Well, before anyone flies off the hook in either direction, PETA isn’t railing at Clifford due to the idea of a humongous red canine being kept in a space that’s too small for him. Nope, it’s about every other animal that’s in the movie, starting with a capuchin monkey that shows up, and the treatment of the animal. When thinking of how poorly animals are treated now and again for one movie or another it’s enough to make a lot of people angry since the animals aren’t asking for this and they aren’t wanting to perform. But playing the part of the devil’s advocate for a moment, let’s remind PETA that they’ve proven that they’re not above acting like a group of drama queens when it comes to voicing their opinion. They’re not always wrong, but they’re not always right either, and grousing over one movie featuring a capuchin monkey and other trained animals is curious when they don’t appear to have as much of an issue when it comes to other movies. For that instance, where was PETA when the Tiger King was being filmed? Whoops.
There’s an argument to be had here but to be serious I really don’t want to have it since there’s no safe side to be on considering that the people that train animals for the movies are bound to be able to come up with proof that they’re treating their animals just fine while PETA is bound to have proof that they’re not. Trying to decide who to believe is bound to be a giant headache for moviegoers and as a result, one can honestly assume that Clifford might have a decent turnout since a lot of folks don’t want to bother getting into such a debate. The truth is that there are, unfortunately, animals in show business that are not treated kindly, and it’s true that those perpetrating such crimes are in serious need of being busted for their transgressions.
But the bleeding heart routine that many activist groups practice so often lose their veracity when they begin to pick and choose who they’re going to go after and decide to ignore what might be greater cases of abuse for the high-dollar and high-value cases that they do decide to make public. In a way, it’s akin to people helping others and finding the need to document their good deeds with a selfie or a shoutout on their Instagram account. What happened to doing a good deed without needing to be recognized for it? This is also a highly suspect practice since it tells the world that someone does care about an issue, but once the cameras are pointed in another direction it has to be asked if those that are seen helping are going to be doing the same thing when the cameras aren’t on them. And yes, the question is the same for any group when it comes to the idea of whether or not they’re really going to continue this fight when people buy their ticket to watch Clifford, or if they’re going to go silent when the moment presents itself and they’re not being given the attention they want.
It’s a very cynical way to look at things, but it’s a far more balanced look considering that while it’s not a firm stance against PETA, it’s definitely not fawning over their need to do the right thing and protect animals that may or may not be suffering abuse in the way that the group claims. Unfortunately, there are times when jumping at shadows is a very real issue that people suffer from since people will begin seeing problems with everything they happen to notice, especially when we do currently live in an era where an offense can be seen in just about everything from those that are willing to be offended on the behalf of others. Not only is this an extremely stressful way to live, but it’s also a sure bet that this is a way to alienate oneself from those that aren’t willing to be taken in by the doomspeak that a lot of people are willing to spout in order to push a point that others might not believe in.
My personal advice would be to go and watch Clifford if you have the mind to and perhaps think on the idea of animal cruelty and, if you desire, do your research on the company that PETA is targeting at this point. The one thing that people need to be free to do when it comes to the movies is to make up their own minds, though it’s becoming obvious that some groups are more than willing to say whatever it takes to ensure that your enjoyment is cut short before you ever get to the theater. It begs the question of why so many other movies didn’t get the same treatment, since not every animal appearance is CGI.
Tiger King
