Reel Nature: America's Romance with Wildlife on Film

Primate Documentaries: A Critical Analysis of Their History

“…These early wildlife documentaries returned strong profits (King, 1996), leading production companies to branch out to other geographic regions. During the 1960s and 1970s, while primatologists were producing their own science-oriented films, nature and wildlife production companies like National Geographic and Discovery recognized that mixing science and entertainment could attract large audiences (Mitman, 1999). They began to produce primate-centered films designed to appeal to broader audiences.…”

Soap operas will not wash for wildlife

“…Before going further with the analysis of the messages conveyed by this series, it is worth placing it in the context of the origins and evolution of wildlife documentaries. Their development, conventions and techniques were the subject of Mitman's detailed study Reel Nature (Mitman, 1999) and Bousé’s Wildlife Film (Bousé, 2000), along with Brockington's Celebrity and the Environment. Fame , Wealth and Power in Conservation (Brockington, 2009), which looks particularly at the role of celebrity.…”

“…It was a failure with the public, with no live hunting scenes and no live film of lions. Mitman says the message that came over from the failure seemed to be that ‘audiences craved drama over authenticity’ (Mitman, 1999). Further films in the 1920s were more successful, with the appeal of these early attempts to film animals in the wild leading to the development of a wildlife film industry based largely on dangerous or charismatic megafauna in the wild both to entertain and, sometimes, to educate; not that different from aspects of the Dynasties series which is the focus here.…”

Nature documentaries as catalysts for change: Mapping out the ‘Blackfish Effect’

“…Footage of orca shows illustrate that the spectacle is intended as entertaining both for the public—by footages of cheering audiences—and the orcas themselves—as a trainer says ‘Namu doesn't do it because she has to, but because she really wants to’ (Cowperthwaite, 2013). In contrast, the footage of wild whale populations presents nature as pristine (Mitman, 1999). This dichotomy of nature as commodity versus nature as ‘Edenic’ is intended to make the viewer reject captivity (Cronon, 1996; Snow et al., 1986).…”