Evil Cats & Cultivation Theory
Cultivation theory stemmed from the study of mass media and its effects on our beliefs and attitudes. George Gerbner advanced the theory by researching the impacts of television on viewers. In particular, the effects of violence on television audiences. (Morgan et al., 2017, p. 307) For this blog, I want to examine society's beliefs and attitudes around cats, and more specifically, the film Cats & Dogs.
Cats & Dogs is a film from 2001 that follows a high-tech war between our domesticated pets that humans are completely unaware of. The cats are trying to destroy a newly found vaccine for dog allergies that would wipe out humanity’s dog allergies entirely and destroy the dog's endeavors to prevent the cat's plans to conquer the world. The main character in the film is Lou, The Brody Family’s newest pet beagle. Lou turns into the hero of the film. Buddy’s nemesis is the white Persian cat, Mr. Tinkles. Throughout the film, we see Mr. Tinkles enact his evil plot and put Buddy into scary situations. We see cats planting bombs on doorsteps, betraying each other, and fighting with Lou. In contrast, Lou and the other dogs are seen as playful, caring for his family, and freeing other captive cats and dogs. The film plays on the age-old trope that cats are evil and dogs are man's best friend. (Guterman, 2001)
I have had my own cats throughout my life. I grew up with three cats, and now I have two cats named Diane and Trish. I am someone who loves animals — especially cats. I feel that it’s taboo to say that you love cats. It's well-known that cats are pets in our society, but I feel there is an overriding sense that dogs are much better pets. Furthermore, it seems as though there is a moral judgment made based on your decision to get a cat or a dog. Cats & Dogs just adds to these ideas that cats are out to get you and dogs will always be your friend. There’s clear evidence this is not true.
Depictions of cats, as we saw in Cats & Dogs, fuel first-order effects such as “cats are not friendly,” “cats are untrustworthy,” and “cats will hurt me.” These kinds of beliefs lead to second-order effects such as “I don’t want a cat as a pet” or “I think cats are out to get me.” The constant idolization of dogs frames society's views of pets. Cats and dogs are two very different species. For example, when a dog wags its tail, it is happy or excited; for a cat it is the opposite. When a cat's tail is wagging, it means it is overstimulated or annoyed. This is all to say that humans are at fault for our own negative views (and repercussions) of cats. We see our pets through dog-framed glasses when we should look at every animal differently.
Past our views on cats and dogs, cultivation theory is found throughout our television media. There a specific character “types” that are commonly written into our television shows. It could be the sassy gay guy or the helpless damsel in distress; there is a copious amount of “types” that we categorize characters into. This easy-to-follow, east-to-predict character development reinforces stereotyping. Sassy gay guys in sitcoms translate to beliefs of all gay men being sassy or funny. Damsels in distress have a similar effect on our views of women's’ abilities to defend themselves. This is all very negative, and we should strive to create television characters that break the mold. This will stop the common stereotypes from spreading through our society and hurting our communities. So, while I believe cats get a bad wrap because of constant “evil cat” characters in our media, it’s more detrimental that we continue to push tight characterizations that cultivate strict beliefs and attitudes of who people are based on
Morgan, M., Shanahan, J. & Signorielli, N. (2017). Cultivation Theory: Idea, Topical Fields, and Methodology. https://missouri.instructure.com/cours es/50790/files/8676044?module_item_id=2540241
Guterman, L. (Director). (2001) Cats & Dogs [Film]. Warner Bros Pictures.
