Films and other media portrayals of chimpanzees and other animals beg the question to be asked: is what we're watching on the big screen actually what happens out in the real world? Are there implications to having film crews intruding on the natural habitat of these animals? Does the benefit of having a glimpse into the lives of these animals worth the risks involved for the sake of heightened public awareness?
"Chimpanzees" and other films also lead one to wonder- is it acceptable for us to impose human-like story lines on animals that are non-human? When we infuse anthropomorphism (the idea of giving animals human qualities) into media such as this, there are clear benefits and drawbacks.
One pro of anthropomorphism is that humans are often better able to relate to their plight, as many of their behaviors seem to mimic human ones. This allows for people to have a closer connection with the animals and may inspire a bigger push to conservation efforts. Also in this particular instance with chimpanzees, we share a large part of our DNA with these furry creatures, making us very distant relatives but similar nonetheless.
The other side of the coin suggests that the narrow focus in such attempts to connect humans and chimpanzees disallows us to see behaviors that are not common between humans and chimps. In the case of this fun-loving Disney film geared toward children, this might not be such a problem.
Sources:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1222815/
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/08/0831_050831_chimp_genes.html
I like that you focused on btw sides of anthropomorphism in chimpanzees because I feel like most people just argue one side and don't look at them both.
ReplyDeleteThat's super interesting! I didn't realize what the movie was actually about, but now I want to go see it! It's nice to see a movie out that covers subjects like these and really makes you question the way you are viewing animals.
ReplyDeleteI like the points you brought up about the good and bad about anthropomorphism! Although it may allow us humans to relate to other animals, I think it's definitely important to remember that they are not actually humans and that we cannot attribute our thoughts and feelings to them. We cannot just assume that animals behave in certain ways for the same reasons that we do.
ReplyDeleteI always look forward to Earth Day every year. My mom and I always go to the movies! I loved how you did a blog entry on this. I think its great you choose to discuss the concept anthropomorphism because it is not a typical concept that crosses people's mind then they are watching films of non-human animals.
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