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Thursday, October 15, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Cute Ferocious Animals: Oxymoron? I think not.
Frankly, the human race as a whole is very self-centered. We constantly aim to become the greatest power in the world, the apex of the entire community of living organisms. Although all organisms endeavor to pass their genes on successfully, we humans have especially survived many tests and obstacles set up by Nature. Over time, we had become the most advanced creatures on the planet. However, when we get attacked by mighty bears or feel the sheer terror of seeing a killer whale annihilate its prey, we begin to realize that we are not the strongest force out there. In order to sustain our omnipotence, we developed a special tool, also known as the media. The media imprints cuteness or lovingness on truly threatening animals, creating a sense of domestication in them. The media is symbolic of our denial to the existence of greater powers.
“Free Willy” and Shamu of Seaworld are examples of the media trying to hide the true viciousness of killer whales. In Free Willy, a twelve-year-old kid befriends an orca whale in a marina and teaches it tricks. In Seaworld, Shamu, an orca whale, is taught many tricks by its trainers. The fact that we can train orca whales into making them do whatever we want is one way for us to put ourselves above them; taking advantage of the orca whale’s cartoonish and visually pleasing looks to make them seemingly harmless is another. Even today, after watching the Youtube videos of orca whales killing sea lions, we still retain the typical friendly perception of orca whales. The media has tricked us into constantly feeling more powerful than this animal.
Similarly, we take advantage of the Great White Shark’s grotesque image and monotonous grey color to make the shark seem like the greatest predator in the sea with movies such as “Jaws” and “Deep Blue Sea”. But in reality, they aren’t the kings of the sea; orca whales predate on sharks, including the formidable Great White. The seemingly playful and kind orca whale is actually far fiercer than the shark. Furthermore, we exaggerate the image of the shark. Eighty percent of all shark species are virtually harmless to humans. Again, this makes us lose focus of the true aquatic power.
Finally, in movies like “The Lion King”, the media helps us create a sympathetic connection with Simba. Kids all around the world have come to love him, despite the wild beasts lions are. When many of us see lions, we think of Simba and the aura of “good” that radiates from him. But in real life, lions are dangerous animals that have no sense of morals. If you were to encroach too far into a male’s territory, you had better prepare yourself with a tranquilizer gun; otherwise, you would risk getting slaughtered.
As seen in the examples above, animals that are intrinsically threatening in nature are downsized into these cute, loving things by the media. On the other hand, the sharks are raised up to look fearful, even though the entire community of sharks is generally harmless to us. We do these things to make us (or make us feel like) the strongest creatures of all.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Pastoral, Sublime, and YIN YANG Natures!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The War Between Nature and Humans
In both Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer and Disney’s Bambi, animals and humans belong to two completely different realms of life: Nature and human society. The former was once an accepting refuge for any living creature on Earth. However, Her balance was hindered by the evolution of Man, an anomaly among all living organisms. Furthermore, humans have begun to take over Nature with their technological innovations. What was once their home is now but a memory of a distant past. Pure Nature has become off-limits to humans and human society has become off-limits to Nature’s normal animals; the growing dichotomy between Nature and human society is strongly accentuated by multiple physical conflicts that occur in both the book and the film. As long as one remains above the other, humans and Nature cannot live together in peace, for the battle to dominate will continue perpetually.
Sublime Nature is Nature’s fiercest weapon, used to force humans back into their lower, primeval positions. In one scene of Tom Sawyer, Tom, Huckleberry, and Joe, were trapped in a menacing storm on Jackson Island. At the peak of the storm, all the boys could do was run and hide from the wrath of Sublime Nature, “The boys seized each others’ hands and fled, with many tumblings and bruises … Now the battle was at its highest” (Twain 126). The use of words such as “seize”, “fled”, “bruises”, and “battle” show that an intense battle is happening. However in this time of strife, the boys were unable to fight back; they were utterly helpless. All three boys survived the battle, of course, because Nature wanted to convey a warning to the boys: If you humans continue your self-centered foolish ways, I will show no mercy next time.
Unfortunately, humans will not settle for the subservient position in Nature. They will fight using their technology to try and rise above. In Bambi, Man is considered the greatest threat to the animals of the forest. Whenever animals see the encroaching danger, they yell, “Man is coming!”, run, and hide, very much like how Tom and his friends fled the storm. A fury of gunshots ensues and many animals are killed. An army of black dogs, basically an extension of human control, is released to kill the animals. Finally, the fight begins when Bambi attacks the dogs that are chasing Faline. Even more serious, Man had inadvertently caused a forest fire. Although the fiery calamity was not created on purpose, it shows how the simple presence of humans can severely damage Nature. After the animals have escaped, the entire mountain is on fire, an exaggerated display that symbolizes the magnitude and extent of human destruction.
From both Tom Sawyer and Bambi, we can see the bitter relationship between Nature and humans. The skirmish between the two powerhouses is ongoing because neither is willing to submit; one is always trying to forcefully dominate and domesticate the other. But more importantly, we must realize that both Nature and humans are hurt in the process, which makes us question whether this war is wise in the first place.