Yeah because thinking is overrated (works even better if one's a narcissist). Why should you think about what the character represents/stands for and deduce that it's something you might want to emulate (or avoid)? You just look at skin (you can also choose your own genitals!!!) and say "hey, that's, like, you know, me!1!"

It's probably why we might want to ensure that we have a good enough memory (and a large collection of art worth remembering).