http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB_2nwNDSrQ
I discovered this video whilst searching “wild lions” on youtube. It immediately caught my eye because it combined two of my favorite things: soccer and lions. The video raises awareness about wild lions and their diminishing habitat, shows the amazing interaction humans and lions can share, and serves as an advertisement for a suit. The video opens with self-proclaimed lion expert Kevin Richardson explaining his personal history with lions which contained vast experience of protecting and bonding with lions. The video opens with Kevin receiving a huge bear hug by a male lion. The video continues with Kevin walking next to the lion in a long view shot that encompasses the landscape. Kevin narrates the problems lions have in today’s world, all the while showing his amazing control with lions. Eventually, a birds eye view of three lions and Kevin with an orange soccer ball appears and the foursome begin footballing. Kevin actually tries a few skills to get past the lion and the two lionesses, while the lions simply chew the ball. The music throughout the clip is very lion king-esque until the football scene where it becomes more uptempo and has an almost electronic connotation to it.
Not only did I find this video amazing, I found it to be completely relevant to Randy Malamud’s essay Zoo Spectatorship. Throughout his essay, Malamud has not a single positive thing to say about zoos. What Kevin does here (while it is not applicable to the other 99.99% of the world) is interact with wild lions. He does not simply look at them from a distance in an unnatural habitat, something that Malamud argues is distasteful and disrespectful to the animals. Kevin gets to experience the lions in their most natural state, and his interactions are able to get captured on video. While some may say it is a negative thing that Kevin is teaching these lions to be friendly towards humans while a large portion of humans approaching lions are poachers, I argue against it. I think his interactions with these lions can prove to humans that lions are kind, magical animals. Kevin also uses his videos to raise awareness about the diminishing habitat of the lions due to pollution and the dwindling population size because of increased poachers.
I appreciate this video because, as Malamud states, people should be “more concerned with what the imprisonment of animals says about the people who create, maintain and patronize zoos,” then the effect of zoos on the animals. (222). Kevin, like Malamud, would not appreciate zoos because they do not teach people the real lesson animals have to offer us. Kevin embodies Malamud’s ideas going against spectatorship. Animals are beautiful creatures and should be treated as such. The way Kevin involves himself with the lions goes against everything Malamud argues about zoos. The lions literally look into Kevin’s eyes, unlike in zoos where the “animals deflate the human gaze we conceive as so puissant, by cutting us in return – refusing to dignify or acknowledge our self-important ritual of looking.” (222). Everything Kevin did in this video proves how important it is to be involved with animals, not just spectate them.
Malamud, Randy. Zoo Spectatorship. New York: New York University Press, 1998. Print.
I think that this video is very exciting! I was not expecting this video to show such a calm and playful interaction between humans and lions, and I am amazed that such a comfortable interaction is possible. I think that many of us have discussed negative ideas about many animal videos, and it is nice to see you write about this video with a positive view. At first I disliked the idea that the ad was using the majestic nature of the lion to advertise a type of suit. However, I was happy to see that the end of this ad also benefited the lion and raised awareness of habitat problems.
I think this video is a great way to increase appreciation for lions and increase conservation efforts. However, the way they portray lions as being calm and playful with the man is unrealistic. In reality, it is not safe to interact with lions this way because they are wild animals. If the lions were to hurt this man (not the lions’ fault, they were just being lions) would it give lions a bad reputation and decrease conservation efforts? Do you think we should be advocating interacting with wild animals this closely? Is risking your own safety the only way to develop an appreciation for animals and to develop a relationship with them?
I really enjoyed watching the video. I have seen many videos when Kevin Richardson encounters these big cats. I was amazed with how calm they were, an affectionate towards Kevin. I found this especially intriguing considering lions are known as King of the Jungle.
On a side note, when Sonia commented “If the lions were to hurt this man (not the lions’ fault, they were just being lions)” I found it hypocritical. Is it justifiable for lions to harm humans because there were just being lions? In that case does that argument state that its alright for humans to capture and hunt lions because we are just being humans? Or is it our duty as a species with the ability to decipher right from wrong to recognize the immoralities of zoo spectatorship, and other atrocities towards lions and other animals