How do mainstream film, television, advertising, videogames and newspapers engage with topics such as vivisection, hunting, animal performance, farming, meat eating and animal control? This book explores social, economic, ethical and cultural aspects of relationships between popular media forms and key animal issues.

How do mainstream film, television, advertising, videogames and newspapers engage with topics such as vivisection, hunting, animal performance, farming, meat eating and animal control? This book explores social, economic, ethical and cultural aspects of relationships between popular media forms and key animal issues.

This book critically investigates the pervasiveness of anthropomorphised animals in popular culture. Anthropomorphism in popular visual media has long been denounced for being unsophisticated or emotionally manipulative. It is often criticised for over-expressing similarities between humans and other animals. This book focuses on everyday encounters with visual representations of anthropomorphised animals and considers how attributing other animals with humanlike qualities speaks to a complex set of power relations. Through a series of case studies, it explores how anthropomorphism is produced and circulated and proposes that it can serve to create both misunderstandings and empathetic connections between humans and other animals. This book will appeal to academics and students interested in visual media, animal studies, sociology and cultural studies.

This book brings together sociological, psychological, historical, cultural, and environmental ways of thinking about nonhuman animals and our relationships with them.

This book is the first in-depth study of the representation of animals on television. It explores the variety of ways animals are represented in audio-visual media, including wildlife documentaries and children’s animated series, and the consequences these representations have for those species. Brett Mills discusses key ideas and approaches essential for thinking about animals drawing on relevant debates in philosophy, politics, gender studies, humanism and posthumanism, and ethics. The chapters examine different animal representations, focusing on zoos, pets, wildlife and meat. They present case studies, including discussions of Peppa Pig, The Hunt and The Dog Whisperer. This book will be of interest to readers exploring media studies, contemporary television, animal studies, and debates about representation.

Turn wheels, pull tabs, lift flaps, and open doors to reveal twenty-six different animals and discover the many remarkable ways that going bottoms-up helps them to survive.--

The relationship between humans and animals has always been strong, symbiotic and complicated. Animals, real and fictional, have been a mainstay in the arts and entertainment, figuring prominently in literature, film, television, social media, and live performances. Increasingly, though, people are anthropomorphizing animals, assigning them humanoid roles, tasks and identities. At the same time, humans, such as members of the furry culture or college mascots, find pleasure in adopting animal identities and characteristics. This book is the first of its kind to explore these growing phenomena across media. The contributors to this collection represent various disciplines, to include the arts, humanities, social sciences, and healthcare. Their essays demonstrate the various ways that human and animal lives are intertwined and constantly evolving.