This is a ponderous image. It is a polaroid taken by an unidentified photographer watching animal training at the Hamid-Morton Circus in the 1960s or 70s (which we can guess from the chimp's outfit?). Both of these animals are just kids, juveniles who were easier to train because less likely to assert their independence. Is this image sad or cute?
Recently I wrote a review of three films that work through animal captivity in circuses and private homes, and the mixed feelings people sometimes have when they realize that they may have bitten off more than they can chew in keeping wild animals as pets and co-workers. I called the piece "On Wild Animals, Hubris and Redemption" and it appeared in the October 2012 issue of the academic journal Society & Animals.Â
visit the review at academia.edu
visit this polaroid at the New York Public Library
for more of this kind of stuff see my cv
