The only ones more excited than James Cameron about the photorealistic CGI in Avatar were the people at PETA. To that end, they gave Cameron the prestigious (I’m sure) Proggy Award for Outstanding Feature Film yesterday.
From the press release:
For making a film with an overarching message of decency, understanding, and compassion—as well as breathtakingly beautiful CGI that heralds a new era in filmmaking (one that we hope marks the coming end of the use of live animals in entertainment)—we have awarded James Cameron our 2010 Proggy Award for Outstanding Feature Film.
Because he’s now an environmental activist, this award is probably every bit as meaningful to him as the new batch of Oscars he’s making space for on his mantle. But if he thought for a moment, he might be perplexed because he used real live horses that were blanketed with electronic sensors to capture the minute movements necessary to render a believable horse-like creature in his movie. (You can see several of them throughout the video above.)
Not only that but PETA has a problem with animals in movies just some of the time. They gave two thumbs up to Marley & Me a year ago (because the Grogans get their lab pup from a rescue group), yet berated the animated Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa for the most nitpicky of reasons:
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Our praise: This sequel shows how happy the members of the madcap menagerie of former zoo animals are to get back to their roots when they’re stranded in Africa. Our gripe: They still keep trying to get back to their zoo! I know that it’s animated, so you have to have some suspension of disbelief, but come on! No real animal ever wants to be held in captivity. Animals in zoos are confined to cramped, barren enclosures that are nothing like their natural habitats. They suffer from extremely crowded conditions, poor nutrition, and mind-numbing monotony. Does that sound like a place that you’d keep trying to get back to?
THEY WERE ANTHROPOMORPHIC TALKING LIONS AND ZEBRAS, you idiots. It was a cartoon, meaning not a single live animal was used. Please develop a cohesive set of standards before you get into the movie-critic business.
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The CGI has their soul, they actually said that, how simplistic? As if Cameron was some sort of god that can capture the natives essence with light pixels and make them into real Navi. This shows how actors are so easily swayed into the nut job enviromentalist movements.
It’s as if they captured the soul of the natives, they actually said that, how simplistic. As if Cameron is some sort of White God who can take light pixels and turn them into living and breathing entities. This explains how actors are dumb enough to fall for all the enviromental movement crap.
The Na’vi totally hunted. It was practically the point. Just saying.
Please spare us any future nude petaposters of Cameron.
Um, PETA kind of missed the boat on Marley and Me, too. Marley came from a breeder the Grogans found in the classified ads. Which, I suppose, opens a new can of hypocritical worms.
True story: Clouded leopard chewed through the fence of its enclosure at the National Zoo. Keeper sees hole and alerts the powers that be. Zoo evacuates everyone so that they can find missing cat. Cat found asleep several feet from hole, next to fence of its enclosure.
Yeah, kitty was REAL desperate to escape. Zookeepers will tell you that many animals are easy to recapture simply because they would rather be in the safe, familiar exhibit space than in the scary outside. Reputable zoos provide excellent nutrition for their animals and give them exhibits designed to mimic the natural habitats. Animals are provided with different activities and objects to stimulate natural behaviors. Many zoos have nutritionists and enrichment coordinators on staff.
Other true story: Beluga whales at the Shedd aquarium in Chicago have a huge tank, but mostly stick to a small cove at one end. Biologists say that this mimics their behavior in the wild: the whales prefer to stay in smaller areas even when large areas are open to them.
The main reason animals travel long distances is the availability of food and/or breeding partners! Animals aren’t travel crazy for the heck of it like people are. PETA needs to stop anthropomorphizing animals and start looking at what the animals actually want and need. Of course, then they would have to stop protesting and start providing shelters and funding research. You know, actually helping animals. Can’t have that!
At this point, getting an “award” from PETA is about as meaningful and prestigious as receiving a cake from the ladies of the Wetumpka Baptist Missionary Society. Only much less delicious.
As opposed to the thrill of being constantly hunted by blood thirsty predators,
the joy of being killed off by your alpha male father,
or the fun of banishment after hitting puberty.
Of course, animals do get to attend that really cool ceremony where the baboon dangles a new prince over the edge of a cliff in time to a snappy Elton John song, which makes whole kill or be killed thing soooo totally worth it.
Sorry about the double posting, it didn’t update with the first one.
I’ve never understood their hatred of zoos. For the most part, reputable zoos consist of
1. animals born in captivity
2. animals incapable of living in the wild due to injury and illness
3. animals rescued from being somebody’s illegal pet
Soooo…zoos take animals that would otherwise have died and provide a safe environment for them.
Owitzia:Peta views zoos/carnivals/pets/assistance animals/animal research/farming as all forms of animal slavery/exploitation, any time we are entertained or somehow benefited by an animal it is evil in their eyes, which is ironic since a majority of them are atheists and don’t believe in good and evil, which should mean that they should derive any value system from the rules of nature itself, which means eating each other is A-OK.
….and on the 8th day, James Cameron created the Navi….
PETA totally is confused about what’s real and what’s not real. How can they bestow James Cameron that award and complain about the cartoon Madagascar. They’re confused.
“one that we hope marks the coming end of the use of live animals in entertainment”
I’m curious – would they be okay with entertainment using dead animals? Maybe the ones they kill and toss in dumpsters?