Object head
Example of a TV head character. [CITYSTREETFUNK, CC BY-SA 4.0]
Object heads are a humanoid robot-type where the typical head is replaced with an object, most commonly televisions or monitors.
History
The idea of object heads has existed for many centuries, appearing across many cultures throughout the centuries. The first visual roots of object heads appears in the Japanese legends of tsukumogami. Within the emaki (picture scroll) called Tsukumogami Emaki, Tsukumogami were objects or tools which acquired spirits after existing for over 100 years. Also described were people throwing out objects before they reached 99 years of age, thereby preventing them from becoming Tsukumogami. Many of these objects would retain their original shapes while also gaining demonic qualities and having the ability to change forms.
In the 1930s, object heads would begin to take foothold in early American cartoons, usually as a way to depict certain meanings that would be hard to depict otherwise. One early example includes the 1931 cartoon, Minnie the Moocher, where the titular character Betty Boop’s father, after continuously berating her would turn into a record player to denote the phrase “like a broken record”. The trend of object heads would continue to increase in media as the 21st century creeped around the corner, appearing in media such as the video game series Silent Hill with Pyramid Head and the 2017 video game Cuphead, among others.
Object heads wouldn’t start being depicted as robots until fairly recently. A real life example would be the Japanese robot Wabot 2, which sported a camera for a head. This camera gave Wabot 2 the ability recognize and read musical score, allowing it to play a musical keyboard.[1] Most commonly, however, is the TV object head. While the exact origin is unknown, many online artists would begin drawing these TV heads with many different designs, most notably old 20th century CRTs. Due to the prevalence of existing CRTs in tech and pawn shops, many people would also start to fashion the shells of these CRTs into wearable heads.
In popular culture
In real life
Object heads are a recurring trope in the electronic music scene, including the French group Daft Punk, who wear helmets with embedded screens, and Marshmello, a marshmellow with a face.
Custom costumes and cosplays involving screen head characters are common, thanks to the low cost and relative ease of converting old CRT televisions and monitors into wearable accessories.
In media
Robots featuring monitors or televisions for heads are common in media featuring machines. Examples include:
- Canti from FLCL
- Karen from SpongeBob SquarePants
- Vox from Hazbin Hotel
- The Securitrons from Fallout: New Vegas
- Lord of Games from Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
- Monita from Nintendo Land
- Tenna from Deltarune: Chapter 3
Characters with other objects for heads include:
- Mayor McCheese, an old McDonalds mascot with a cheeseburger for a head
- Manga Fukidashi from My Hero Academia, whose head is a speech bubble
- Many characters in Anpanman have food items for heads, including the title character, who is a bean jam bun
- Master Jiggywiggy from Banjo-Tooie has a jigsaw piece with eyes for a head
- Cuphead and Mugman, the protagonists of the Cuphead video games, have drinking cups for heads
- Chop Chop Master Onion, the protagonist’s sensei in PaRapper the Rapper, whose head is an onion
- The Cameramen from the Skibidi Toilet series have a mix of security cameras, digital cameras and televisions for heads
In the robotkin community
A number of robotkin designs involve characters with screens for heads.