RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 The "Cutopia" paradox: anthropomorphism as entertainment
T2 La paradoja de la utopía de lo adorable: antropomorfismo como entretenimiento
A1 McRae, Donna Leanna
A1 Vale, Michael Charles
K1 Animal
K1 Anthropomorphism
K1 Chimpanzee
K1 Entertainment
K1 Empathy
K1 Antropomorfismo
K1 Chimpancé
K1 Entretenimiento
K1 Empatía
K1 Literatura
K1 Literature
K1 Medio ambiente
K1 Environmental science
AB An infant chimpanzee, dressed in riotous checks, bowtie and braces, cradled in human arms while it regards a camera, is perhaps further from us than a tiger lurking in the deepest jungle. Anthropomorphic sentiment negates empathy, blinding us to the real animal behind the “character.” The engaging creature we imagine we’d like to hold and protect is the product, most likely, of violent separation and trauma, stolen in order to bring us this enjoyment. We read the comical face, celebrating what appear to be traces of commonality; but the eyes of the small creature are windows to a realm we cannot comprehend. By following the life of a single chimpanzee, Cobby, the oldest chimp in captivity in the USA, this paper will explore our attraction to cuteness via the lens of chimpanzees in entertainment, regarding it as an intersection of emotion and metaphor that is potentially devastating to animals. We will argue that anthropomorphic sentiment and construction misdirects empathy away from the plight of real animals, and that every animal has the right to be acknowledged as a unique individual, rather than a generic entity. Animals that have been born in captivity and, to a lesser extent, those that have been extracted from the wild in infancy, can be seen as trapped between worlds. There exists, therefore, a hybrid population of animals that lives amongst us, amnesiacs dependent upon human compassion, or conversely, prey to its absence.
PB Universidad de Alcalá
SN 2171-9594
YR 2016
FD 2016-04
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10017/25317
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10017/25317
LA eng
DS MINDS@UW
RD 28-abr-2024