Animal Anthropomorphism

"Anthropomorphism Is the attribution of a human form, human characteristics, or human behaviour to nonhuman things, e.g. deities in mythology and animals in children's stories"

I love the very popular and funny BBC short films where the use of anthropomorphism depicts animals as having human features and/or human qualities. Typically these movies attribute human characteristics to non-humans and subsequently endow all the creatures used with the voices and movements often associated with the various character types of people residing in Britain. They are side splittingly funny and if you haven’t come across the series I hope that you will be more than pleased to view a couple here.

The creator of these short movies is incredibly clever with his interpretation of the animal movements and expressions. His choice of words and actions are apt and so life-like it is hard not to see ourselves in the witty and sharp representations – indeed this may even be how the animals view us!

And so while these animals are still clearly looking for either Alan or Steve or receiving the Healing Light or doing the daytime /nightime thing! We are having a laugh. A side splitting laugh. A laugh out loud laugh.

Personally I like the mother monkey trying to get her son to come in for his meal while at the same trying to get his friend to go home. It’s a maternal thing that sometimes you may have thought of doing but of course never would – however there it is in glorious technicolour; a dexterous, anthropomorphic manipulation of fact.

Wouldn't it be strange if for some reason we, as in the human race, became extinct and somehow the animals survived with our vocal characteristics and mannerisms. And fiction became fact....well stranger things have happened. Just a thought really.

author: a.a.gallagher March 2011.