Project Nim Summary

Project Nim is a documentary that focuses on attempts to teach Nim the chimpanzee language, specifically sign language. It follows the different environments Nim lived in—some conducive to the project’s goal, and others not. The film focuses on the relationship between Nim and his ‘teachers’ and caretakers, especially his interactions with them as he matured and started expressing more aggressive, chimp-like behavior, despite being raised similar to a human child in many aspects.
In 1973, an infant Nim was taken from his mother and sent to live with the LaFarge family as part of a Columbia University psychology experiment. Herbert Terrace aimed to see if Nim could be conditioned to learn language if he was raised like a human child in a normal, human

household.

LaFarge raised the chimp among her own children, even breastfeeding it at times. While Nim learned basic sign language, his environment was not at all structured, and the family often let him run rampant, giving him both alcohol and marijuana. Nim continued act like a chimpanzee despite being raised as a ‘human child,’ becoming more aggressive as he grew older. Inevitably, intern Laura-Ann Pettito decided that it was not conducive to the project for the family to care for Nim. For several years, Nim was under the care of researchers at the University; however, as he grew older his behavior became more and more aggressive until he was causing serious harm to the researchers. Once Terrace decided that the project should end, Nim was moved to the University of Oklahoma primate facility, where he lived in a cage with other chimps. Research assistant Bob Ingersoll noted that the experience was “distressing” to Nim, and that he kept a close eye on the chimpanzee in order to make sure he was not harassed by the other chimps and was adjusting well. Ingersoll continued to communicate with Nim through sign language in order to ease his transition,

and smoked marijuana with him as well. Eventually, the University sold Nim to a facility that tested pharmaceuticals on chimps. Once the facility closed, he was sent to animal sanctuary where he lived out the rest of his life. Despite the trouble in Nim’s later years, the project was inconclusive, and researchers were unable to determine whether or not Nim had a real grasp on language, or if he was just repeating the motions his caretakers taught to him without any real understanding.
The film’s main focus is the effect of these different environments on Nim’s development. Most of those who worked with Nim agreed that the conditions he lived in were unhealthy for a chimpanzee, and ended up being harmful to him, especially later in life. It was clear that many of Nim’s caretakers did not have a clear understanding of how chimpanzees actually behaved, believing that Nim could be molded to behave like humans. As is normal for chimpanzees, Nim grew more aggressive as he aged, and the environments he lived in were not suitable to a chimpanzee’s natural behavior.
As far as educational value, the film is strong in that it portrays that chimpanzees cannot be conditioned to act like humans, no matter their upbringing. It details the damage done to Nim due to the unnatural environments he lived in, and how he was never fully integrated into either a human or chimpanzee community. The film also had educational value in that it had Nim’s caretakers give accounts of their personal and professional experiences, allowing the viewer to fully understand what Nim’s life and learning environments were like. It was fair in its depiction of Project Nim in both successes and shortcomings.