We are Animals
by A reflection on our culture and how we have dominated animals through taming, portraying them with false humanistic traits, etc. in an attempt to feel more akin to them or to gain a false sense of power over them.
In the beginning, when the taming of animals was still a way of connecting with the animal soul, respectfully, but with intentions of human gain as well, the false image was wrought. Although taming of the wild had humble roots and was a way of connecting with man’s “other”, a way of bridging the gap between man and beast, like all other connection man has created with nature, it has become manifest and has become a tool for human domination over animals, instead of a practice that educates and enriches both sides. As a result of the act of taming, we have come to infuse animals with our politics, depict them in a false light in which they “naturally” inhibit humanistic qualities, and ultimately punish them if they do not conform to our ideal.
Animals have been incorporated into human culture in various ways, but upon investigation one will find that it is a lop-sided arrangement, with humans always on top. Children’s literature, films and the actions that come along with personal ownership of pets, all portray a false image of animals, especially those that have still managed to retain most of their identity as being wild (such as lions, bears). It is almost as if humans can’t tame them, they will tame them by portraying them as being so; by creating a mould for them to fit into. This trend in fact utilizes the notion of “the mirror” produced by Berman, and Baudrillard’s definition of the “hyperreal”.
In Simulacra and Simulations Baudrillard writes about how reality (can be applied to anything really) has been morphed by humans to the point where it “now has nothing but the discrete charm of second-order simulacra” (Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulations, pg. 169). This is what we have done to animals. We have created an image for them that has become so mutated that it is perceived as truth. We tell ourselves that animals in zoos are fortunate because they have us to “conserve the species” and look after them. We commonly give them qualities that are in fact untrue. Lions are not cuddly and tame, they most certainly do not ride in New York subway cars, looking jaded lime Human New Yorkers do, as has been portrayed in movies such as the newly released “Madagascar”.
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