Hey, writers, leave them pets alone!
I am partial to enjoying psychological dramas even very dark ones. However, being so very fond of our animal creatures, I am getting increasingly tired of seeing our beloved creatures tormented at the hands of sick twisted people using them as bait when seeking revenge in movies and TV dramas.
Yes, I know it is only pretend and they are not really harmed, but I am starting to be put off by dramas picking on animals to further darken the script.
As someone who can no longer watch the scene where Elsa is first left on her own in Born Free (!966), I do hate to see any harm come to animals even though it is only drama. I am finding myself fast forwarding more and more on TV series and films if I suspect what is about to happen to the poor creature!
I know we witnessed this in earlier films like Kes (1969), it appears to have really started the wicked obsession with the famous bunny boiling scene in Fatal Attraction (1987). it now appears to be the norm to have a beloved pet suffer the impact of someone’s retaliation.
As soon as we see the camera focussing on a cherished pet, then we can be sure that some harm is going to come to them. My wife and I now both groan together as soon as a loved cat or dog are introduced into the story!
I was only watching a film the other day. It wasn’t really that dark or psychological but there was a lot of emphasis on the female lead’s time spent with her horse. Sure enough the treasured animal’s fate did not have a happy ending.
We see it so often now; it is getting boring and off putting. I am sure the writers can come up with something more original in the script. I know this is something that happens in real life and is a reflection, but we already know there are some sick and evil people in this world. Too much coverage could give these wicked people even more ideas!
The film I Legend (2007) starring Will Smith is about a man and his dog trying to survive alone in a New York where only nocturnal mutants exist. Of course, his dog has to be the one that perishes! It is not a bad film, but as much as I like Will Smith, it would have been nice for his dog to endure life alongside him or even be the lone survivor!
Even in a great TV drama like The Sopranos we discover that Tony’s much loved horse “Pie-O-My” has undergone horrific injuries due to a stable fire caused by psychopath Ralph Cifaretto. Luckily, we don’t get to see this on screen.
Time and time again it is the poor pet that suffers. In Single White Female (1992) a beautiful puppy is chucked out of a high story flat as Jennifer Jason Lee’s character takes her revenge out on her target flat mate.
And in the recent TV Drama Angela Black, a psychological thriller where the husband is a nasty controlling piece of work, we are already on tender hooks as the wife works in a dog’s rescue centre. Oh, crikey what will happen to the dogs we think to ourselves. Then, in the opening scene of the second episode, we see the nasty remains of their pet rabbit sprawled outside the door. It is blamed on a fox, but we are sure the animal is another victim of a dangerous psychopath!
It seems that if the animal is not the main part of the story then they become the brunt of the writer’s twisted plot in any dark drama. When we see them being given air time on screen, we know their fate is sealed.
Even if the animal is part of the main story then we may not be spared a tear jerking ending of their sad fate. Films like Ring of Bright Water (1969), Tarka the Otter (1979) and even a comedy Marley and Me (2008) spring to mind.
Thanks goodness for Ricky Gervais’s magnificent comedy drama After Life. Hooray! Brandy the gorgeous dog survives!
I am just sick of seeing dogs or cats kicked, stabbed, strangled or shot so all I have to say is: -
“Hey, writers, leave them pets alone!”
