Why look at animals & Animal movies

This week’s reading title is ‘Why look at animals’, and I was confused at the beginning.

For now, in my opinions, animals are divided into three types, wild animals, pets, and meats. Most people consider that wild animals should be protected; pets are animals which give people company and joy; meats are those animal grown by people to be killed for daily needs. However, what is the different between these animals? Why can people define the hierarchy of animals?

Once I watched a tv show talked about vegetarian, and there was an opinion that whether choose to become an vegetarian is the conflict between the desire of eating and the sympathy. This is such a conflicting question. For me, I agree with John Berger that human learn things from animal at the very beginning. I know that animals should be protected, and they also have rights to live. I know wild animals are part of the eco system; I love my pets, but I still eat meat.

Because human being only do things for our own pleasure.

Regardless of this conflict, the emotion connect between human and animal is very strong so that more and more animal films are produced. When I was very small, my grandmother read me the story ‘Lassie Come Home’, and I have my first dog Lassie. My dad brought the same Rough Collie and named him Lassie. However, he was stolen when I was in primary school. I am so easy to be moved by dog films such as ‘101 Dalmatians’, ‘Bolt’, ’Hachiko’, and the recent one ‘A Dog’s Purpose’.

Animal film is an important part of film industry. The storyline can be stereotyped, but these films always can make people moved again and again. It represents the love, sympathy, and kind part of human. We see positive and pure things from this kind of film.

In all, the relationship between human and animals are complicated. There is love, but also desire and needs. Why do we look at animals? Because we always need them for all the reasons I talk in this blog.