The Gist: Good afternoon VegNews Book Clubbers! We are in the third week of our discussion of Fear of the Animal Planet by Jason Hribal. Another short read for this week, but I don't mind too much. It's been incredibly nice, now that we're in the midst of summer, and it's great to not worry about too much reading.
We read another chapter of the book for this week's discussion, which talks about monkeys. Hribal gives many different accounts of escape attempts and attacks of monkeys in zoos and research laboratories. The stories of the escape attempts are truly amazing, and really goes to show the extent of these animals' need for freedom. One such incredible story is of the orangutans Ken and Kumang in the San Diego Zoo. After several escapes, the zoo spent three months rebuilding the orangutan facility to make it escape-proof. It held for a while, but four years after the new facility debuted, another orangutan, Indah, found a way out.
We read another chapter of the book for this week's discussion, which talks about monkeys. Hribal gives many different accounts of escape attempts and attacks of monkeys in zoos and research laboratories. The stories of the escape attempts are truly amazing, and really goes to show the extent of these animals' need for freedom. One such incredible story is of the orangutans Ken and Kumang in the San Diego Zoo. After several escapes, the zoo spent three months rebuilding the orangutan facility to make it escape-proof. It held for a while, but four years after the new facility debuted, another orangutan, Indah, found a way out.
The stories about the monkeys used to make films deeply saddened me, specifically the story about the chimpanzees used in the film Project X, in which they were beaten regularly by the trainers on the set. I watched this movie as a child, and the movie has an animal-rights message. The main character is played by a young Matthew Broderick, who is a janitor in a laboratory that experiments on chimpanzees. He comes to know the animals, and helps them to escape at the end of the film. How completely ridiculous that a movie has such abuses and cruelty on its set, while preaching such a message. It horrifies me that there are these types of contradictions out there, and makes me even more skeptical of people's motives in the entertainment industry.
The Discussion: Here are two discussion points to help get the conversation started. I look forward to hearing from you!
1. Do you think that all films that have animals in them also abuse these animals behind the scenes? Will you watch any films that include animals and claim to have an animal-rights message, even though there's a possibility of abuse on the set?
2. What story most fascinated you in this chapter?
The Discussion: Here are two discussion points to help get the conversation started. I look forward to hearing from you!
1. Do you think that all films that have animals in them also abuse these animals behind the scenes? Will you watch any films that include animals and claim to have an animal-rights message, even though there's a possibility of abuse on the set?
2. What story most fascinated you in this chapter?
The Assignment: Please read the rest of Fear of the Animal Planet for our discussion on Monday, June 20.
~VN Book Club Hostess Lyndsay Orwig
