Primate proximity - fear and popular culture from Barnum and Bostock to 'Planet of the Apes'

[Potoooooooo]

http://www.nfa.dept.shef.ac.uk/jungle/index4c4.html
2011 saw a strange coincidence with the simultaneous release of the films 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' and 'Project Nim'. Whilst the first of these films was a CGI-laden 'disaster' movie and the second a documentary (with some CGI) from an esteemed film maker, the obvious parallels resounded with the subject matter and the extended and imagined connotations: what qualifies as evolution, what qualifies as responsibility for those most evolved and - most importantly - how can we quantify and understand the proximity between non-human primates and the developed primate man? It was this fear, specifically its manipulation and exploitation, that allowed these films to form strange bedfellows. The confusion, and fear, of this 'proximity' can be traced back to Bostock's antics in the Sheffield Jungle, preceded by some of his 19th Century forebears such as PT Barnum - and can be traced through various films to recent times. Our discomfort with our proximity to the great apes has never receded.

 

[Elixir]

http://www.nfa.dept.shef.ac.uk/jungle/index4c4.html
2011 saw a strange coincidence with the simultaneous release of the films 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' and 'Project Nim'. Whilst the first of these films was a CGI-laden 'disaster' movie and the second a documentary (with some CGI) from an esteemed film maker, the obvious parallels resounded with the subject matter and the extended and imagined connotations: what qualifies as evolution, what qualifies as responsibility for those most evolved and - most importantly - how can we quantify and understand the proximity between non-human primates and the developed primate man? It was this fear, specifically its manipulation and exploitation, that allowed these films to form strange bedfellows. The confusion, and fear, of this 'proximity' can be traced back to Bostock's antics in the Sheffield Jungle, preceded by some of his 19th Century forebears such as PT Barnum - and can be traced through various films to recent times. Our discomfort with our proximity to the great apes has never receded.

"responsibility for those most evolved" ?? Huhwhut? You'd have to ask a microbe...

 

[steve_bnk]

Jayne Goodall documented that chimps that have daily contact with humans as a group tend to develop similar social ills.

Filmed at a feeding station.

A study talked about on a news segment.


Give monkeys the same foodfor a period, like cucumbers. Then give one of the them grapes.


Conflict breaks out.


The study was designed to see if theidea of fairness existed outside of humans.


Peer competition is innate amongprim



http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/fair-or-unfair-even-capuchin-monkeys-recognize-unequal-pay


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KSryJXDpZo

Fear of proximity? Chimps are dangerous to be around and are not tame animals even in captivity.

 

[fromderinside]

I guess that's why politicians who reach out to get in touch are so feared.