Arctic Tale

Arctic Tale was an incredibly well-filmed documentary, a realistic depiction of the life of a polar bear cub and a walrus family. I feel that in general the documentary served as a vivid illustration of the effects of global warming and the perils that many animals are forced to endure as part of their struggle for survival. There is one scene in particular that I’d like to reflect on: Auntie’s sacrifice. I think that this scene alone is enough to considerably rattle the minds of those who would doubt animal sentience, such an act of self-sacrifice is not common, and is very strange from an evolutionary perspective. The desire to preserve one’s genes though offspring is only so powerful, I am doubtful as to whether or not that primal urge alone was enough to make her make such a sacrifice (especially when you consider that Auntie was not Seela’s mother). I felt that this scene was particularly telling and very powerful. I’d also like to reflect for a moment on the narration strategy. I feel that the over-sentimentalizing of the animal’s interactions led the audience to a premature conclusion. The scene where the polar bears remained by the side of the dead cub was a stellar example of this; the narration led you to believe that the mother and daughter were grieving for the deceased son, associating human emotions with the polar bears’ actions. I think that the narration was an exaggeration of the animals’ interactions, indeed the most powerful moments were not carried at all by the narration; the actions spoke more than words, actions like Auntie’s sacrifice imparted that which the narration could not have hoped impart, the actions spoke for themselves.