Wondering Aloud

Serving the adrenaline demographic (and the attendant ratings and advertising revenue spike) has led to a profound change in the way nature is presented to TV audiences.

No more illuminating programming typically juxtaposed against the change in seasons. Nope. Instead of a feature with an animal mom raising her young and shepherding them to adulthood, or a fascinating profile of a blue whale, we see conflict. Fights. Carnage.

At the head of the class is Animal Fight Night, trotted out by the one-time educator of all things natural—the National Geographic Society, which seeks to answer not how a specific animal develops the skills with which to survive in its environment, but more pressing scientific queries along the lines of can a hippo beat-up an Australian salt-water crocodile?

Sigh. Looking for a cultural snapshot? There it is.

(Naturally, this follows a re-organization of the National Geographic board which saw a decided rise in “input” from conservative sources.)

In addition to portraying the designated lifeform as a one-dimensional machine devoid of any impulse but the urge to fight, it certainly makes it easier to justify their extinction, doesn't it? They're dangerous!

I recall a middle school field trip to Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, one which sought to educate young minds and expand their intellectual horizons.

At one exhibit, there was a question posed next to a wooden door. “What is the world's most-dangerous predator?”

When opened, it revealed a mirror.

Mission accomplished.

Sadly, it was eventually removed. But the lesson endures.

Non-human lifeforms have never been more endangered. Outright extinctions and projected extinctions are off the charts as mankind's relentless spread crowds out thousands upon thousands of species.

The combined effects of habitat destruction and global warming are as lethal as a poacher's gun.

Is it really wise to consume television wherein they're characterized as one-dimensional killers? Couldn't it be argued that if anything should be projected as lethal threats to whatever may be around it is us?

At a time when an unimaginable number of species are perched on the edge of extinction, portraying them this way seems like piling on. Never mind the corrosive effect on preservation efforts.

We like to imagine grand and glorious things about ourselves. Understanding that we share the planet with these species and owe them a measure of consideration before we erect yet-another Sunglasses Hut and carelessly breed might be one way of inching closer to that.