ZooScope

Category: Article Type: Zoom

  • Okja. Dir. Bong Joon-ho. Netflix. 2017

    Okja. Dir. Bong Joon-ho. Netflix. 2017

    There are two kinds of pigs that make an appearance in Okja; genetically modified super-pigs and greedy, corporate capitalist pigs. The slaughterhouse scene forces the viewer to dispel any false idealism surrounding the reality of the meat industry, an explicit criticism of how human exceptionalist thinking blended with modern ‘capitalist delirium’ [1] has ruined the…

  • A Christmas Carol. Dir. Robert Zemeckis. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. 2009.

    ‘Even the blind men’s dogs appeared to know him; and when they saw him coming on, would tug their owners into doorways and up courts; and then would wag their tails as though they said, “No eye at all is better than an evil eye, dark master!’ [1] Guide dogs have been a symbol of…

  • Arachnophobia, Dir. Frank Marshall, Hollywood Pictures, Franklin Entertainment, 1990.

    In one of the most suspenseful scenes in Arachnophobia, a young woman goes for a shower in the bathroom but is ambushed by one of the spider offspring in a tense cat-and-mouse sequence. Intended as an obvious play on the shower trope in horror films – where a conventionally attractive woman is stalked and attacked…

  • Wolfwalkers. Dir Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart. Apple TV+. 2020.

    Wolfwalkers. Dir Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart. Apple TV+. 2020.

    The woods are getting smaller every day. At the core of 2020’s Wolfwalkers is a fable about environmental degradation:  the mounting destruction of the natural world, and the subjugation of those who live in tune with it. From its very beginning, the film seeks to examine and even disrupt the human/animal boundary in a unique…

  • Nanny McPhee and The Big Bang. Dir. Susanna White. Universal Pictures. 2010.

    Susanna White’s Nanny McPhee And The Big Bang (2010) introduces Mr Edelweiss as Nanny McPhee’s mischievous sidekick. Mr Edelweiss is a Jackdaw crow, a member of the Corvid species, who are known for their thieving habits. This scene is particularly interesting as the human-animal relationship portrayed causes a shift in the predicted stock characters of…

  • Togo. Dir. Ericson Core. Walt Disney Studios. 2019

    In Togo (2019)[1], directed by Ericson Core, the eponymous canine hero recovers from a potentially devastating injury, portrayed as being due to Togo’s incredible relationship with trainer Seppala. Core utilises the emotional score composed by Mark Isham, as well as focusing on the ‘love story between a man and his dog’[2]. This sequence cements the…

  • 2001: A Space Odyssey. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. 1968.

    As with the majority of Stanley Kubrick’s filmography (we’ll mutually agree to exclude Fear and Desire from this conversation), 2001: A Space Odyssey has been subjected to extensive film analysis and criticism. This article will explore the implications of the film’s perpetuation of sociologically-constructed human-animal boundaries in order to articulate the commonality of violence across…

  • Penguin Bloom. Dir. Glendyn Ivin. Netflix, Inc. 2021.

    Penguin Bloom. Dir. Glendyn Ivin. Netflix, Inc. 2021.

    Inspired by true events, Penguin Bloom tells the story of Sam Bloom, a mother and wife who became paralysed after a serious accident.  As she struggles through a difficult recovery, a small miracle occurs, a magpie called Penguin enters the Bloom family, changing the course of their lives forever. This scruffy looking creature builds an…

  • Dumbo. Dir. Tim Burton. Walt Disney Studios. 2019.

    “Fly, Dumbo! Fly!” Did you know that the story of Dumbowas based on a real elephant, Jumbo, in PT Barnum’s circus? While the beloved baby elephant found his happy ever after, the original was not so lucky. Awfully abused and in declining health, at the age of 24, Jumbo was killed by a train when…

  • Rango. Dir. Gore Verbinski. Paramount Pictures. 2011.

    Rango. Dir. Gore Verbinski. Paramount Pictures. 2011.

    As Rango’s terrarium hits the concrete and shatters, the bleak reality of human nature and the wake of destruction we leave becomes apparent. To humans, animal suffering is a mere bump in the road – literally. In the opening scene of Rango, the car in which Rango is travelling hits a passing armadillo attempting to…