Beating expectations, "The Grey," starring Liam Neeson, had a colorful opening weekend. The story of oil refinery workers stranded in the bitter Alaskan tundra after a plane crash came in number one at the box office this weekend after wowing moviegoers. Animals rights activists, however, are less than wowed.
If you haven't seen the move, it includes the men and an extremely badass Neeson fighting off the bitter cold, starvation, and wolves, lots of wolves. In one scene Neeson supposedly punches a wolf right in the nose. That punch aside, animal rights activists are up in arms about the film, even calling for its boycott, because they believe ... it's going to create worldwide hysteria and wolf phobia. Oh yes, they're serious.
According to an article in the Daily Beast, some activists believe the poor wolves, who attack and prey on the men in the film, are being grossly misrepresented in the film. Wendy Keefover, carnivore-protection director for WildEarth Guardians, told the site that there have only been two fatal wolf attacks in North America ever documented:
Most people don’t know anything about wolves. This movie will tap into their primal fears and create mass hysteria.
Mass hysteria, really? I don't know about you, but I don't run into a whole lot of wolves on a daily basis, and if I do, you better believe I'm going to be hysterical and scared as hell. I'd venture to say that most people feel the same -- with or without seeing the film -- and I don't think that's a bad thing. They're WILD ANIMALS.
That doesn't mean I'm going to go out and start hunting down wolves either -- like activists fear. I'm scared of a lot of things that I don't go hunt down. For example, I'm terrified of squirrels, yet I've never been moved to grab a gun and try to shoot one down. Some may, I suppose, but thinking that this one movie is going rile up people enough to hunt so many wolves that they become extinct is ridiculous. As for the rest, it sounds like they're just worried about the reputation of the wolves, which is nice, but ... ridiculous?
From PETA:
A film that has the potential to scare more people than "Little Red Riding Hood," The Grey portrays these intelligent, family-oriented animals the same way in which Jaws portrays sharks. The writers paint a pack of wolves living in the Alaskan wilderness as bloodthirsty monsters, intent on killing every survivor of a plane crash by tearing each person limb from limb. Yet wolves aren't aggressive animals, and as Maggie Howell, the managing director of America's Wolf Conservation Center, says, Wolves don't hunt humans—they actually shy away from them.
If the animals rights activists want to go up and try to snuggle a "family-oriented" wolf or take a chance that the wolf they face is really just shy, then more power to them. But when it comes to wolves and their FANGS I think it seems a whole lot safer to side with the fear.
And besides, it's just a movie.
Do you see any validity in the animal rights activists' fears in this case? Have you seen the movie?
Image via YouTube
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Comments 47
I live in Montana-where werreally do hunt wolves-so I can look at this from both sides. We used to live in a more rural area and there was a wolf pack who roamed fairly close to our home. Many times I saw a particular female wolf cross our backyard. I taught the kids to just stay away from her. If they were to ever see her, they just needed to STAY OUT OF HER WAY. They are wild animals. Therefore they are unpredictable. But I never went in a grabbed the rifle at shot at her! At the same time, I also support the wolf hunt each year. Only a small number can be killed (I think it was about 50 this year), but hopefully it encourages the wolves to stay away from populated areas. I was always leery of letting my kids hike the trails behind our house during certain times of the year because I knew about the local pack and well...they are wild animals. And therefore they are unpredictable.
Usually I am never on animal activists side, but this time they do have a point, in society wolves have been regarded as horrible animals just hell bent on killing everyone. Obviously this is not true. It is true that history has shown very few wolf attacks on humans. Wolves have been on the endangered species list for years because they had been almost completly eradicated. They just in the last few years have started making a comeback. I could see where that movie would stir up a group of idiots perceptions about wolves, I mean ppl watch movies and automatically take them literally. I mean their were people that thought "Independence Day" was a real alien attack. I have not yet seen the movie but I want to, but if it is placed in a harsh winter in Alaska, I could maybe see where Wolves would be more agressive, because they may possibly be hungry. But I guess I will just have to see the movie to find out if that is part of the plot.
Secondly, he actually tries to tell the people in the film about how the wolves are being so aggressive because they feel like the crash survivors are threatening their den and food supply.
Other than all these things, it is a MOVIE and should be taken as such. Yes, wolves are beautiful, family-oriented creatures, but they are still wild animals, and any person with half a brain should know that it is still a wild beast. And as with all wild beasts, no matter how beautiful, if it feels threatened, it will attack and defend itself.
But in general, no, wolves will not attack unprovoked.
PETA should declare a special day once a year -i can see "Hug A Wolf Day" becoming really popular because they're so cuddly and shy.
Yes people kill wolves. It's a horrible thing to happen. I personally love the animals. But I also know (from living in Alaska) that people do kill wolves and other predators because they are stalking or picking off their farms, or they find their ways into neighborhoods with our children because food is not prominent.
Get a grip. People are not going to watch the movie then go find some wolves to kill because they want to be like liam neesen. And if some does. I hope they are punsihed to the full degree they can get for poaching.
Chill out and eat a hamburgers, peta.