How the movie "The Grey" could hurt wolf conservation

DavidBrown

DavidBrown

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Really interesting article by animal behaviorist Marc Bekoff on how the new movie "The Grey" misrepresents wolf behavior and could affect their public perception and conservation: "The Grey" Has It All Wrong About Wolves | Psychology Today

The article links to another article on how the treatment of chimpanzees in popular media negatively affects conservation efforts.

It has always seemed to me that zoos can be a major force in countering the media in these situations.
 
DavidBrown said:
Really interesting article by animal behaviorist Marc Bekoff on how the new movie "The Grey" misrepresents wolf behavior and could affect their public perception and conservation: "The Grey" Has It All Wrong About Wolves | Psychology Today

The article links to another article on how the treatment of chimpanzees in popular media negatively affects conservation efforts.

It has always seemed to me that zoos can be a major force in countering the media in these situations.
Click to expand...

The Grey sounds more like a movie about alien abductions to me...

I have always thought that some people (including some conservationists I have known) make a huge mistake by (with the best intentions, I'm sure) painting wolves as harmless creatures. I think if we are to understand and protect a wild animal, we have to accept both sides of the coin. Yes, wolves ARE dangerous and yes, they have attacked people, just like any large predator will do under the right circumstances. That doesn´t mean we have to hate it, or fear it; it just means we have to respect it for what it is, and not for what we want it to be. It is just as bad to paint a wild predator as a saint as it is to paint it as a demon.

That being said, is it even legal eating a wolf? :(
 
I have also heard that the movie series Twilight has caused much disdain for wolves. I haven't seen the movies, but apparently wolves are enemies and are sought to be killed. I volunteer some time at an animal sanctuary that has wolves and the owner has told me that many children and young adults come to the sanctuary and think that the wolves are evil animals. I imagine, by seeing the ads, that 'The Grey' will only exacerbate the situation.

Also, in regards to the chimpanzees in the media, there is big push by many in the animal and conservation world that are upset about the Career Builder Ad using chimpanzees for the SuperBowl. The Lincoln Park Zoo is taking a stand against Career Builder. The president made a statement, and it is getting large media coverage in the Chicago Area. Hopefully other zoos will join Lincoln Park in taking a stand against Career Builder.

Lincoln Park Zoo isn?t amused by chimps in Super Bowl commercial - Chicago Sun-Times
 
barisax235 said:
I have also heard that the movie series Twilight has caused much disdain for wolves. I haven't seen the movies, but apparently wolves are enemies and are sought to be killed. I volunteer some time at an animal sanctuary that has wolves and the owner has told me that many children and young adults come to the sanctuary and think that the wolves are evil animals. I imagine, by seeing the ads, that 'The Grey' will only exacerbate the situation.

Lincoln Park Zoo isn?t amused by chimps in Super Bowl commercial - Chicago Sun-Times
Click to expand...

Don´t see the movies, they are terrible :p

But no, wolves are not enemies in them; in fact, they aren´t even real wolves, but shapeshifters. I don´t think Twilight has caused disdain for wolves; maybe for badly rendered CG werewolves...

I live in a country that lost its last wild wolves decades ago so today, people simply no longer think of them; but I have heard that in parts of the US for example, politicians use fear of wolves to gain followers, and even that some really despicable ones have organized culls (shooting them from helicopters and all that) assuring people that this is to protect their children and what not.
I don´t know how many of this is true; but if it is, its a terrible situation and I think its much more harmful to wolves than any movie or fiction work will ever be.
 
OMG, I´ve just seen the trailer of this movie, what the hell is this?

Dear producers, while you´re at it, why not make a dark horror movie about evil man-eating tigers and show it to all the villagers in India, who are just starting to learn that poaching is bad. Or what about a dark thriller about big and dangerous eagles kidnapping children and killing every sheep in a herd, and screen it in Ireland...
 
Blackduiker

barisax235 said:
I have also heard that the movie series Twilight has caused much disdain for wolves. I haven't seen the movies, but apparently wolves are enemies and are sought to be killed. I volunteer some time at an animal sanctuary that has wolves and the owner has told me that many children and young adults come to the sanctuary and think that the wolves are evil animals. I imagine, by seeing the ads, that 'The Grey' will only exacerbate the situation.

Also, in regards to the chimpanzees in the media, there is big push by many in the animal and conservation world that are upset about the Career Builder Ad using chimpanzees for the SuperBowl. The Lincoln Park Zoo is taking a stand against Career Builder. The president made a statement, and it is getting large media coverage in the Chicago Area. Hopefully other zoos will join Lincoln Park in taking a stand against Career Builder.

Lincoln Park Zoo isn?t amused by chimps in Super Bowl commercial - Chicago Sun-Times
Click to expand...

Here is more on the protested Super Bowl commercial's use of Chimpanzees:

Zoo says Super Bowl ad will harm chimps - TODAY Pets & Animals - TODAY.com
 
No animal is as bad as it is depicted in the movies. I think film producers are very irresonsible by portraying animaqls as they do. Look how much the im,age of the Great white Shark was tarnished by "Jaws", or how people's attitude towards snakes has been adversely affected by that dreadful film "Anaconda" or how people have a completely distorted view of Piranhas largely because of inaccurate reporting in the media and several films that depict them as crazied man-eaters whereas in truth there is no authenticated account of Piranha being responsible for human deaths.
 
I just watched "The Grey" on video this week (I'm a huge film buff) and while it was quite entertaining and Liam Neeson was as solid as ever the depiction of the wolves was inaccurate. To see a wolf lunge at a group of men around a campfire was just plain silly and the wolf pack was ridiculously bloodthirsty, but there were some gritty scenes in the wilderness and a spectacular plane crash.
 
I just saw The Grey last night. What a piece of garbage! We had to ad-lib dialogue to make it entertaining enough to watch! Everything about it was nonsensical. If I was to rate it I'd give it about half a star out of ten, if that.
 
Wolves need all the good PR they can get, especially in my neck of the woods. That is one thing you just don't bring up in a bar around here.
 
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