Animal rights activists and vegans have long been stereotyped as hypocritical killjoys. However, cinema has provided valuable space for these groups to be understood.
Today, we will briefly look over the historical and cultural attitudes towards animal rights in filmmaking. Before looking at some examples of pro-vegan/animal rights films (old and new) to see how their messages were delivered and how they have changed.
Animal Rights in Cinema
Cinema has a long history of animal cruelty, from the cruelty inflicted on film horses for early Western and historicals to the horrors of Heaven’s Gate, which led to SAG and the AMPTP contracting the American Humane Association to oversee animal treatment in films. However, even recent films like Life of Pi show that cinema is still willing to mistreat animals for art.
That is not to say that film workers don’t care about animals. We should also be wary not to fall into racist stereotyping when discussing international cinema that shows animal cruelty and films that feature the practices of Indigenous peoples. However, with large-scale animal slaughter, testing etc being so ingrained in society, animal well-being is often devalued. This is often further compounded by tight finances incentivising filmmakers to cut corners.
That said, rising awareness around healthy eating and social justice among millennials, coupled with concerns around climate change (with deforestation and industrial food production impacting climate as well as animals) have led to a growth in people identifying as vegan and a growing movement for environmental and animal justice over the decades. Which in turn has led to films exploring both themes.
Green Gems
Of course, movies with pro-vegan and animal rights themes are not limited to the modern era. Blood of the Beasts (1949) showcased the brutality of slaughterhouses and through its juxtaposition with suburban France showed how a supposedly idyllic life is built on violence. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) comments on how slaughterhouse practices impact those who work in them. Also, its brutal allusions to violence encourages viewers to see the characters as animals being killed for meat. PETA listed it as one of the 10 movies to make you go meatless. There is also the double bill of Watership Down (1978) and Plague Dogs (1982). Both used animal characters to comment on how brutally humanity impacts their lives. Through changing their environments and experimenting with them.
One thing these examples have in common, aside from being independent productions, is that despite having animal rights themes they never explicitly vocalise action to stop these practices. Instead making audiences draw their own conclusions.
Evolving Times?
Nowadays we still see films that focus on animals being abused and killed to elicit sympathy for animals. Examples include acclaimed documentaries like The Cove and Blackfish.
But there have also been films that have favourably advocated for explicit action regarding both subjects. For example, while it has numerous flaws, Christspiracy uses its questionable narrative thrust to encourage activism and to link movements for social and environmental justice to those of animal rights. Saying a fight for a better world must ensure both humans and animals are treated better.
Then there is Okja. One of the best high-profile animal rights stories. Through great performances and CGI, we can see what animals mean to people and the emotions that animals are capable of. Therefore when the Animal Liberation Front come to help our hero get Okja back we see them in a sympathetic light. Largely mainstream movies have shown militant animal rights activists as naive people who just end up causing trouble (see 28 Days Later‘s opening). And while the ALF do questionable things the film always portrays them as fighting for the right reasons. To save as many animals as possible from a corporation that is killing them on a mass scale. It’s a film that makes animal rights activists into actual characters, not caricatures and dares to say they are right.
Conclusion
It is unclear if the current landscape will continue to inspire more thoughtful and forthright animal rights films. But there have always been filmmakers willing to challenge the status quo. Plus in the fight for a better world, why should animals not also be cared for?
