After watching March of the Penguins I was browsing the internet while I was trying to figure out which direction to take the essay in, because there were too many possibilities for the topic. Soon I found myself watching Monty Python, when the perfect sketch to start this paper on comes on. A newspaper reporter comes on saying "Penguins, yes penguins what relevance do penguins have with the furtherance of medical science? Well strangely enough quite a lot" He moves into a joke about research not being accidental. Then he picks up of the penguins "Nevertheless scientists believe that these penguins, these comic flightless web-footed little b@$#ards are un-wittingly helping man to fathom the uncharted depths of the human mind." The news cast flips to the scientist who introduces himself then states "...having been working on the theory postulated by the late Dr. Kramer that the penguin in intrinsically more intelligent than the human being." From there a multitude of science spoofs lead to the confirmation of this theory of penguins being smarter, even though it is clearly pointed out that the penguin's brain is smaller than of a human being. This causes the penguins to rise up and take over the roles of humans. After careful consideration I decided to discuss this clip as there really is no better way to introduce how animals are used in film as entertainment. Whether it is a crazy Monty Python sketch or the heartwarming love story that is March of the Penguins both were created for many reasons, but the most influential was the desire to earn money. For now just keep Monty Python on the back burner it will have significance later, lets shift to dealing with the questions being posed about March of the Penguins. How did March of the Penguins use of formats, themes, and images of wildlife in the film reflect the people who produced it? Even though the medium of film is new, were there historic precedents that lead to this portal of animals in film? Hopefully this essay will answer these, but obviously any one of these questions could be answered in a much longer and more concentrated way.
The format of March of the Penguins uses narrative, scenes that have action and emotion in order to make the animal film interesting to watch. Nature is not portrayed here in the simple and serene terms that one can observe in nature. Instead film needs excitement and action to hold the attention span of the audience. If the creators of March of the Penguins wanted to give time to different activities based on the percentage of time they take place in the move most of the movie would be penguins walking, tending the egg, or eating. This does not make for a good animal film. As Bouse puts it, "Film and television also have little tolerance for what is normal and usual in life, thriving instead on what is rare and unusual." These rare moments, like the penguin tripping or the "contact sports" they engage in or the many others throughout the film. The...