Seals in Popular Culture
Seals have found their way into our hearts, which is why you will find so much about them out there. Plenty of it is in the form of entertainment including books and films. One of the films that both children and adults love is called Andre the Seal. It is about a young seal that is separated from the rest of its group due to an injury. A young boy and his family that have a love of animals work to save Andre. It was released in 1994 and continues to be one that many people enjoy watching.
This movie tells a great deal about seals as well as being a fun movie. There is plenty of trouble that Andre and the young boy get themselves into in the movie. This is also one that will bring you to tears in the end though so be prepared. Andre was also in many other films over the years until he was placed in captivity in 1986 due to old age. He was a very easy to train seal and one that loved to interact with the public.
Many attractions including zoos, circuses, and water parks such as Sea World show seals in a fun light too. They have them engage in a variety of movements and tricks in order to please the audience. Since seals are very fast learners and intelligent creatures these feats can be accomplished without any problems. It may be fun to see seals performing like this, but others are outraged. They feel it betrays the true sense of life for these animals.
There are some great documentaries out there that really show you the life and the habits of seals. The problem though is that it is hard to get good footage when these animals spend so much of their time in the water. However, observing their sounds and behaviors have allowed seals to be portrayed with some sense of accuracy in films and even in cartoons. They have also been able to be successfully described in books that are quite entertaining.
The fact that seals find their way into popular culture though is important. With so many efforts out there to save them from destruction, people need to have a good impression of them. There is too much negative publicity out there about seals such as that they are destroying the ecosystems in the water and that they are pests. When people start to view them as creatures we need to protect that is a step in the right direction.
While there isn’t as much about seals in popular culture as you will find on other animals, there is enough for you to be entertained. Not everyone is a fan of using seals for such means though. For example many human rights groups were afraid the portrayal of Andre in various films gave the impression that humans could approach seals without any threat to them. However, they are wild animals and so people should take caution and not get too close.
Other fears were that such exposure of seals in popular culture didn’t stick to the facts. For example many of these ventures show the seals with characteristics of a dog or other family pet. Yet there is no way that these groups want seals to be seen as family pets. However, the key is to find a balance when you see seals in popular culture. Understanding that what you see is for entertainment purposes only is important. That way you can differentiate from them and what seals are really like in their natural environment.
