You can feel shame in a dark room all by yourself, but you cannot be humiliated alone. Humiliation requires a witness. It is a performance of power where one person is lowered and others look on. This "looking" is what makes it visual. Whether it’s a public execution in the Middle Ages or a "cringe" video going viral today, the humiliation isn’t complete until the image of the victim’s distress is captured by an audience. The Physicality of the Fall
Physical clumsiness—the "slip on a banana peel"—is the classic visual trope of dignity being lost. 13. Humiliation is a Visual Medium
The involuntary blush is a visual betrayal of the internal state. You can feel shame in a dark room
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