Author: Abigail Perham

Petting Tiger Sharks

November 8, 2014 / Abigail Perham / 5 Comments

“Petting a Tiger Shark” is one of many promotional videos for the GoPro camera. The video itself is only about 1:45 seconds long, but it contains many examples of what Malamud discusses in Zoo Spectatorship. This ad depicts a professional team of divers descending into the ocean with a carton of fish and an intention to film, feed, and pet a Tiger Shark. The video starts with the focus on the divers jumping off the boat and making their way down to the ocean floor, while creepy and suspenseful, albeit dream-like, music plays off in the background. The song is San Fermin’s “Sonsick”. The music picks up when we see the first shark swimming alone on the floor, circling near the diver. The climax of the song occurs next – when the diver offers a piece of fish up to the shark, and it takes it while continuing to swim past the diver. Then, with the piece of fish still in the shark’s mouth, we see a hand come up into the frame and stroke the underbelly of the shark. The shark seems to pay little attention – continuing on with his way, but he does circle back for more food. The diver again reaches out to touch the shark, who this time immediately jerks away. Another piece of food is offered in the next shot, and then the diver continually rubs the shark’s face. Surprisingly, what happens next looks like the shark is not only complying, but at ease with the contact. This is a conflicting scene for me – it seems as though it was edited to slow down the frame, to make it seem as though the diver was petting the shark for longer than he actually was. Also, the diver has both hands holding the shark’s head, and the shark twists their body slowly upon contact and lies on the seafloor. It’s hard to tell whether or not this reaction is one of compliance, comfort, or an attempt to wiggle away from the hands of the diver. The video ends with a tight shot on the shark’s face, focusing on its’ eye, while the lyrics in the song coo: “don’t be scared” – a conscious editing decision intended to pair the suspense of the song with the mystery and intimidating attitude of the shark.

Many concepts Malamud explores in Zoo Spectatorship are present in this short video clip. The first concept is feeding animals – one that the diver in this video does multiple times. Malamud quotes Mullan and Marvin in his argument, stating: “rather than the animals needing to be fed, it is humans wanting to feed them…the humans demand to be noticed by the animals”(225). This scenario is very similar – despite the fact that the human is in the shark’s natural habitat; the shark is not in a zoo. However, this diver still wants to be noticed by the shark by feeding it, he wants to be able to pet it, touch it, connect with it…even though the shark simply grabs the fish and continues swimming, paying little attention to the diver himself. Another quote from Malamud elaborates on the dynamic between humans feeding animals, saying that “the act is generous and the pleasure is innocent, although both derive from a base of superiority and power…making another being eat out of your hand – that yields a special thrill…if it is large enough to crush us”(225). We see this same dynamic in this video clip – although the act is innocent, the diver is still in control of the situation. The shark is still wild, but a human is still imposing their presence in the animal’s natural environment, attempting to understand, be there for, and be recognized by the animal. When the diver touches the shark, attempting to pet it similarly to the way one would pet a domesticated dog, the act is definitely made out of curiosity, wonder, and possibly appreciation. However, the shark can’t but “disappoint”, as Berger discusses, because the shark’s gaze is fleeting. The shark is simply there for the food, not because the animal wants to indulge in a friendship. We see the shark jerk away from the human’s touch to his face, but the human is persistent in continuing to pet and touch the shark.

Despite these arguments against the diver, Malamud would most likely prefer this scenario over one where the shark is trapped inside a tank. The diver is only a visitor, and a generous one at that. Despite the diver indulging in a dominant behavior, possibly a “voyeuristic” behavior as Malamud discusses, the human is not caging the shark or trapping it – a positive alternative to restricting the shark to a life inside a tank.

Works Cited:

Malamud, Randy. Zoo Spectatorship. New York: New York University Press, 1998.

Nimmo, Cameron. “GoPro: Petting A Tiger Shark.” YouTube. YouTube, 12 Aug. 2014.

Web. 06 Nov. 2014.

Black Jaguar White Tiger

November 3, 2014 / Abigail Perham / 3 Comments

I found this organization dedicated to rescuing big cats from circuses and big cat breeders (similar to puppy mills) while perusing Instagram (user: blackjaguarwhitetiger) I figured that this organization might draw up some conversation on what Eduardo (the founder) is doing and where certain people stand in regards to his organization.

Here’s the link to his website: http://www.blackjaguarwhitetiger.org/

Here’s a summarized version of his mission statement:
“We are fighting to eradicate the idea that a living being can be reduced to a simple object by possessing it…We are creating awareness about how sentimental, intelligent, and unique each animal is… The only thing that they don´t do is talk a human language…
In September of 2013, the story of an orphaned black Jaguar cub in Mexico made its way to the ears of an individual, Eduardo, who just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Miguel, the cousin of Eduardo and an expert and long time advocate of animal care, told him that the cub, whose mother had died during birth, was being transported into the hands of a wretched character that planned to drug her in order to take pictures with the public as a source of revenue. Eduardo, always being a firm believer in equality and the proper treatment of all beings, took a leap of faith with existence and intercepted the cub from a loveless life in captivity…Allow us to tell you that it is not for the faint of heart. These are powerful and unpredictable children of nature, not a pet or a toy. Do not underestimate the commitment, work, energy, strength, and resources that are necessary to care for just one of these incredible beings. Today, with the help of devoted friends, Eduardo has rescued tens of felines (And counting) from a life of terror among the circuses, zoos, and breeders. Now that the Black Jaguar White Tiger Foundation has been formed, his dream is to end all suffering of the beautiful children of existence that we humans have tried to dictate upon them.
The Black Jaguar White Tiger Foundation will soon plead for your economical help in rescuing our planet and raising awareness regarding the care of our environment and that of the innocent creatures that us humans are forcing into extinction. If we don’t do the change, then who will?”

Milk from Happy Cows

October 6, 2014 / Abigail Perham / 0 Comments

The image I decided to post about was one I found on a milk carton in Wawa. In fact, it was the only milk carton that actually depicted images of cows, which I found interesting. The milk carton had an image that encompassed the entire carton – showing a blue sky, a red barn with a silo, and about five cows all spread out, grazing on green grass in the sunshine. There also was a gold stamp captioned “From Cows Not Treated With rBST” and in smaller script underneath “No significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rBST-treated and non rBST-treated cows”. The cows are depicted as though they are in their most natural atmosphere, they are not anthropomorphized, but they are idealized. I find it the most interesting that the carton can display this image but not be labeled organic, humane, cruelty-free, natural…etc. Despite Foer’s explanation that these labels are “bullshit”, they still require some guidelines to be able to label themselves as such, and this milk is not following any of them. This image shows the cows as if they are on a small, family-owned farm. However, WaWa is a fairly large corporation and I doubt that five grazing cows could possibly supply the amount of milk in the time and capacity needed for such a corporation. This image depicts “happy cows” – they are free to roam the sunny atmosphere, green grass, and hospitable barn.

Jonathan Safran Foer’s definition of “organic” argues that scenes such as those pictured above are false advertising and deceptive. In his “Eating Animals“, Foer affirms that:

“For meat, milk, and eggs labeled organic, the USDA requires that animals must: (1) be raised on organic feed (that is, crops raised without most synthetic pesticides and fertilizers); (2) be traced through their life cycle (that is, leave a paper trail); (3) not be fed antibiotics or growth hormones; and (4) have “access to the outdoors.” The last criterion, sadly, has been rendered almost meaningless-in some cases “access to the outdoors” can mean nothing more than having the opportunity to look outside through a screened window.”

Taking this into consideration, what does this say about the milk that WaWa provides? If they can’t be labeled as organic, how are they treated? Certainly not like the cows on the front – who have access to the outdoors…yet apparently they do not feed them certain hormones (as stated on the carton in gold). Foer would most definitely notice the idealization of the cow’s life – this image is being used to make us feel better about our choices subconsciously and forget about the strenuous life that is the reality for many dairy cows. We forget about these animals, as Foer argues in “Hiding/Seeking”, and says that since there is no individual animal and “no singular look of joy or suffering” we are apt to forget about these animals and toss aside the thought of their suffering. This ties in very well with both John Berger and Alice Walker, both of whom argue that we’ve forgotten our connection with animals and that is why we can suppress these thoughts. Berger specifically says that animals have become “invisible” – similar to Foer saying that “we see farmed animals so rarely today, it becomes easy to forget”. We physically see the cows on this carton, but we don’t actually see the individual cow at the actual dairy farm. Therefore, we forget that this we are consuming an actual animal product, on a dairy farm that definitely does not look like this grassy pasture.

“Eating Animals” PDF

October 3, 2014 / Abigail Perham / 1 Comment

In case anyone needed a (free) online version!

http://literatori.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/jonathan-safran-foer-eating-animals.pdf

Looking at Race Horses

September 12, 2014 / Abigail Perham / 2 Comments

The image that I want to look at and discuss focuses on horses. For the majority of my life, I lived in Upstate NY near Saratoga. For those of you who don’t know, Saratoga is famous for its’ race track. This image centers around the relationship between horses and humans. As clearly shown in the picture, the jockey (human) is dependent on the horse. It is also widely believed and understood that there is a close knit relationship between horse and human. The assumptions regarding the relationship is that the human is primarily in control of the horse and will respond to the human’s commands. Along with that, the horse tends to “match” its’ jockey (similarly colored reigns) and both the human and horse are assigned a number. The image to me shows more of a competition between jockey to jockey and not a competition from horse to horse. I feel like there is more of a focus on the first jockey in the image than there is on the horse. The jockeys are the ones who seem focused on their goal with the tensed body language, whereas the horse seems more as if it is just there because it has to be based on its demeanor.

Before reading either Berger or Walker, I would not have really put in a lot of thought in regards to what this image represents to me. Especially since I grew up around this race track, it came off to me as incredibly normal and a part of daily life. I always automatically assumed that horses and their jockeys held some special bond and that they perceive each other as equals. However, after reading “Am I Blue?” by Walker, my perception changed. After reading Walker, I saw the horses in this image as being neglected. My perception changed from a passive view of the animal to an active one – and my active perception recognized that the horses are being treated solely as if they only possess instrumental value. Walker would disagree immensely with the entire concept of horse racing – as it does not take into account the horse’s needs and emotions. Along with that, Berger would also state that this is mistreating the animal. The horse in this image is not a horse – it is simply a number and a name used for entertainment and monetary purposes. With the entertainment culture surrounding this image, the horse loses all sense of individuality and “horseness” (Walker). The animal is entirely marginalized – no longer is a horse a horse, now it is a form of entertainment. The horse is nothing more to the general audience as a car would be in the Nascar world. The relationship between horse and jockey is also something that I may have overestimated in my mind, which I recognized after reading Walker. The jockey and the horse probably do share a relationship and a bond, but I still did not take into account that the jockey’s success and pride comes out of what the horse can give him; therefore the horse becomes an instrumental object in the jockey’s life. All in all, I realized that my perception shifted from a passive view to one that takes into account the intrinsic value of the horse, as well as recognizing how the horse is simply just an accessory to the human as shown in the image. After reading Berger and Walker, I now view horse racing as marginalizing the animal and shifting its’ value from intrinsic to instrumental.

Introduction

September 1, 2014 / Abigail Perham / 3 Comments

I thought I would start off my introductory blog post by first introducing my animals. There’s a sign in my house that reads: “We got rid of the kids, the dog was allergic”, so naturally, I know that I’m a little less important! My family is incredibly dog friendly – we currently have 3 Spinoni; Gioia, Piccola, and Trevi. Spinoni (or Spinone Italiano) are Italian bird dogs, similar to a wire haired griffon. Both of my parents professionally handle, breed, and occasionally hunt. The dog-craziness that absorbs my household was even the topic of my college application essay.

I’m from New Hampshire but have primarily lived in upstate New York my whole life. I’ve also moved high schools 3 separate times. I’m an avid Red Sox/Patriots/Bruins fan and have a sushi and seafood obsession that has only skyrocketed out of control since moving to New England.

In my spare time, I photograph and occasionally paint. For the past three summers, I’ve worked as an assistant photographer for Nadra Photography – an established Maine wedding photographer. I also love to cook.