Reflection 5: Life on the Wild Side—A Look at Animal Documentaries

Documentaries, non-fiction films document some aspect of reality, have been a part of cinema from the earliest days. And early documentarians quickly turned to nature for inspiration. In those days, filmmakers thought nothing of "staging" some of nature's most dramatic scenes, such as releasing prey near a predator in order to film the catch and kill. In today's animal documentaries, staging is frowned upon. Instead, contemporary filmmakers seek to find the drama in the animals' everyday situations. Contemporary documentarians also use use their cameras to highlight a particular situation, such as a pending extinction, or illegal activity. Fortunately for today's audiences, there is a plethora of animal documentaries at our disposal. For this reflection, watch 1-2 feature-length animal documentary from film or TV.

When watching, consider:

• What is the intent of the film?
• What do you know about the subject as a result of watching?
• How is the subject approached? 
• Does the filmmaker have an agenda in filming this subject?
• What was the overall impact of the film?

Note: Several animal documentaries can be found from pay streaming services (e.g. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, iTunes); however, a great many can also be found for free on sites, such as YouTube and Vimeo.

Required:

• MLA Style
• Two full pages in length 

Due: Week of Mo 4.13