Jump to content

Menu

I had no idea watching a Discovery show would be so grusome


Recommended Posts

Before we start TOG I wanted to cover some prehistoric stuff. I made a big deal abouthow we needed to watch Walking with Prehistoric Beasts and Walking with Dinosaurs, done by the Discover Channel and the BBC. We have them on instant play on Netflix. Well, ds has been avoiding watching as he doesn't want to do "school" yet. Finally tonight we started watching. Oh WOW! Its nothing but ugly creatures eating cute creatures! And in very horrible ways! Theres an entire thing on killer giant ants attacking and devouring a baby bird that is trying to hatch out of its nest. I cant even tell you how sad that was. Oh and there was also a close up of a still born baby rhino type animal. Really??? Was that needed?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmmm, it never bothered us, but maybe it is because we don't eat meat.

There were family things, too. The momma who wouldn't give up her dead baby to the smilodons, e.g. although my 5 year old pointed out that because the baby was already dead, the mother's "pea brain" was putting her at risk over nothing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

don't do it if your kids are sensitive! Honestly,it was breaking my heart and very disturbing..but i am sensitive. Honestly DS was handling way better than I was. Seeing a mama defend her still born animal was making me want to cry! And the poor baby being eaten alive, slowly, but ants....ugh...I can't imagine how painful that would be, what a horrible way to die. Why would they show that?

 

We are going to try "Chased by Dinosaurs" tomorrow, and see if it is less horrifying.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the ant attack upset you, avoid 100 Years of Solitude by Garcia Marquez.

 

We have the whole collection of Prehistoic videos. I do think the Chased by ones are a little less graphic, but they might still be too much for you. I'd also avoid Planet Earth, Life and Blue Planet, because they show predation just as graphically and it's not computer generated.

 

OTOH, my kids have watched all of these videos for years and it hasn't bothered them at all, so they're fine for some kids and not for others.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LOL, I've actually read 100 years of solitude, and yeah, that freaked me out. And I am ok with SOME killing/predation in documentaries, I just felt like it was overdone in these. The suspenseful music, the graphic portrayals...ugh. I'm better now than I was as a kid...when I was little I would get upset watching the Roadrunner cartoons. I was worried about the coyote starving to death. And bless my mother, when she took me to see Bambi she arranged a bathroom visit during the scene where Bambi's mother dies. I didn't know she died until years later. Oddly enough I can watch Law and Order with no problems.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We will stay away from this one. Thanks for the warning. Dd is all about dragons and dinosaurs right now. But, she cried hysterically when we read through Noah's Ark. Not for the people who drowned, mind you. It was because of all the animals that didn't get to go on the ark. I thought she was going to denounce God right there and then! "Why didn't He save all the innocent animals?" Boy, that was a tough day. Thankfully we got through it. A talk with the Pastor helped :D.

 

ETA: There was a thread here about to pay or not pay a Pastor. Let me just say...He earned his salary that day as far as I was concerned! He is on stand-by as we continue to deal with the subject of animal sacrifices.

Edited by jewellsmommy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nature is harsh. It is today (watching lions rip apart a baby gazelle or some such on one of the more modern nature shows -for example- is pretty sad, too) and I imagine it was just as harsh back in the dinosaurs' day.

 

As I have to remind my daughter about any type of predator when we watch those types of shows, "Well, they can't just go to the supermarket like we can. It's sad seeing that animal die... but wouldn't it be sad seeing a lion (or whatever) starve to death, too?"

 

The dinosaur shows sound interesting to me, I'll have to look for them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know there has to be predation. And I'm ok seeing one animal eat another. The issue with these is that its done in a way that really gets you caring about each animal. It doesn't just show a dead animal. It does a close up on a dead baby's face, with what looks like a tear, all the while playing sad music and such. It's designed to drag you in and get your interest, but it does it a little too well. Kind of like the show 24, but for animals.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Exactly. There is knowing about predation and then there is lingering on the suffering. I've learned to avoid pretty much anything BBC does on animals because it seems they can't help but put something like that in. We had a memorable plane ride where they were showing some awful BBC nature show on the drop down screens (screaming elephant being eaten alive by lions, a close up of a baby goose struggling and peeping in the jaws of a coyote while the parents honked frantically, etc.) I had to about do back flips to distract my then five year old daughter whose entire vacation would have been ruined if she had seen some of that. Complaints to the flight attendant did nothing. I *know* animals suffer in terrible ways but I don't consider it entertainment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those things don't bother me, and I'm about as anti PETA as they come, but I was watching an incredible horse video, unfortunately bullfighting, and I'm ready to fly to Spain and stab some matadores with something painful.

 

To me that's much worse than watching a predator thingy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...