By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel
- Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel
CHULA VISTA, California –Liam Neeson has always been one of my favorite actors in Hollywood. His films have often been stimulating, entertaining, and often contemplative. His latest film, The Grey, disturbs me for many reasons. It is surprising to see Hollywood produce a movie that portrays animals in their natural habitat as the villain.
The Grey is not the kind of film anyone who loves animals and nature would want to see. In an age where we are finally starting to understand the importance of stewardship, movies like The Grey are a retrogressive trend that threatens one of nature’s magnificent creatures. One is reminded of some wonderful wisdom our Sages taught centuries ago,
When the Holy Blessed One created the first man, He took him and led him round all the trees of the Garden of Eden, and said to him, “Look at my handiwork, see how beautiful and excellent they are! Everything I have created, I created for you! Be careful that you don’t corrupt and destroy My world, for if you corrupt it there is no one to repair it after you.[1]Imagine a world without the elephant or the rhino, [2] or the grey wolf . . .
Here is the main reason why The Grey is an irresponsible film. Given the ecological attitude that we have seen in numerous films coming from Hollywood, warning us about the dangers of global warming, and other sundry ecological hazards, it is shocking to see Hollywood produce a film depicting an endangered species such as the Grey Wolf as the enemy!
With this thought in mind, let us examine briefly summarize the film’s plot. A group of men suddenly find themselves stranded in the Alaskan wilderness following a plane crash. Soon, as they attempt to find their way back to civilization, they run into a pack of wolves, which gleefully look upon the stranded group as their next happy meal.
Neeson plays a protagonist named John Ottway, whose occupation as a marksman and leadership skills makes him a formidable foe to the wolves. Feeling depressed because of his estranged wife, Ottway feels as though he has lost his will to live; he contemplates suicide. Then suddenly, his plane goes down. He and six other men survive, but they are literally in the middle of nowhere. He assumes a leadership role and finds himself combating God, the elements, and a pack of hungry man-eating wolves.
One by one, each of the characters falls prey to a well-orchestrated wolverine assault. In one scene, one of the survivors named Diaz, captures and decapitates an attacking wolf. They eat the wolf’s carcass for dinner, and later throw the head of the wolf back at the wolf pack. Undeterred, the wolves continue picking each of the survivors until an angry Ottway confronts the alpha wolf with a knife in his hand, and broken beer bottles tied to his hand. In his final assault, the movie comes to an abrupt ending. The outcome remains a mystery. However, after the credits are shown, a short clip reveals a badly wounded alpha wolf, near death. Did Ottway survive? The movie leaves that question to the viewer’s imagination to answer.
Based on what I have read about the storyline behind the film, the actors did not actually eat wolf-meat during the filming, but ate lamb instead. However, the producer Joe Carnahan did purchase some wolf-meat, which he had the actors eat off the set so that they might really use the experience to help them play their roles more effectively.
How dangerous are the Grey Wolves? Consider this tidbit of wisdom. The Wolf Conservation Center states that you have a better chance of “being hit by lightning, dying of a bee sting or being killed in a vehicle collision with a deer” than being attacked by a wolf. So what do you do if you meet a hungry Grey Wolf? Look threatening and scary, throw a baseball or a rock at it—but don’t run because animals know when you are afraid. Actually, they are more afraid of you than you are of them.
As the trapper Carter Niemeyer noted, “They’re not exactly advocating for animal rights, but hunters are howling over The Grey’s bloodthirsty wolves, too. “Wolves have never been aggressive toward me in the 25 years I’ve worked with them close up!” exclaims a retired professional trapper and author of The Wolfer. “From my experience, they’re curious, they’re cautious, they’re aloof, and they really don’t want anything to do with you.” Still, he doesn’t advise camping out in their den, let alone cooking up a wolf carcass and feasting on the meat on their turf, as Ottway and the rig workers do in one stomach-turning scene. [3]
It is a pity that the film’s appearance came at a time when the grey wolf had just been removed from the Endangered Species lists in several western states. Hunting wolves just became legal again, and it was the propagation of horror stories and myths (along with some tempting bounties) that caused the near eradication of the grey wolf in North America in the first place.
Endangered Species Act (ESA): wolves throughout the Lower 48 United States are listed as endangered except in Montana, Idaho and portions of Oregon, Washington and Utah where they have been delisted through congressional action. Currently, the delisting of wolves in Wyoming has been approved in principle by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
January 9th, 2009, on his first day in office, Obama put a freeze on a number of federal regulations adopted by the Bush administration in its final days, including the delisting of grey wolves under the Endangered Species Act. This gave the wolves a temporary reprieve, and gave animal advocates hope. Obama’s choice of legislation seems to stem more from his animus toward Bush, rather than for his concern for the Grey Wolf. Just weeks after giving hope to animal advocates, the Obama administration delisted wolves under the Endangered Species Act in the Northern Rockies. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, a hunter and rancher himself, permitted individual states to begin killing wolves in order to protect animal agribusiness interests.
People interested in defending and protecting the Grey Wolf in North America must let your Congressmen know that the wolves are an integral part of an ecosystem as a top tier predator. The Midrashic wisdom cited above ought to serve as a practical and grim reminder that other ways must be explored to protect natures’ beautiful creations.
Postscript:
The animal world has a remarkable array of characteristics and social habits that impressed human societies since the beginning of time. People have looked at the wolf with awe, wonder, fear and respect. Notwithstanding its reputation as a savage predator, the wolf’s parental instincts are exceptionally refined and well developed in the animal world. As a dedicated parent, relatives of the wolf share in the caring of the young; they also help older and weaker members of its group. Each member of the wolf-clan has a special place in terms of its social standing among the clan. The wolf’s survival skills have enabled the wolf to thrive in some of the most inhospitable places of the earth. Wolves often demonstrate deep affection for their family and may even sacrifice themselves to protect the family unit. Ancient legend teaches how the infants Romulus and Remus, the mythic builders of Rome, were discovered by a she-wolf, who instead of killing them, protected them and fed them with her milk. As animals, wolves were sacred to the Roman worship of Mars. Apollo was said to appear from time to time in the form of a wolf.
Yet, despite the Western fear of wolves, native peoples of history often regarded the wolf as a protective spirit. Native American Indians venerated the wolf and prayed to the gods that the wolf’s hunting skills and courage would be instilled in their tribal warriors. Warriors often hoped that their tribe happened to be descendants of the wolf spirit.
The history of civilization reveals how respected and beloved the wolf has been since the beginning of the human species. All dogs are descendants of the wolf. If you love your dog, do not disrespect your dog’s ancestors! Hollywood movie producers ought to be making films explaining why the preservation of the wolf is important for all of us who share the same planet together. There are plenty of villains to invent, but making the Grey Wolf into a villain should not be one of them.
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Notes:
[1] Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:20.
[2] The USA Today reports, “2011 has truly been a horrible year for elephants,” said Tom Milliken, elephant and rhino expert for the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC. In one case earlier this month, Malaysian authorities seized hundreds of African elephant tusks worth $1.3 million that were being shipped to Cambodia. The ivory was hidden in containers of Kenyan handicrafts. “In 23 years of compiling ivory seizure data … this is the worst year ever for large ivory seizures,” said Milliken., http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2011-12-29/africa-elephant-rhino-endangered/52271960/1
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Rabbi Samuel is spiritual leader of Temple Beth Sholom in Chula Vista. He may be contacted at michael.samuel@sdjewishworld.com
Thank you for your informative and much needed words for wolves.