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The Secret Garden. Dir. Agnieszka Holland. Warner Bros. California. 1993
The Secret Garden creates a form of social equality between its animal and human characters. Social equality is defined as someone not being discriminated against based on their class, gender, race etc and in this case species. The film is interesting because of the way the outdoors are depicted as a space where the differences…
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Parasite. Dir. Bong Joon-Ho. CJ Entertainment. 2019
Bong Joon-Ho’s 2019 black comedy thriller Parasite uses pet dogs to extend the presentation of wealth disparity and examine the human hierarchy system established within the film. The plot explores the relationship between the lower-class Kim family as they gradually infiltrate the Park family through fraudulent employment and fulfil domestic roles within the upper-class Park…
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Storm Boy. Dir. Shawn Seet. Sony Pictures. 2019.
The 2019 Australian film Storm Boy captures the special bond between a boy and pelicans on the beautiful Australian coastal landscapes. The story is based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Colin Thiele, and it serves explorations on complex issues surrounding the natural environment and human lives. The story is enriched by…
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Alice in Wonderland. Dir. Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, and Jack Kinney. Walt Disney Pictures. 1951.
A distinctive croquet game featuring flamingos as mallets and hedgehogs as balls becomes a symbol of societal norms and power dynamics in human-animal relationships, reflecting the era’s outlook on animal rights. Whimsy deviates from the real-world issues depicted in the original text, becoming rose-tinted rather than a mirror.
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Rushmore. Dir. Wes Anderson. 1998. Buena Vista Pictures.
Bees in Wes Anderson’s Rushmore The swarm of the bees scene in Wes Anderson’s 1998 comedy film Rushmore sees Herman J Blume (Bill Murray) subjected to further revenge for his romantic involvement with Miss Cross (Olivia Williams). Blume is rattled by an infiltration of bees in his hotel suite, orchestrated by the outraged Max Fischer (Jason…
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Watchers. Dir. Jon Hess. Universal Pictures, Alliance Releasing. 1988.
If humans and animals navigate separate spheres within their shared world, then what becomes of creatures whose existence crosses into both realms? Jon Hess’s 1988 science fiction horror film Watchers queries the animal presence within humanity through the camera techniques used during the genetically-engineered OXCOM’s first attack on Travis Cornell. (Above) Humanity’s Fascination with Human-Animal…
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Dir. James Gunn. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. 2023
Though James Gunn’s 2023 Sci-Fi/Action movie, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3[1] reunited audiences with the beloved Guardians, the opening scene instantly insinuated this film’s darker tone due to its immediate focus on the horrific nature of animal experimentation and how it can be physically and mentally catastrophic for the creature. Gunn presents this by…
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Fünf Freunde 3. Dir. Mike Marzuk. Constantin Film. 2014.
The movie “Fünf Freunde 3“ is the third filming of Enid Blyton’s book series “The Famous Five”. It is summer, and George and her dog Timmy travel to Thailand, following her father, who works on a project with an old friend concerning greenhouse gas. As usual, George brings her cousins Dick, Anne, and Julian with…
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The Muppet Christmas Carol. Dir. Brian Henson. Walt Disney Pictures. 1992.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is not only a heart-warming Christmas story from the Victorian period, it also speaks volumes about social class inequalities. In The Muppet Christmas Carol, Director Brian Henson uses the species of rats to emblematise the impoverished, low social class. This contributes to Dickens’s interpretation from the original novel, this…
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My Octopus Teacher. Dir. Pippa Ehrlich & James Reed. Netflix. 2020
“She was teaching me to become sensitized to the other.” The biographical documentary ‘My Octopus Teacher’ follows the unique relationship between wildlife filmmaker Craig Foster and an octopus living on the Western Cape of South Africa. As the film unfolds, the octopus becomes accustomed to Foster’s presence and what starts as curiosity blossoms into an…
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