aesthetic. Why do Mokey and Gobo have eyelids and Red and Boober don't? Aesthetic. Boober certainly isn't blind and it's never mentioned that his eyes aren't present. In the "world of the Fraggles" the fellow's eyes are most likely beneath his hair and very tiny.

 

[beakerboy12]

In the "world of the Fraggles" the fellow's eyes are most likely beneath his hair and very tiny. [/quote]

Right! Even if you look on Boober's Muppet Wiki page it says, "He has green fur, red hair, and no visible eyes."

 

[Rose]

I never really though about WHY Boober didn't have any eyes. I thought it must have some sort of eyes or howeles would he be able to see? lol I just think every Fraggle as differnt in personality and looks so I think it was to make them seem as differnt as they can be just like an individuial person may be unque in his or her own way.