Babe Pig in the City Blog

Babe Pig in the City was quite a nice reprieve from the various other movies viewed in class. I enjoyed watching the movie and could see how it would appeal to both children and those studying ecological ethics. The animals viewed in the movie (including Babe, the apes, the gorillas, dogs, cats, ect.) were given distinctly human characteristics and thoughts. One could see that this was done to help the audience connect to the animals in the movie and their plight - by giving the animal distinctly human voices (especially the sweet, childish voices of Babe and the kitten) and putting them within human plots, I personally felt my heart connecting to the animals and fighting for them because I could place myself in their shoes. While some would argue that this employment of human characteristics to the animal characters in the movie is an underhanded application of anthropomorphism, Midgely, and myself, would argue -how else are humans supposed to relate animals? As Midgely pointed out, if humans say that they cannot relate to animals because they do not understand them, how can they relate to other human beings - humans cannot enter into the minds of animals, just as much as they cannot enter into the minds of humans. Midgely explains that one understands other humans through projecting their own experiences onto them; it makes sense that humans would project their own feelings and experiences on these animals. By understanding this, one can see why the producers of Babe Pig in the City used human voices, human plots, and human characteristics in the movie - they was trying to help the young audience relate to the animals and understand their plights in light of this audiences' human experiences. Overall, Babe Pig in the City was a very enjoyable movie. Personally, I did not mind the anthropomorphism apparent in the movie - it helped my viewing experience. I was able to relate to the animals in the movie and enjoyed the obviously human experiences and plights that the animals were placed in.