Mark writes: Wildlife in movies is a rich source of comment (see here and here). In some of those western films there ought, by rights, to be enormous flocks of Passenger Pigeons darkening the sky and scaring the horses – but somehow they aren’t there!
And the wildlife that does appear in films, often the sound tracks, often is out of place. I recall hearing a Chiffchaff singing in an American-based film once – that would have been quite a record!
My recollection, not very clear I admit, is that there is birdsong in the background in the ‘nice’ places in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and a lack of wildlife in Mordor…
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Pine martins have always been abscent
After reading those linked articles it seems to suggest that we still have a strong subconcious connection to nature; the directors aren’t fools, they know their trade, they know that emotions can be stirred by particular natural sounds but it also shows how, at a more intellectual level so many people understand and care so little for wildlife.
I’m struggling with these cartoons.
This one in particular.
Leaving aside the poor spelling and the fact that I didn’t think cartoons should need to be swamped by explanatory text… i just dont get this.
“…surely there is room for a pine marten or chaffinch in your next dystopian drama’?
Dystopia by definition is the opposite of utopia.
A bleak, futuristic vision, post-apocalypse or post environmental disaster…. without pine martens or chaffinches one might speculate.
That’s the whole point of these films isn’t it?
“In a world.
Without birds.
One man stood alone…”
http://youtu.be/fVDzuT0fXro
Looking for some mindless TV last night I chanced upon the first episode of Michael Bay’s “The Last Ship”. “Arctic Terns” played an important role in the plot, but when they were finally due to appear on screen they must have got stage fright and some random seagulls had to stand in for them.
I’m sure that someone more knowledgeable than me will point out that the tern-related plot hole was even bigger than that (but then none of you will have been sad enough to be watching said show on a Friday evening) . You’ll be pleased to know that I switched it off shortly after, but mainly because Eric Dane (the star) seemed to think that acting = shouting.
Maybe the problem is that nature gets stage-fright (or demands too high an appearance fee).
Mike
Mike – interesting comment, thank you.
Collard Dove calls during period dramas, always make me smile.
It do annoy I when they doves eat my collards
It’s not just the popular stuff – I’ve been to a lot of conferences on urban forestry where the sleek, shiny cities include what must be ludicrously expensive roof gardens etc that claim they are going to feed us ! But there are no rounded edges here, and one suspects no room for birds or insects. And the story stops at the edge of the city, with the land around the ‘setting’ of our cities too often becoming a dumping ground – or, at best, and instant switch from urban to intensive farming inaccessible to people.
Its that space a round our cities that should be for people and also quietly providing the services hard engineering is failing to deliver – especially water management – but also non-car transport routes, wildlife, low carbon fuel – and beauty and peace. Its all in ‘Forest Vision’ which mark kindly reviewed a couple of months ago – but my experience so far is that ideas like this are completely blanked, including by environmentalists – we seem to live in an era where no one is prepared to really get to grips with ideas that might jolt us out of the neo-liberal economic rut.
Thanks for your kind words Doug :-S the point is about self fulfilling prophecies …
I’ve noticed that whenever a film or tv production wants to convey “essence of wild” they roll out a calling Great Northern Diver . . in any season, in any country. Also, there’s the classic owl call – often American, usually Great Horned Owl used ad lib in night scenes
There’s a Midsummer Murder on tonight. I knew the owls were not what they seemed
Seem to recall that in the latest Bond, Skyfall, there was a perfectly apt Black-throated Diver calling in the background during the Rannoch Moor-based scene. Completely spoiled a couple of minutes later when the usual, out-of-place, Great Northern Diver calls were introduced…..
The films are hard work, I can never get through them when the kids put them on, but remember reading the books and thinking of all the jobs in Middle earth I would choose the one of cleaning up Mordor.
In movies wildlife is generally there as something threatening or other to our day to day lives but not always. Tried to have a look at this a blog I wrote on star wars among other things
There was a coney, ( a rabbit I suspect) in Mordor which was stewed but no tatties to put with it.