Anthropomorphism

“Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics (or characteristics assumed to belong only to humans) to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities.” –Wikipedia Definition of Anthropomorphism

Obviously, our class thus far has largely focused on this concept of anthropomorphism and the projection of human traits onto animals. We first saw this in Painlevé’s documentaries, where he narrates the activities of the animals in human terms. Even the title, “The Love of the Octopus,” implies that there is something more to their mating process than simple biological urges. The idea that an octopus has a romantic sex life or is even capable of feeling an emotion, such as love, is definitely anthropomorphic.

Guest also portrays this possibility of animal emotion in “Best in Show.” What stuck out to me the most in the movie was when the dog owners acted like their pets had some strong desire to win the dog show. This is anthropomorphic in the respect that the dogs are consciously trying to win, that they feel a sense of competition. Although I think the most poignant example of anthropomorphism is the opening scene where the yuppie couple’s dog is in therapy. I found this the most absurd because the dog is literally being treated like their child in the sense that the pet has been “emotionally scarred.”

A last example, that we didn’t discuss in class but is an obvious example of anthropomorphism is Disney’s “The Lion King.” This was, hands down, my favorite movie as a kid and I think everyone is at least familiar with it. One anthropomorphic quality that I see present in this movie is that the lions essentially have a monarchy. If we reference back to the definition above, this would be an example of “governments.” And despite the fact that animals have natural hierarchies, the idea that they have an organized government system is merely an extension of this.

Finally, I think all these example show that anthropomorphism centers on the idea that animals are portrayed with more emotional capacity and agency than they do in real life. Although we respond to this in movies and books because it seems to be extensions of natural animals behavior which in turn causes us to identify with their behavior.