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Animals
Special Issues
Animals, Media, and Re-presentation
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Animals, Media, and Re-presentation

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Welfare".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 September 2024) | Viewed by 11866

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Debra Merskin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1275, USA
Interests: animals; media; language; stereotypes

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The ways media and popular culture re-present animals impacts their lives as well as ours. Limited and limiting portrayals stereotype species so that audiences who have never met a particular animal in person tend to rely upon what they see and hear, thus cultivating one-dimensional understandings of them. Sometimes these are artificially positive re-presentations, such as of polar bears (cute, cuddly, Coca-Cola spokesanimals). Others are negative (wolves, sharks, insects). What audiences take away from these symbolic encounters impacts animal lives. This special issue invites interrogations of media and popular culture stories, past and present, that analyze words or images (discourse) according to a strong theoretical foundation, and speak to ways that, moving forward, media can more accurately and respectfully offer ideas of animals that benefit all beings.

We invite original research that identifies stereotypes of animals other than humans in media and popular culture and connects these portrayals with the lived experiences of a particular species. Topics can include portrayals in news media, film, internet, books, or objects. All research methods are welcome and can include discourse analysis (visual/verbal), qualitative, quantitative, historical, or semiotics or others.

This Special Issue will focus on species whose popular image has been shaped by portrayals.

Prof. Dr. Debra Merskin
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • animals
  • media
  • popular culture
  • portrayals
  • representation
  • stereotypes
  • intersectionality

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (5 papers)

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18 pages, 764 KiB  
Article
Urban Pest or Aussie Hero? Changing Media Representations of the Australian White Ibis
by Rebecca Scollen
Animals 2024, 14(22), 3251; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14223251 - 13 Nov 2024
Viewed by 778
Abstract
The Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis molucca) is an Australian native bird species whose traditional habitat is inland wetlands. Environmental factors have seen the species steadily relocate to the eastern coast of Australia over the last few decades, primarily settling in cities. [...] Read more.
The Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis molucca) is an Australian native bird species whose traditional habitat is inland wetlands. Environmental factors have seen the species steadily relocate to the eastern coast of Australia over the last few decades, primarily settling in cities. In 2016, McKiernan and Instone identified that 70% of Australian newspaper reports about the urban ibises from 1998 to 2012 presented the birds as either pests or victims. Since then, the ibis populations have grown, leading to the ibis being voted one of the top ten most commonly seen urban backyard birds in 2019. Media representation both reflects and shapes public perception and understanding, so it is timely for a contemporary investigation into how the ibis is represented in Australian newspapers. Has newspaper representation of the Australian White Ibis changed since 2013? If so, what new narratives have emerged? A content analysis of 68 Australian newspaper items from 2013 to 2024 was conducted with results showing a decrease in pest and victim narratives and the introduction of two new positive narratives-survivor and hero. This finding evidences changes in media representation pointing to potential changes in public understanding of the ibis and the possibility of improved relations between humans and the native bird species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animals, Media, and Re-presentation)
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21 pages, 299 KiB  
Article
Dogs on Film: Status, Representation, and the Canine Characters Test
by Nicole R. Pallotta
Animals 2024, 14(22), 3244; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14223244 - 12 Nov 2024
Viewed by 2021
Abstract
The representation of animals in cinema and television reflects and reinforces dominant ideologies and traditional stereotypes. While popular culture often legitimizes prevailing social norms and existing power relations, it can also reflect shifting cultural attitudes about traditional axes of inequality such as race, [...] Read more.
The representation of animals in cinema and television reflects and reinforces dominant ideologies and traditional stereotypes. While popular culture often legitimizes prevailing social norms and existing power relations, it can also reflect shifting cultural attitudes about traditional axes of inequality such as race, gender, class, sexual orientation, disability, and species. Representations of canine characters incidentally embedded in family life provide a unique lens through which to consider the evolving cultural and legal status of dogs and their place in multispecies families. This article introduces a Canine Characters Test, similar to the Bechdel Test used to measure the representation of women in movies, to critically evaluate the representation of dogs in film and television. Applying the test and its four criteria—Role in Narrative, Agency, Language, and Animality—to two examples, this article argues that portrayals that pass the test support a positive shift in social norms regarding dog–human relationships, which in turn bolsters efforts to elevate dogs’ status under the law. Benevolent speciesism, authenticity, and problematic tropes such as vanishing, ornamental, and miraculous canines are also discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animals, Media, and Re-presentation)
19 pages, 762 KiB  
Article
Zoofolkloristics: Imagination as a Critical Component
by Teya Brooks Pribac and Marjetka Golež Kaučič
Animals 2024, 14(6), 928; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14060928 - 17 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1907
Abstract
Nonhuman animal protagonists of folklore texts in the European space have tended to be perceived primarily as performing a symbolic and metaphoric function. But behind the symbols and the metaphors hide real flesh-and-blood nonhuman animals, and flesh-and-blood humans interacting with them, mostly from [...] Read more.
Nonhuman animal protagonists of folklore texts in the European space have tended to be perceived primarily as performing a symbolic and metaphoric function. But behind the symbols and the metaphors hide real flesh-and-blood nonhuman animals, and flesh-and-blood humans interacting with them, mostly from a position of power. The emerging discipline of zoofolkloristics considers nonhuman animals in their own right. Through critical analysis of folklore material, zoofolkloristics examines the role of animals and power relations within the interspecies entanglement with the aim of deconstructing the oppressive system and establishing multispecies justice. We begin this paper with a brief reflection on the ‘historical animal’ as an embodied being and a human construct. We then perform a critical re-reading of three animal-related folklore texts from the Slovenian tradition and, applying Hubert Zapf’s concept of imaginative counter-discourse, consider the potential of imagination as a methodological tool in the transformative program of zoofolkloristics. Implications for animal ethics, liberation, and conservation are also discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animals, Media, and Re-presentation)
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15 pages, 885 KiB  
Article
Can Gender Nouns Influence the Stereotypes of Animals?
by Joao Neves, Inês Costa, Joao Oliveira, Bruno Silva and Joana Maia
Animals 2023, 13(16), 2604; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13162604 - 12 Aug 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2786
Abstract
Educating about animals in zoos and aquariums poses daily challenges for education teams, who must not only master biological content but also possess communication skills to adapt information for diverse ages and cultures. This research consists of two sequential studies designed to investigate [...] Read more.
Educating about animals in zoos and aquariums poses daily challenges for education teams, who must not only master biological content but also possess communication skills to adapt information for diverse ages and cultures. This research consists of two sequential studies designed to investigate the impact of grammatical genders on animal stereotypes and elicited emotions. In Study 1, four animals were independently chosen based on a set of predefined conditions, which were then used in Study 2. The second study explored whether the presence of grammatical genders in the Portuguese language influenced the perceived stereotypes of four animals (panda bear, giraffe, polar bear, and cheetah) using the Stereotype Content Model framework. For comparison, English-speaking participants were also surveyed, as English lacks grammatical genders. The results demonstrated that grammatical genders influenced the perceived gender, as well as, although only slightly, the warmth, competence, and elicited emotions of some animals. All animals under study were associated with the protective stereotype, regardless of the presence of grammatical gender. This study emphasizes the significance of subtle yet crucial elements in communication, such as grammatical genders, in shaping stereotypes and innate emotional associations concerning animals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animals, Media, and Re-presentation)
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23 pages, 2198 KiB  
Case Report
Remediating Cambridge: Human and Horse Co-Relationality in a Culture of Mis-Re-Presentation
by Francesca A. Brady and Jennifer McDonell
Animals 2025, 15(2), 194; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15020194 - 13 Jan 2025
Viewed by 1256
Abstract
This case study aims to problematise concepts of equine and human co-relational agency in the context of ‘mis-re-presentations’ in the Australian media of harms experienced by the Anglo Arab stallion, Cambridge, following his development of laminitis and his consequent confinement at a leading [...] Read more.
This case study aims to problematise concepts of equine and human co-relational agency in the context of ‘mis-re-presentations’ in the Australian media of harms experienced by the Anglo Arab stallion, Cambridge, following his development of laminitis and his consequent confinement at a leading national Equestrian centre. Autoethnographic narrative is used to retrospectively and selectively narrate the evolving relationship between Cambridge and his owners, farrier, and treating veterinarians within the dominant housing and veterinary practices and welfare paradigms in equestrian culture of 1990’s Australia. Structured author/owner autoethnographic vignettes are framed by newspaper and internet reportage to highlight a productive tension between the public mediation of the case, and what it means to be fully embodied in relationship with an equine companion agent within a particular, racialised, gendered, and biopoliticised location. Adopting a phenomenologically informed intersectional feminist ethics of care perspective, a counternarrative to the gendered, racialised and essentialising rights-based judgements about Cambridge’s illness and eventual death that dominated the popular media is provided. Crucially, the autoethnographic vignettes are chosen to capture the corporeal reciprocity and rapport of forces that produced a co-created agentivity that characterised the horse’s birth, training, and treatment. The embodied interspecies knowledge that informs the training and care of equines (and all animal species) is always historically situated within permeable, dynamic worlds of self and other that are fluid, contextual, and always in relation. It is suggested that the case of Cambridge illustrates how competing stakeholder investments in animal welfare can play out in the public mediation of particular cases in ways that exclude their historical and interspecies situatedness and serve to reinforce dominant ideologies governing human and animal relationships. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animals, Media, and Re-presentation)
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