Wildlife (Nature) Programs as Ideology

[Pluto]

Every other Sunday I go to my wife's parents for lunch here in Belgium. Most Sundays there's a wildlife programme on tv, and sooner or later shows something being attacked and eaten by something else. Why do the film makers focus on the killing so much I said, to which my brother-in-law shot back, that is life! Is it, I thought.

Here is a text by the documentary maker Adam Curtis:

"And the truth is that the animal programmes are far more about us than they are about the animals. They are really about how we see ourselves. I have always been convinced that animal programmes are one of the most powerful ideological expressions of our time - telling stories that both express and reinforce how we understand our relationship to each other socially and politically in powerfully emotional ways."

I am currently reading a pdf, which can be googled, the title is:
TELEOLOGY ON TELEVISION?
IMPLICIT MODELS OF EVOLUTION IN BROADCAST WILDLIFE
AND NATURE PROGRAMMES

[Piltdownbrain]

I'm tired of armchair naturalists who hate you because you shoot your own meat, yet buy meat at the supermarket. Damn hypocrits!

[Bill Wiltrack]

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I like this statement from the above original post: And the truth is that the animal programmes are far more about us than they are about the animals. They are really about how we see ourselves.



I would like to add, those animal programs are our reflection of how we see the world.


I am growing to understand empathy with animals. The realization comes with a heavy heart and much regret.


Jeremy Rifkin mentions mirror-neurons in his video The Empathic Civilization.

I think there is something to it.




*Please don't tell me hunting is a sport.Call it what it is..it's target practice.



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[Piltdownbrain]

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I like this statement from the above original post: And the truth is that the animal programmes are far more about us than they are about the animals. They are really about how we see ourselves.



I would like to add, those animal programs are our reflection of how we see the world.


I am growing to understand empathy with animals. The realization comes with a heavy heart and much regret.


Jeremy Rifkin mentions mirror-neurons in his video The Empathic Civilization.

I think there is something to it.




*Please don't tell me hunting is a sport.Call it what it is..it's target practice.



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Dear Bill, I don't care about empirical data anymore, I AM the spontaneous monkey, I have my genetic imperatives tuned to my elder wisdom emotional senses, I have learnt from experience, just as the child learns about fire, life is a cumulative journey of juxtaposing experiences and emotions on a blank canvas at the end of which there should be a masterpiece, if we learnt anything along the way. I don't want to hear about systems which burst the bubble on childhood's mystery, just leave it be, let us marvel at the unknown, it's alot more fun being blown out by surprises when we are older, why should we know everything all at once?

[Bill Wiltrack]

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Well stated. Nice thought...








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[Piltdownbrain]

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Hey Bill, you're cool, your journey is noble and graceful.









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Well stated. Nice thought...








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[ami]

Yep, most of life is not carnivore; most of life is warm and comfy. Nature shows are frequently projections of ideology, dog-eat-dog, and other cognitive distortions and social-dominance ideologies.

[Arising_uk]

What are those idiot parents of that, I presume Downs, boy thinking!? In fact what idiot parents of any child would allow this risk? I can only presume they're same idiot owners of the dog.

[Bill Wiltrack]

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Perhaps they were thinking the same thing most of us were...this dog was showing a tremendous amount of empathy towards the child and the child felt a connection back towards the dog. A touching moment caught on this GIF.




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[Arising_uk]

Yeah! And its that kind of anthropomorphizing from delusional western primates that leads to tragic attacks. Still, never fails to amuse when I hear western primates talking to their dogs and theres the perennially favourite story - "Man drowns jumping in to save dog from flood. ... dog later found downstream unharmed".

[artisticsolution]

Yeah! And its that kind of anthropomorphizing from delusional western primates that leads to tragic attacks. Still, never fails to amuse when I hear western primates talking too their dogs and theres the perennially favourite story - "Man drowns jumping in to save dog from flood. ... dog later found downstream unharmed".

Hi Arising,
You find a man drowning amusing but you think someone being entertained by a bead of sweat rolling down someone's nose rude?

[Arising_uk]

Hi As,
Yes, as I find mine less bloodless than your Aesthetic as mine is to stop me crying at the stupidity of hearing a continually repeating tragic story due to poor emotional control and reason whereas yours is to relieve boredom by feigning interest yet despising the person in your mind.

[Arising_uk]

Yep, most of life is not carnivore; most of life is warm and comfy. Nature shows are frequently projections of ideology, dog-eat-dog, and other cognitive distortions and social-dominance ideologies.

Not really, nature really is red-in-tooth and claw. Carnivores rarely eat each other they eat the vegetarians. The veggies spend all day having to eat and then run, its the carnivore who has to sit about at times and then run. Its the domesticated animals that pretty much get the warm and comfy life. Man especially.

Nature shows obviously show the action as who'd watch animals just sitting? Most of the natural history shows have taken a big step-up in presentation but obviously it depends upon what channel you watch. So I suppose a good reflection upon the viewer rather than all this 'us'.

If you want the last taboo its not showing what looks like 'homosexuality' amongst some of the larger animals but I think this will soon be broken as the Planet Earth team, in an interview, said they have some most interesting footage regarding sexual practices that they're not currently allowed to address due to ideology.

[artisticsolution]

Hi As,
Yes, as I find mine less bloodless than your Aesthetic as mine is to stop me crying at the stupidity of hearing a continually repeating tragic story due to poor emotional control and reason whereas yours is to relieve boredom by feigning interest yet despising the person in your mind.

I think you are mistaken. The story about the aesthetic is from Kierkegaard's, from either/or. ....It is not mine. However, if this is what you think the "aesthetic" person is thinking or what K meant by the story, then I believe you are mistaken.

It is true....in the story the aesthetic person did not like listen to this particular man's stories as they bored him aesthetically...but I don't think he despised him personally for telling boring stories. If we think of the story as an insight into the mind of a person with attention deficit disorder. I think that is a better analogy. I don't believe that people with ADD are able to control their attention span (through no fault of their own). The mind is just swept away in the aesthetic of the moment.

But perhaps you have never experienced this...which would make sense considering you did well in school. Still, I don't think you could possibly know what is going on in my mind or in the aesthetic mind, to assume you know is to misjudge the situation and the person.

[Arising_uk]

I think you are mistaken. The story about the aesthetic is from Kierkegaard's, from either/or. ....It is not mine. However, if this is what you think the "aesthetic" person is thinking or what K meant by the story, then I believe you are mistaken.

I remember our conversation hence I understood your reference hence I knew it wasn't 'yours'.

I may well be mistaken and as such "despise" too strong a word. I do think that story made me think the 'Aesthetic' person was utterly rude and arrogant in their behaviour towards others who bored them.

It is true....in the story the aesthetic person did not like listen to this particular man's stories as they bored him aesthetically...but I don't think he despised him personally for telling boring stories. If we think of the story as an insight into the mind of a person with attention deficit disorder. I think that is a better analogy. I don't believe that people with ADD are able to control their attention span (through no fault of their own). The mind is just swept away in the aesthetic of the moment.

I think ADD is an example of a society and culture that medicalizes problems due to a need for quick-fixes and a shifting of responsibility rather than dealing with the social, family and educational systems that cause such behaviour. That and it makes a load of work for the pyscho-babblers and medical insurance companies.

But perhaps you have never experienced this...which would make sense considering you did well in school. Still, I don't think you could possibly know what is going on in my mind or in the aesthetic mind, to assume you know is to misjudge the situation and the person.

I can only judge by what they write and as such this is my judgement upon their words. I left school with no qualifications and obtained those I have as a mature student.