Film Response

While watching The Plague Dogs, I found it very interesting that a cartoon film about animals was able to stir up such a real sense of emotion, specifically in the initial scene. Watching the dog swim until he sank to the bottom and almost drown was hard to watch as a cartoon, I cannot imagine watching something that occur in person without having to stop it. I, to a degree, feel like a connection between the characters in the movie and us is a bit easier because they are given the ability to talk. You sympathize with the animal who is able to verbally communicate the displeasure he is in, but still understand our role through the scientist who do not understand the horror of the animals, because the do not hear them talking. Upon their escape from the laboratory, you almost wish you were there to pick the animals up and take them home with you, but then you see the distrust between the animals and the people that formed during their time in captivity, which is understandable granted the trauma they were subjected too. The animals developed a true fear of death, that reverts them to the their natural instincts where they are turned from "good dogs" to "sheep killers." The people who once took care of them are now hunting them, but given the oppurtunity they easily go back to the pet lifestyle, because their accustom to it. Then when the dog accidentally killed the farmer it is considered a huge deal within the people of the village, but if one of them had killed the dog it would have been considered killing vermin. As the talk of the people continues, they talk of the horrors of vivisection, do not seem very interested in being proactive in stopping it and the scientist are more frustrated with "losing all their work."