In collaboration with Roosevelt taking pity upon the wild bear cub and the nature-based values of the 19th late century, the teddy bear became a symbol of childhood innocence.
Once ferocious beasts, bears in popular society now represent a human-like, expressive, docile, creature. Internationally, bears are used for as mascots in today’s society, examples include Smokey the Bear, Coca Cola Polar Bear, Snuggle Fabric Softener Bear, and Kumamon. These mascots are each unique in that they contribute different characteristics to the concept of virtual bears. Smokey Bear was created in 1944 to educate Americans about the prevention of forest fires. Being one of the first bear mascots used in popular media, tracking the physical appearance of Smokey
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shows how virtual bears have evolved throughout American history. Through examining posters made by the US government, it is evident that over the decades Smokey Bear has traded in his masculine eyebrows, and burly stature for a much softer and friendly appearance. In commercials the Coca Cola Polar Bear represents family values and compassion by sharing a bottle of Coke with animals that are typically prey of wild polar bears. The bear in the Snuggle Fabric Softener is an innocent, talkative, baby-like creature. In Japan, Kumamon, is a national fad sweeping the nation. Created by the government of Kumamoto Prefecture to represent their prefecture, in hopes of increasing tourism, Kumamon is a large, clumsy black bear that even has its own theme song, describing how the bear will always be there to support you and be your friend. These many attributes contribute to the concept of the virtual bear, which anthropomorphizes bears into relatable characters. Not only are bears being used as mascots, wild bears are also portrayed in nature documentaries. In “Hey, They’re Just Like Us!” Representations of the Animal World in the Discovery Channel’s Nature Programming, David Pierson expands on Margaret King’s analysis of Disney nature films, stating that in order for nature documentaries to catch the public eye, “the broad template of human social organization, with its inscribed concerns, morals, and values, is imposed on the natural world” (Pierson, 702). Humans unconsciously project their human nature onto other beings, and thus have the tendency to anthropomorphize animals. Pierson explains the anthropomorphism of bears by citing Wild Discovery’s episode “Great Siberian Grizzly”, in which there are two storylines throughout the episode, one of a mother bear, who is portrayed as self-sacrificing, willing to do anything for her three cubs, and the other storyline depicts a young bear’s effort to gain mastery of catching salmon in order to survive winter. Close-ups of the bears’ faces and a voice-over narrative that describes the bears’ actions using human-like behaviors and terminology are utilized to transform wild predators into relatable characters. Pierson states that nature documentaries tend to represent the animal world as a system that mirrors human social organization, “the animal world is represented as a highly dramatic realm filled with close-knit families, external conflicts, and intense competitions—in other words, a world not unlike the one inhabited by Discovery’s middle-class suburban viewers” (Pierson, 710). Nature documentaries that focus on the relatability of wild bears in order to produce a successful documentary distort the behavior of bears by depicting these predators with human-like attributes, thus giving the public a misrepresentative view of the accurate nature of bears in the wild. The concept of virtual bears, promoted through cuddly toys, supportive mascots, and relatable characters in nature documentaries, has caused Americans to acquire an inaccurate representation of wild bears.
This internal conflict between how society characterizes bears versus the natural behaviors of wild bears is exemplified in the documentary Grizzly Man, by German film-maker Werner Herzog. The documentary analyzes the life and death of Timothy Treadwell, a want-to-be filmmaker, who spent the later years of his life living amongst wild bears while compiling footage of wild bears that aimed at educating the public about bears and how to preserve bears and their habitat. Unfortunately, Treadwell and his girlfriend are later mauled to death by the bears he was attempting to protect. In the film, it is immediately evident that Treadwell’s perspective on wild bears is abnormal; he treats the bears as if they were harmless animals by petting them, turning his back, reading to them, and giving each bear a nickname. However, throughout the film it is apparent Treadwell is fighting with an inner struggle, shown by baby-talking to the wild bears, yelling at them when they get too close, and then immediately apologizing for yelling and professes his love of the bear. In an interview Treadwell states that bears are misunderstood, and that people should not harm wild bears. In one scene, Treadwell films himself in his tent, cuddling with his favorite teddy bear, so it is apparent that the concept of virtual bears has clouded his beliefs about wild bears. In For the Love of Nature: Documenting Life, Death, and Animality in Grizzly Man and March of the Penguins, Jennifer Ladino describes Treadwell’s view on nature, “The fact that he frequently occupies the frame alongside the bears undermines the tendency of the wildlife film to draw a stark line between animals and humanity” (Ladino, 75). While Herzog conveys the message that wild nature is indifferent to humans, Treadwell is
promoting the opposite viewpoint. Fueled by the concept of virtual bears, Treadwell consistently blurs the line between animals and humanity. After analysis of Treadwell’s internal struggle, Treadwell perfectly demonstrates how bears portrayed in society and media—virtual bears—have the potential to negatively affect how humans interact with wild bears. Although Treadwell believed he was protecting the bears, park rangers refute that statement, explaining that Treadwell put the lives of all parties involved in jeopardy by habituating these dangerous, feral animals with human contact. As the film comes to an end, Herzog concludes “And as we watch these animals in their joys of being, a thought becomes more and more clear. That it is not so much a look at wild nature as it is an insight into ourselves, our nature. And that for me, beyond his mission, gives meaning to his life and to his death” (Herzog 2005). Herzog projects, the purpose of the film Grizzly Man isn’t to show bears in their natural environment, instead it makes people reevaluate how they interact with nature, and the human-bear relationship. While it is evident that Americans now have a misguided idea of bears, this concept of virtual bears has been advantageous to wild bears in that there is an increased effort in bear conservation. Humans have the tendency to care more for species that society deems ‘cute’, which explains why the money spent to facilitate the conservation of Polar bears is much greater than that which goes to the preservation of Rhinos. While Coca Cola generated over $2 million for the conservation of Polar Bears in one year, the Save the Rhino campaign only accumulates roughly $100,000 each month (coca-colacompany.com & savetherhino.org). Through the concept of virtual bears, bears have gone from violent to docile creatures, which propels humans to care more about the wild bears. If humans were to be reminded that wild bears are anything but gentle creatures, there would be a significant drop in donations to conservation programs. In early European history, bears were the most feared animal, in part due to their similarities with humans. Through mythology the beast known as King Bear was created, and was ultimately destroyed by the Catholic Church. The creation of the Teddy bear in 1902, the use of bears as mascots, and the portrayal of bears in nature documentaries paved the way for a new concept of bears, known as virtual bears, to be created. Armed with this misrepresentation of bears, Americans are more susceptible to negative interactions with wild bears, as exemplified in Werner Herzog’s film Grizzly Man. However, wild bears benefit from the concept of virtual bears, in that the public puts more effort in the preservation of charismatic, cute, relatable animals.
Where does the line of sport and murder intersect in hunting? Is it when the species being hunted is able to reason? Or is it when the species being hunted looks just like the hunter? In both movie and film, we see a man fight for his life and another going against all codes of ethics. While Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” and Ernest B. Schoedsack’s film adaptation both have several similarities, the difference are also apparent in each respective media.
This poem, Sarajevo Bear written by Walter Pavlich, addresses one of the most important themes, the struggle to keep humanity strong and stable. To begin with, this poem is discussing the sniping campaign that took place in Sarajevo in 1993 and how civilians were the targets of these attacks. During this time people faced a dilemma: they could either stay in hiding forever or until the war ended, or they could do something that would get their mind off the war and relieve some of their stress. People knew though the risk of leaving the security and safety of their home as they could be shot and killed at any time without warning. But still this did not stop the people working at the zoo and feeding the bear to stop their job. Furthermore, the first verse of this poem states that this is the last animal at the zoo. This illustrates that just as many people were dying, many animals were dying as well illustrating that our actions not only affect us but they also affect things around us, and in this poem it was the zoo animals. In a zoo the animals are contained within a certain area an...
It is within those years that they discover the different ways that imagination and humanity can alter the way you think. Halberstam brings up this point within a lengthy analysis of the movie March of the Penguins. At first view this film is simply documentary of a group of penguins as the mothers leave to find food and the fathers stayed to protect the eggs. At first glance, this is true. But Halberstam presents a second interpretation. She states that “Most often we project human worlds onto the supposedly blank slate of animality, and then we create the animals we need in order to locate our own human behaviors in ‘nature’ or ‘the wild’ or ‘civilization’” (275). This idea changes the way we think about most man-made documentaries, showing how we don’t just document the animals, but we add our own human narrative to them. Enforcing ideas such as authority, gender roles, and even heterosexuality. That may seem like a stretch to some. But Halberstam states that we use these animals to study these ideas. To directly quote “Animated animals allow us to explore ideas about humanness” (276). What exactly does she mean by this statement? She uses the term animated to describe these penguins. But to any movie-goer who has seen this film know that it follows a group of real live penguins. Her use of the word animated in this case describes what it is like to be
Many great authors that study human nature stood out the most during the period of time between the Imperialism and World War II. Among these authors were George Orwell and Virginia Woolf. Their study of the human nature is especially visible in certain short stories that each author respectively did. Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” and Woolf’s “The Death of the Moth.” In either of these stories the respective author uses animals to depict their complex ideas about the nature of life, men, and the whole world.
In this Charmin commercial, the author is the Charmin Company. The bears are used as the speakers for Charmin. They are cute, lovable, and are appealing to most people. They were not always in the Charmin commercials however. The first Charmin bear was introduced in 2001, and then the cubs the following year. They were a big hit with the public so the company continues to use them as the mascots/speakers for Charmin toilet paper. The bears are a big help in selling the product.
In the article “A change of heart about animals” author Jeremy Rifkin uses rhetorical appeals such as ethos, logos, and pathos to persuade humanity in a desperate attempt to at the very least have empathy for “our fellow creatures” on account of the numerous research done in pursuit of animal rights. Rifkin explains here that animals are more like us than we imagined, that we are not the only creatures that experience complex emotions, and that we are not the only ones who deserve empathy.
Many people visit parks to see the animals. They will encounter numerous animals snakes, birds, insects, and occasionally a bear. Many people would run away to safety not try to talk or touch them. Timothy Treadwell is a person who on numerous occasions touched the bears and even played with the bear cubs. He was a bear enthusiast who wanted to protect them. He was filming a documentary where he displayed personality disorders, depression, and Attention Deficit Disorder. He has displayed that he has a disorder and is clinically insane.
In the essay entitled “The Sacred Conspiracy” by Georges Bataille, there is a text that says, “A world that cannot be loved to the point of death—in the same way that a man loves a woman—represents only self-interest and the obligation to work. If it is compared to worlds gone by, it is hideous, and appears as the most failed of all. …Men today profit in order to become the most degraded being that have ever existed,” (Bataille 179). Interestingly enough, the comment can be applied to the problematic relationship of the human and the animal as seen in Byron Haskin’s film The Naked Jungle.
This has become an annual chore, especially in provincial/territorial and state regions and national parks and it is big business too. Many jurisdictions, including Alberta, have “Bear Smart” programs; these are intended to educate citizens about bears and protect people from bears and also protect the bears. In modern times, more and more wildlife agencies are moving problem black bears with less frequency because the bears may return and/or interfere in another bear’s territory (this is one of the reasons I stated back in the ‘70s for not moving all problem black bears and it was scoffed at, at the time). Some agencies now simply kill problem black bears after the first offence. The province of British Columbia has recently (2016) announced that they will bring to an end the relocation (translocation) of conflict
My interest in the Giant Panda started when I was six years old, and went to the zoo with my first grade class. I was mesmerized by these beautiful bears with amazing color. The panda bear has black ears, black patches on its eyes, black legs and black arms that stretches across the panda bears back. It might have been their color pattern that I love so much that attracted me to them. I collect small panda bear figures, that I keep on the top shelf in my room. When I was younger I had no idea about the dangers these beautiful creatures would one day be on the endangered species list. As a child I assumed they would always be at the zoo for everyone to see, but I was wrong. The Giant Panda faces many challenges that threaten their existence. One threat is poachers who slaughter the panda bear for their fur. Another reason panda bears are endangered is because of the destruction and degradation of their habitat. The last thing that threatens the existence is the panda bears low reproductive rate. There are several groups working to save the panda bear such as WWF, and the Winton Foundation for the Welfare of Bears. Although the panda bear faces many challenges that threaten their existence, I believe they have a good chance for survival.
Rodgers, Paul. "Polar Bear Apocalypse." The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 11 June 2006. Web. 07 May 2014.
This instance helps identify this story as Transcendental. As the dog continues chasing the bear, it remains unshaken and the boy experiences the fear that is seemingly absent in the dog. The boy feels as if he is connected to the fyce in some way and fears for its safety. The boy cares for the fyce enough to risk his own life in order to save another. After rescuing the fyce, the boy is scolded by his father for not shooting the bear. This shows that human nature is good in itself until influenced by
I would agree that the United States has value to polar bears but they also kill them for meat, hides, and status. By doing so they’re limiting what is rarely available. Although, hunting is legal it is becoming the main cause of death for these creatures, even if we do not hunt them they are passing due to the arctic becoming a warm climate. We can stop the killing of these animals by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases
According to early history, Yellowstone National Park is the famous place to interact with bears. Many people specifically enthusiastic visitors can experience feeding the bears along the road. However, the visitors act excessively during
Lucky for these bears as hunting isn’t as prominent as it once was in the Alpine regions is it once was back in the 18th,19th and early 20th century. As well as hunting in the 19th conservationists emerged to raise awareness one of then was John Muir and he was a naturalist and advocate for nature preservation in the 19th century he started the Sierra Club one of his quotes about bears says: