Week 7’s reading made me really think and as an initiative I decided to look into the topic more.
Why is it that zoos have only been around for the last two hundred or so years? Why were they created in the first place? Think about how often we see animals in Media and on screens than in the wild.
We watch animal documentaries, vet shows and create animated films to personify the animals we exploit already.
Whilst we are active in supporting marginalised groups such as the LGBTQI community and the black community, we are yet to think of animals as equals to humans. Is this because we can gain something off animals? Whether that be meat, clothing or companionship.
To compliment the first reading I found another titled, “The Educational Role of Zoos: A synthesis of the Literature (1928-1987)” by David Churchman. Relating this to media I found a quote that talks about how animals are becoming more disassociated from humans as time passes.
“As real animals become less familiar in an urbanised world, it is important that these areas aim at offsetting the highly anthropomorphised animals of television and movies.”
I am an animal activist and lifelong vegetarian and I believe one day we will look back on the way we treat animals and how we portray them in films and the media.