The Grey film has attracted controversy for its negative portrayal of wolves, and especially after actor, Liam Neeson, boasted that director, Joe Carnahan, had requested they eat wolf meat before filming to get 'in character'. The character they had to get in touch with was presumably that of man against nature, as that is what the movie seems to symbolise.
At a time when some governments are facing up to the harm humanity is doing to the planet, and many are trying to stop the trade in vulnerable wildlife that has threatened many animals with extinction, it seems callous and reckless to publicise an anti-animal film in this way.
The Wolf as Symbol of Untamed Wilderness
The casting of the wolf as the aggressive enemy is not new, and The Grey is just the latest episode of a narrative that has been a part of humanity since our ancestors stopped living a nomadic lifestyle and settled into sedentary agricultural communities.
Wolves have been revered by many cultures around the world, but they have also suffered at the hands of expanding communities of sedentary people. As human communities closed themselves off from a wilderness they had once been a part of, they cast it as an enemy and threat. This legitimised their destruction of it and the animals that still roamed within it, with the wolf receiving particular demonisation. In The Human Reality (Book Guild: Sussex, 2010, page 107), Peter Prew wrote:
'As the idea grew that farming and domestic animals were God-given and innately good ... so the idea grew that wolves were evil...The wolf lived in the wilderness, seen as a place without God ... anyone and anything allegedly posing a threat to the religio-social-economic order may be seen as a denial and inversion of that order, and sacrificed accordingly.'
Aesop's Fables: An Example of Wolf Demonisation
The wolf is now extinct in most of Europe, having been persecuted for centuries as the human population rose and expanded across the continent. Although many cultures still see the wolf as brave, resilient and wise, in Europe its dominant image became that of a threat and competitor.
As George Fyler Townsend wrote in a foreword for his translation of Aesop's Fables in 1867 (the fables are thought to have been written in the classical Greek period, around 2500 years ago):
'The introduction of the animals or fictitious characters should be marked with an unexceptionable care and attention to their natural attributes, and to the qualities attributed to them by universal popular consent .... The Wolf cruel ... Many of these fables are characterized by the strictest observance of these rules...'
Conclusion
Although the wolf can appear cruel when hunting, it is no different to how humanity looks, and humanity does it on an industrial scale that has pushed many species into complete or near extinction. In contrast, the wolf has proven good for environments, such as Yellowstone after it was reintroduced in 1995.
The wolf can also show the qualities of humanity; such as courage, resilience, fun, sorrow and a desire to serve its community. As the nomads who lived with the wolf as a fellow creature of the wilderness knew, humanity's similarities with the wolf far outweigh the differences. We should therefore respect the wolf, and not risk pushing it further towards extinction with silly gimmicks that would embarrass a wolf.
Marc Latham - Doctor of Philosophy and experienced freelance writer searching for truth and meaning, and reporting it in clear and concise copy.
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