Tag: HAR: Pet Keeping
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Barking Dogs Never Bite. Dir. Bong Joon-ho. Cinema Service. 2000.
Barking Dogs Never Bite is a dark comedy film directed by Bong Joon-ho, who has received critical praise for his recent filmography, in the same genre, Parasite. This film deals with a seemingly small incident about the disappearance of dogs in one apartment complex, but it raises questions about social morality and justice problems prevalent…
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How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Dir. Ron Howard. Universal Pictures.2000.
For as much as this film teaches us about the meaning of Christmas, it equally teaches us about the relation humans hold with animals, through both interaction and perception. The protagonist, The Grinch, lives in a cave at the top of Mount Crumpit with his dog Max, after running away from his adopted home in…
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Hocus Pocus. Dir Kenny Ortega. Walt Disney Pictures. 1993
Thackery Binx is one of the central figures of Hocus Pocus, and in doing this the film considers the status of domesticated animals within society and cinema. Hocus Pocus acknowledges cats’ role as a domestic sphere defenders. Binx is specifically transformed into a cat because of the meanings we associate with them in our society,…
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Me and You and Everyone We Know. Dir. Miranda July. IFC Films. 2005
Me and You and Everyone We Know – fish scene Goldfish have been domesticated by humans for thousands of years, and Me and You and Everyone We Know invites an engrossing encounter with the sea animal as it appears in a plastic bag swaying on top of a fast-moving car. This clip of a fleeting…
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Wendy and Lucy, Dir. Kelly Reichardt, Oscilloscope Pictures (2008)
A Photo of Lucy who stands at the front of the shot panting, and her owner Wendy who stands behind her, separated by a chain-linked fence. (1) Wendy and Lucy (2008) Whilst spending the majority of the film searching for her lost companion after getting arrested for stealing dog food she can’t afford from a…
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Bird Box. Dir. Susanne Bier. Netflix. 2018.
Susanne Bier’s Bird Box follows Malorie Hayes as she navigates the events and aftermath of an outbreak of creatures, which seem to take on the form of a person’s worst fear, deepest sadness or greatest loss, and thereby drive humans to suicide when the people look at them. However, the monsters themselves are never seen…
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Every Which Way but Loose. Dir. James Fargo. Warner Bros. 1978.
James Fargo’s 1978 film Every Which Way but Loose follows Clint Eastwood’s character Philo Beddo and his orangutan companion Clyde in their search for love. The audience’s expectations of human-animal relationships depicting docile animals who are human playthings are immediately subverted by Philo’s interactions with Clyde, the orangutan. Clyde throughout the film is given a freedom not…
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Lady Macbeth. Dir. William Oldroyd. Altitude Film Distribution. 2016.
Lady Macbeth depicts the journey of Katherine, pursuing her desire after she meets a black servant Sebastian, during her life under patriarchal oppression from her husband Alexander and his father Boris. Although the film is based on Nikolai Leskov’snovel, it has been altered, projecting the unequal act of power, encompassing race, gender, and social-class status…
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The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, Dir.Jay Russell, Sony Pictures Releasing, 2007, U.S.
The filmmakers of The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep present audiences with the idea that a wild, Scottish mythological creature can (a) exist, (b) be a pet, and (c) a friend, to a young boy. Angus and the water horse’s friendship makes the point that not only can dogs be ‘man’s best friend’, but…
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Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Dir. Raja Gosnell. Walt Disney Pictures. 2008.
In Beverly Hills Chihuahua, the superiority and entitlement of animals are used as tropes to represent Chloe the chihuahua and her furry friends’ authority over Rachel, Chloe’s dogsitter. This is captured within the pool party scene through the decision to construct dominant representations of the dogs and represent Rachel, the human, as an inferior servant…