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'Tiger King' memes and Joe Exotic jokes mask the Netflix doc's most chilling takeaway
Much of the animal abuse that takes place in the series masquerades as cuteness, making it that more insidious.
In the midst of a pandemic, almost anything new in the entertainment world is being dubbed “the perfect escape.” But in the case of the new Netflix documentary “Tiger King,” this isn’t hyperbole. Here was exactly what we needed while self-isolating: a binge-worthy true crime docuseries. “Tiger King” mixes cults, murder, politics and fame for a spellbinding seven hours of crazy television. The problem? We’re all talking about it — but we’re mostly missing the point.
Sure, watching the story of Joe Exotic unfold over the course of five years was fascinating, as were the various subplots of meth and mayhem. “Tiger King” was filled with cringe-worthy moments, but instead of giving us nightmares they have mostly given us memes.
“Tiger King” was filled with cringe-worthy moments, but instead of giving us nightmares they have mostly given us memes.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, filmmaker Eric Goode explained that he and his partner, Rebecca Chaiklin, sought to explore the “pathology of people that engaged in these subcultures,” adding that they honed in specifically on the people they found were “almost more interesting than the exotic animals they’re keeping.” Joe Exotic certainly is the star of this (and his own) show, but by privileging his misadventures, we may have missed a huge opportunity to make a difference in the exotic animal trade.
“The animals are the real victims who are caught up in this human drama,” Kitty Block, CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, told me. “The antics of Joe Exotic, Doc Antle and others featured in the series have caused untold misery for countless animals, as well as created an overpopulation crisis of big cats in this country. Using tiger cubs for public photo ops results in an untold number of cubs being bred solely for this practice and then quickly disposed of after they are only a few months old — then dumped to spend their lives in tiny cages at other roadside zoos.”
Several moments of abuse can be seen in the fourth episode, such as Joe having a promotional photoshoot with a handful of tiger cubs that are so small their eyes aren’t even open. Tiger cubs usually open their eyes about a week or two after birth. But viewers wouldn’t know that, because the filmmakers don’t mention it, instead using the footage as background to talk about Joe Exotic’s quest for better Google rankings. In the same episode, we learn that Exotic’s so-called television studio burned down due to arson. It is casually mentioned that the studio also doubled as the alligator “habitat,” but there’s no focus on how or why the alligators — who burned alive in the fire — are being kept in seemingly small indoor pools.
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/tiger-king-memes-joe-exotic-jokes-mask-netflix-doc-s-ncna1172561?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma
In the midst of a pandemic, almost anything new in the entertainment world is being dubbed “the perfect escape.” But in the case of the new Netflix documentary “Tiger King,” this isn’t hyperbole. Here was exactly what we needed while self-isolating: a binge-worthy true crime docuseries. “Tiger King” mixes cults, murder, politics and fame for a spellbinding seven hours of crazy television. The problem? We’re all talking about it — but we’re mostly missing the point.
Sure, watching the story of Joe Exotic unfold over the course of five years was fascinating, as were the various subplots of meth and mayhem. “Tiger King” was filled with cringe-worthy moments, but instead of giving us nightmares they have mostly given us memes.
“Tiger King” was filled with cringe-worthy moments, but instead of giving us nightmares they have mostly given us memes.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, filmmaker Eric Goode explained that he and his partner, Rebecca Chaiklin, sought to explore the “pathology of people that engaged in these subcultures,” adding that they honed in specifically on the people they found were “almost more interesting than the exotic animals they’re keeping.” Joe Exotic certainly is the star of this (and his own) show, but by privileging his misadventures, we may have missed a huge opportunity to make a difference in the exotic animal trade.
“The animals are the real victims who are caught up in this human drama,” Kitty Block, CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, told me. “The antics of Joe Exotic, Doc Antle and others featured in the series have caused untold misery for countless animals, as well as created an overpopulation crisis of big cats in this country. Using tiger cubs for public photo ops results in an untold number of cubs being bred solely for this practice and then quickly disposed of after they are only a few months old — then dumped to spend their lives in tiny cages at other roadside zoos.”
Several moments of abuse can be seen in the fourth episode, such as Joe having a promotional photoshoot with a handful of tiger cubs that are so small their eyes aren’t even open. Tiger cubs usually open their eyes about a week or two after birth. But viewers wouldn’t know that, because the filmmakers don’t mention it, instead using the footage as background to talk about Joe Exotic’s quest for better Google rankings. In the same episode, we learn that Exotic’s so-called television studio burned down due to arson. It is casually mentioned that the studio also doubled as the alligator “habitat,” but there’s no focus on how or why the alligators — who burned alive in the fire — are being kept in seemingly small indoor pools.
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/tiger-king-memes-joe-exotic-jokes-mask-netflix-doc-s-ncna1172561?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma
7 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
I would be more disturbed by the treatment of the animals 
