The Grey

[Shadowcloud]

Does anyone else think that The Grey the movie is trying to get people to hate wolves?  I mean wolves are more afraid of us then we are of them!  Everytime I see that commercial I get so mad and feel irritated that someone would make a movie about that.  I fear that more people will start to hate them.  What do you think about this new movie coming out?

[Raz.]

I don't think so. In that trailer I saw nothing that would get people to hate wolves.

All I saw was an animal based horror movie.

It's like saying Lake Placcid and Anaconda are trying to get people to hate crocodiles and snakes. Or that Jurassic Park is getting people to hate dinosaurs.

[Windance]

I don't think so. In that trailer I saw nothing that would get people to hate wolves.

All I saw was an animal based horror movie.

It's like saying Lake Placcid and Anaconda are trying to get people to hate crocodiles and snakes. Or that Jurassic Park is getting people to hate dinosaurs.

   Well, those type of movies do play on people's fears and phobias. So they aren't trying to get people to hate those animals, but are trying to profit on people that are already nervous of them or downright are scared of them. It's movies like that which cause fallacies about the different species, and lead to them being misunderstood. Same with piranha fish and other predatory animals that have been used in horror films. People begin to believe the movies over actual studies of the creatures. The director and the studio really doesn't care about that though, they are just in it for the cash.

   I honestly dislike and refuse to see movies that play on a person's fear of other creatures. It's movies like that, and stories like "Little Red Riding Hood" that people subconsciously are effected by, even if they know it's "pretend." Working at a preschool, I can tell how it affects kids at an early age. It's common to hear kids say "No, spiders are bad, they want to kill you," and "wolves eat people," etc. If not corrected, or taught differently...it stays with them through their development.
   For example: my friend as a kid wasn't afraid of spiders, but over the years of her aunt--who is terrified of them--shrieking and stomping them on site, she developed a serious phobia of them.

   Of course...this movie isn't for little kids, but it is still portraying wolves in a negative light, committing acts and behaviors that are out of their nature, and profiting on it. /endrambling

[Kyugima]

  I don't see it as bad at all. After all, If they don't play on a fear, then how in the world is it a HORROR? These people are NOT profiting from fear, they are profiting from those who enjoy being afraid. Almost Everything we fear is INSTICTUAL anyway. Spiders? Some are deadly, best be weary. Wolves? They can also be deadly. These are fears carried over from when we living wild and natturally, and were very much hunted or in danger from these creatures. Why are we afraid of the dark? Predators are active during the night, back then we had to be wary during the night, keep an eye out for ANY sign of predators that could cause us harm.

*Edit
Another thing to keep in mind.

FEAR AND HATRED ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.

[Raz.]

Yeah, I gotta agree. Hollywood "glamorises" and "romanticises" movies like these. Because you're right about the movies portraying things wrong. In real life you could probably stick your hand in a tank of piranhas and come out unscathed. Use the right methods and you could probably get close to a bear, though I still wouldn't recommend it XD

But then again, if things were portrayed realistically the audience would most likely not find it as exciting and lose interest causing the producer/director/movie/etc to make a loss. It is indeed all about the $$$ in the end.

[Zaroque]

I am fed up with these movies constantly demonizing wolves.
I've done by bit by spreading the word of wolves and what good they do to the eco-system and how they helped Yellowstone from completely being stripped of trees and rare animals.
In the Grey, the advert shows clips of Wolves attacking humans, of course, this would not happen. Wolves have a natural instinct to run away from humans and there has been no record of a healthy wolf thats killed a human.
I completely agree with you Draak, in the end the directors plain ignorance shows but the money turns up.

[Windance]

These people are NOT profiting from fear, they are profiting from those who enjoy being afraid.  Almost Everything we fear is INSTICTUAL anyway. Spiders? Some are deadly, best be weary. Wolves? They can also be deadly. These are fears carried over from when we living wild and natturally, and were very much hunted or in danger from these creatures.

    They are profiting off of fear, even if the people enjoy the thrill of fear. They obviously wouldn't be seeing the horror movie if they didn't think it would be scary for them. The subject has to be scary to them for the movie to be effective.
     And actually, most fears and phobias are not instinctual at all. They are learned behaviors the young get from their adults. It may be more instinctual for wild animals that don't have the same cognitive power as us, but violence and fear are learned behaviors for humans. This has been a topic of studies, and child development majors before.

FEAR AND HATRED ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.

     They are, but typically fear leads to some form of hatred, or dislike. It is a precursor to hatred. If a person sees something as scary, they register as something "bad" or something to avoid. Depending on how often they are stressed by it, they grow to resent it, and hate it.

[GhostingHowl]

In my opinion, you have to look at movies for what they are: entertainment. People who don't like being afraid don't watch movies they know will scare them. Anyone with a good grip on reality knows that movies, especially horror movies, are totally made up. In fact, Ive noticed most people who like scary movies are usually the ones who don't believe in what they are watching the most.

 They are, but typically fear leads to some form of hatred, or dislike. It is a precursor to hatred. If a person sees something as scary, they register as something "bad" or something to avoid. Depending on how often they are stressed by it, they grow to resent it, and hate it.

As for this, what you are saying makes sense, but I doubt one movie is going to traumatize an adult forever. You said it yourself "Depending on how often.." one movie ain't going to get someone to become wolf-phobic. Movies in particular are extremely non-personal. If a wolf mauls you once you could become scared of them forever, but a movie is unlikely to instill that kind of fear in you, unless you are very young or unstable. Because again, it comes down to discerning fantasy from reality.

[Raz.]

Ive noticed most people who like scary movies are usually the ones who don't believe in what they are watching the most.

Yeah XD

|D *likes horror movies*

Generally when my friends and I watch them we end up finding it amusing how over the top they can get sometimes. I guess it's part of the fun?

Asylum is renowned for this >_> lol

I miss the SyFy channel :C

[THROAT]

I am fed up with these movies constantly demonizing wolves.
I've done by bit by spreading the word of wolves and what good they do to the eco-system and how they helped Yellowstone from completely being stripped of trees and rare animals.
In the Grey, the advert shows clips of Wolves attacking humans, of course, this would not happen. Wolves have a natural instinct to run away from humans and there has been no record of a healthy wolf thats killed a human.
I completely agree with you Draak, in the end the directors plain ignorance shows but the money turns up.

Lol, your Gray Wolf is actually detrimental to Yellow Stone, not a benefit to it. They were introduced there to help thin the elk herds in an effort to aid aspen trees grow--a food elk eat. The introduction was promising at first, but it failed in the long run. The only thing that occurred with the wolf reintroduction was that the elk are now endangered because of the wolf. Not only are Gray Wolves not a native species to Yellow Stone, but they also destroy Elk herds.

Your wolf is not a keystone species, which means that it is not a key player in nature at all, period. One example is the U.S. itself.

Look around you.

Do you see any wolves? No? Are animals still going strong in places where there is little to no human activity? Yes. Animals that are hunted by Gray Wolves thrive when the wolf is destroyed. Ecosystems do not collapse when Gray Wolves are exterminated in whatever region they occupy. The planet will not suddenly implode if wolves leave it for whatever reason.

For proof on wolf impact on Yellow Stone elk herds:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100901111636.htm

Gray Wolves have attacked humans before. They've ended the lives of two individuals in the last six/seven years. One person was named Candice Berner and the other Kenton Carnegie. Both victims were found to have been partially eaten when their bodies were found.

Google these two persons. You'll learn a lot about them.

That is just two cases of many where people were attacked by wolves for seemingly no reason at all. There are more: http://www.aws.vcn.com/wolf_attacks_on_humans.html