Change Your Image
kljenni
Reviews
Speciesism: The Movie (2013)
Superb Resource in Animal Ethics
I teach college courses in animal ethics, and I'm constantly on the lookout for effective documentaries to use in class. What I mean by "effective" films is that they contain substantive philosophical and ethical content; include graphic footage of current practices that exploit animals (since visual images are critically important in conveying how brutal those practices are); temper the graphic images so that they are not so intense in length or content that they cause shocked, distressed students to shut down; and engage students without a hint of preaching. This film amply meets these criteria and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any teacher who hopes to incite serious thinking about animals.
First, the tone is just right: inquiring, open-minded, funny in a self-effacing way, disarming, intelligent, and narratively compelling (for the film-maker takes us along as he pursues the questions for his own understanding).
The content is a great mix of empirical findings about animals' capacities to feel pain; footage of some of the worst conditions in factory farms (quite short and widely spaced, so that the film is relatively easy to watch for newcomers); a concise discussion (based on interviews with key scholars) about the central philosophical arguments and moral principles involved in animal ethics; entertaining and enlightening sections with Devries offering common defenses of anthropocentrism and receiving excellent replies; a similarly fun section in which he throws down objections to going vegetarian and, again, receives decisive rejoinders; a powerful discussion of how one's entire world-view can be altered in thinking of human treatment of animals; commentary on important changes already in progress; and a powerful ending in which the narrator essentially passes the baton to the viewer.
There's one feature of the film that I found unusual and very effective: Devries talks with humans who share some experiences with nonhuman animals. His father, who suffers continual pain, discusses how intense pain becomes one's "whole universe;" a woman has experienced long-term depression and can't imagine experiencing it for years without killing oneself (this after a section on female pigs' depression in gestation crates); he goes to a home for the mentally challenged (clearly happy and well-cared-for) and comments on how we'd never exclude them from the moral community. This is a nice perspective not offered in other excellent documentaries.
I found two things a bit disappointing: (1) the segment on pigs veers into the topic of pig lagoons and their environmental effects on humans' water supplies--that is, it leaves the topic of animals themselves and goes into other kinds of harm caused by factory farms. Perhaps that's strategic, for it's powerful stuff and shakes anyone's confidence in CAFOs; but I was sorry that the topics of animal subjugation and damage to humans were mingled there without comment. (2) Toward the very end, the narrator seeks moral leaders and interviews a person at the Simon Wiesenthal center: this guy is a speciesist and is clearly annoyed by comparisons of animal treatment to the Holocaust. Earlier in the film, Devries talks with a Holocaust survivor who makes the comparison himself; but I wished that Devries had talked with one or two of the Jewish scholars (see "Eternal Treblinka") who embrace and fully accept the comparison.
But these are minor complaints about a first-class documentary. That Devries packs so much moral questioning and philosophical heft into the film and makes it downright enjoyable is testament to a huge talent. This film will profoundly enhance any animal ethics course, and will spur any viewer of good will to serious thought.
Why Dogs Smile & Chimpanzees Cry (1999)
reply to "rooprect"
Although I am coming late to the party, I would like to add another reply to the first posting.
It's true that ordinary people, most of us, do know without a doubt that animals have emotions. But surely you know that science was long hampered, and still is in many quarters, by the denial of emotions (and of any mental life at all, in fact) to nonhuman animals--and by the refusal to discuss or publicly acknowledge this fact. Hence the video is still plenty useful. Its measured tone, exceptional footage of compassionate and other behavior by a myriad of species, and revelations of a variety of emotions (and their evolutionary basis) is, in fact, priceless to those of us who would like to counter that trend. At least I've found it so for college students who find themselves unsure and confused about what's going on with animals other than the ones they're most familiar with.
That said, I do appreciate your objection to referring to emotions shared by many species as "human." Someday I hope that many will see the arrogance and inaccuracy of that usage. But one must consider one's audience--and that usage often gets a point across to a popular audience.