ZooScope

Tag: HAR: Enviromental Hygiene

  • Twelve Monkeys. Dir. Terry Gilliam. Universal Pictures . 1996.

    Do you want a second chance, Cole?” In other words – Do you want your body experimented upon to benefit our research again, Cole? The film cuts to a scene where Cole is injected and pinned to the time machine… or rather, torture machine. Cole never gets to answer the question – he has no…

  • Pom Poko. Dir. Isao Takahata. Toho. 1994.

    Pom Poko[1] is a film that follows the tanuki of Tama Hills trying to halt development of their woodland through their folkloric transformation powers. In terms of how it shows the animal; the film establishes the idea that animal-human relationships are characterised by a conflict of two worlds that are equally alien to each other.…

  • Over the Hedge. Dir. Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick. DreamWorks. 2006.

    After Verne, an anxious turtle, breaks through the boundary of the manicured hedge he enters a pristine garden on the periphery of a middle class suburbia. A far cry from the overgrown animal-populated wood, the suburban garden represents a natural environment controlled by humans, a place where that which is considered wild or ‘other’ is…

  • Baraka. Dir. Ron Frike. The Samuel Goldwyn Company. 1992.

    Ron Fricke’s 1992 documentary film Baraka highlights the darker side of human-animal relations through a sequence comparing two very similar visual images. One scene depicts a crowded subway while another shows new-born chicks on a conveyor belt, presumably being sexed and arranged for meat or egg production.

  • Ratatouille. Dir. Brad Bird. Pixar. 2007.

    Within Ratatouille, the scene in which Remy figures out that he is able to control Linguini, Brad Bird confounds expectations through undermining the stereotype about the animality of rats, and using the rats as symbols for immigrants. This interaction challenges the human/animal binary and strengthens the anthropomorphism of Remy. The director, Bird, suggests unity within this…

  • Ratatouille. Dir. Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava. Pixar. 2007.

    Brad Bird’s Ratatotuille challenges how we stereotypically perceive rats through the depiction of the protagonist, Remy. The narrative shows Remy struggling with finding acceptance in human society, despite the exceptional cooking talents he has to offer. In anthropomophising Remy to directly challenge our negative perception of rats, Ratatouille promotes wider messages of hope and perseverance for the underdog, as…

  • Ratatouille. Dir. Brad Bird. Buena Vista Pictures. 2007.

    Brad Bird’s 2007 computer-animated film Ratatouille uses its mode as animation to estab­lish an alternate logic to the real world, enabling communication between humans and animals. The turning point that establishes this communication is when Lin­guini captures Remy in a jar. After asking a series of aggressive questions, Linguini calms down, and begins to take a more…

  • Ratatouille . Dir. Brad Bird and Jan Pinkava . Walt Disney Pictures. 2007.

    The final shot of Ratatouille, the image of a rat in the restaurant sign, symbolises the fantasy of the rat and human worlds crossing, and the idealisation of a rat chef being accepted by human society. However, this is ultimately impossible, as darker themes lurk beneath this image. The sign features a silhouette of a rat…

  • Kes. Dir. Ken Loach. Woodfall Films. 1969.

    Kes (dir. Ken Loach, 1969) depicts working class Billy using his kestrel training as a means of escaping the grim reality of life in the industrial north, while the juxtaposition of industry with local nature represents the man-made depression of the mining town. In the scene we see Billy’s first glimpse of the kestrels in flight.…

  • Shaun the Sheep The Movie. Dir. Mark Burton and Richard Starzak. Studiocanal. 2015.

    Restaurant scene Starzak and Burton challenge our perceptions of human and animal intelligence in Shaun the Sheep The Movie. Aardman excel in casting the animals as intelligent and exasperated by humans, meanwhile humans are portrayed as less so, and oblivious to animal antics happening directly in front of them. The scene in which the sheep dine…