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Lemming Suicide Myth: Disney Film Faked Bogus Behavior

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Re: Lemming Suicide Myth: Disney Film Faked Bogus Behavior

#91

"Lemmings do not commit mass suicide. It's a myth, but it's remarkable how many people believe it." The sensational Amiga puzzle video game called "Lemmings" helped perpetuate the idea, too. :)

I’m convinced that some of the levels were deliberately unsolvable… get from one side of the screen to the other over a big chasm but you’ve got one exploding guy and one brick laying guy. Maybe if I tried to play it again I’d realise that it was my limited 10 year old mind after all!

All the levels are solvable - the trick is many are solvable with losing zero lemmings, even though it seems you must lose at least one.

Re: Lemming Suicide Myth: Disney Film Faked Bogus Behavior

#92
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> first time we see the guy is when he drops by to plant one on a presumed-dead minor Disney or the Grimm Brothers version? The original tale has Snow White (presumed dead) in a glass casket, the prince is taking her back to her father for a proper funeral, and she wakes up when the poisoned apple gets dislodged during the movement from the horses.

Also in the Disney version Snow White and the prince meet for the first time at the very beginning of the film.

Oh, I forgot that; I was wrong then. I suppose that'll teach me not to talk about movies I haven't seen in over 20 years.

Re: Lemming Suicide Myth: Disney Film Faked Bogus Behavior

#93

It remains common practice for nature "documentaries" to create fake narratives in editing. Pay attention to cuts, camera angles and changes in background scenery and you'll notice quite a lot of it. If they're showing two animals in some sort of confrontation but only ever show one of the animals at a time, you can be sure it's fake. If they're showing something that has several camera angles it's probably fake, par…

Obviously not every behaviour can be captured in one take exactly in the way that will make an interesting film documentary. This is not some revelation.

As long as the edited footage represents something that could plausibly (though maybe rarely) happen I see no issue.

Personally I am happy to sit through a "drier" documentary if it is well made. But Planet Earth and the like are greatest hits type documentaries, designed to show the exceptional events and behaviours.

Re: Lemming Suicide Myth: Disney Film Faked Bogus Behavior

#94
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe I'm wrong but I read that to mean that if they get completely soaked in extreme winter weather, they'll die. This doesn't seem so bizarre. Some animals, both mammals and birds, have some protection against this because their hair/feathers are both greasy and help them keep "air cushions" that prevent water from completely soaking the body -- but if that ever happens in cold weather the animal is as good as dead…

Yes, they can swim well and they have thick fur, I don't think jumping into a lake is inherently suicidal for them. They are, however, in lemming years, not very afraid of predators and will even stand up and squeak furiously at you if you get close. I knew of a dog who would walk up to them, watch their tantrum display with interest, and then just chomp them up. I think maybe that's where the "suicidal" idea comes f…

> stand up and squeak furiously at you if you get close

Looks like this, no fear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAMMicsN9A4

Re: Lemming Suicide Myth: Disney Film Faked Bogus Behavior

#95
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So every take they’d end up killing a horse. Horrible, but maybe not as expensive as it sounds, cgi of similar quality costs much more than a horse.

Not even close, a horse costs as much as a car.

A racing pure-blood sure, but an average horse goes for a couple thousands dollars at most.

Re: Lemming Suicide Myth: Disney Film Faked Bogus Behavior

#96
post #85
post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Oh come on, can we stop wasting time on these meaningless, overly politically correct discussion on fairy tales or derivations of fairy tales that are decades to centuries old. They are the products of their time and have their limits, but that doesn't make them bad stories -- if anything, the stories are more inspiring and comforting than disturbing. By that logic Mario games should be banned because it reinforces g…

> By that logic Mario games should be banned because it reinforces gender stereotypes, right? Opera houses should just shut down because most of their repertoire is based on silly stories of men pursuing women, often misogynist?

How quickly we forget the middle of last decade where everything was problematic.

Re: Lemming Suicide Myth: Disney Film Faked Bogus Behavior

#97

"Lemmings do not commit mass suicide. It's a myth, but it's remarkable how many people believe it." The sensational Amiga puzzle video game called "Lemmings" helped perpetuate the idea, too. :)

The only reason why I know about lemmings is this game, had no idea this was based on actual animals called lemmings.

Re: Lemming Suicide Myth: Disney Film Faked Bogus Behavior

#98
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think people are expressing incredulity at the expense here!

I know. And I think it is interesting to look at how much that costs compared to what we do today. It surprised me that animals aren't that expensive, I would have guessed that killing horses would be way more expensive.

Expensive horses take expensive breeding, training, and maintenance. You can get a good draft horse (one bred for real work) for not much. And "hobby horse" isn't just a fun phrase.

Re: Lemming Suicide Myth: Disney Film Faked Bogus Behavior

#99
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m convinced that some of the levels were deliberately unsolvable… get from one side of the screen to the other over a big chasm but you’ve got one exploding guy and one brick laying guy. Maybe if I tried to play it again I’d realise that it was my limited 10 year old mind after all!

All the levels are solvable - the trick is many are solvable with losing zero lemmings, even though it seems you must lose at least one.

Most important tricks: blocker is released when terrain below it is removed, builder that hits terrain reverses direction, and multiple builders in a row can make staircase thick enough to be impassable from the other side.

Re: Lemming Suicide Myth: Disney Film Faked Bogus Behavior

#100
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think people are expressing incredulity at the expense here!

I know. And I think it is interesting to look at how much that costs compared to what we do today. It surprised me that animals aren't that expensive, I would have guessed that killing horses would be way more expensive.

Horses used to be plenty, then automobiles pushed them out of their role in the order of things. They're the OG victim of automation at a species level. I imagine at the time they were making those movies, there was still a huge overpopulation of horses relative to the use humans had for them, so you know... supply and demand.
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