Beyond the myth is a film about a certain breed of dogs commonly reared in the United States. The dogs from this particular breed of dogs are referred to as “pit bulls”. The dogs are believed to be a threat to the safety of people living in any given neighborhood. This is based on an instance where a 12-year old boy was bitten to death by his family’s two pit bulls as Fredman reports (Beyond the Myth). The concerned agency, in this case the agency concerned with animal breeding, passes a law in four states in America (Miami, Denver, San Francisco and Cincinnati) that all pit bulls should be killed. Owing to this, the agency sends its employees to carry out a house-to-house search for pit bulls in the four states. The orders given by the agency was that during the search, the officers should kill every pit bull that they find with or without the consent of the dog owners. The officers are able to forcefully take several pit bulls from their owners and kill them with or without their consent. This causes uproar within the four states. Those who love this breed of dogs strongly condemn the act and they decide to defend their pit bulls since they believe the breed is harmless and it is not human to do away with their dogs in such a cruel manner.
The film presents certain acts that enable the viewer to identify with not only the people who are affected directly by the law but also the pit bulls themselves. The viewer is able view the implementation of the law from the dog lovers or owners who would do everything just to protect the breed. One of the instances that cause the viewer to identify with the owners of the pit bulls is when the officers forcefully grab the pit bulls form their owners. This not only causes devastation to the dog owners but also to the breed. It triggers a sense of helplessness that the two parties (dog and its owner) go through during such a moment. This can be termed harassment and lack of respect the life of the dogs (Grandin and Johnson 52).
It also shows that the generalization of issues is never the best of ideas when dealing with elements that are important to men. The unfortunate incidence that occurred to the 12-year-old was the only factor that triggered the manhunt of every pit bull in the four states where breed discrimination has been legalized. This follows that fact that different people use different techniques to raise their dogs thus similar dogs posses different traits an aspect that depends on the ‘who’ and ‘how’ their training was/is done. It is definite that the pit bulls that killed the boy were poorly trained as far as upholding friendliness to human beings is concerned. Any animal that is not properly trained on how to relate well with people would behave in such a manner (Grandin and Johnson 88). On the other hand, one could argue that the dogs were trained to be vicious. Consequently, the generalization that is witnessed in this case is unwarranted. This is proved by the large numbers of people who have reared the breed to defend the dogs and prevent them from being murdered regardless of the demands of the state laws.
The film has succeeded in causing the legislators to reconsider their approach in dealing with the problem to avoid the problem discussed above-generalization. The fact that the people defended their pit bulls from being killed does not mean that they support the vicious behavior of some of the dogs. Additionally, it does not imply that they value the life of an animal (in this case a dog) more than they do the life of a human being. The legislators would use this as a platform to reconsider and even amend the law that supports breed discrimination. For instance, they should look into ways of promoting a good and harmless relationship between the breed in question and man. This should be based on the assumption that some dogs, if not well trained, pose a threat to human safety with the extreme cases claiming the lives of people. To curb the problem, the most effective way would be the formulation of policies that ensure that people are taught not only how to train their dogs but also how they should relate to them to avoid causing any danger both to the individuals concerned and the dog/ breed in question (Grandin and Johnson 102).
The producers as well as the director have been able to show the potential danger of media to the very existence of certain animal breeds through stereotyping. The unexpected behavior of two dogs (reared to one family) is magnified to overshadow the good traits of the breed across four states. This shows the bias of the coverage of the media as depicted by Jason Howe in his news release (Sherill, Beyond the Myth). As aforementioned, the large number of people who come out to defend pit bulls is driven by their love for the breed but not sympathy. However, the media overlooked the traits that could cause so many people to show their love for the breed and even choose to go against the law just to prevent its termination. The viewer is therefore able to perceive that the viciousness of the dogs that killed the boy were not the major cause of the reaction of the legislators but the stereotyping of the media.
Science plays a pivotal role in determining explaining the behavior of animals. The film depicts the lack of adherence to scientific principles in understanding the behavior of animals. However, the producer and director of the film do not bring out this aspect clearly in the film. It is important for people to get the scientific knowledge behind the behavior of the two dogs that caused the chaos. Such knowledge would cause the people to understand what is required of them as far as dealing with such dogs is concerned .
In conclusion, the film has many aspects that enhance the viewer to learn certain aspects concerning the rearing of dogs especially as pets. The viewer, through the cinematography, is able to identify with the lovers of the breed. Additionally, one is able to identify the specific elements that are uncalled for in dealing with such extremities with domestic animals. They include breed discrimination, the bad effects of generalization, the impact of the media to the lives of people especially that caused by stereotyping and the effect of poor scientific knowledge to the society. The weakness of the film is that it does not provide sufficient scientific information especially that which is required in the development and maintenance of a good relationship between pit bulls and human beings i.e. in cases where a dog may show some bad extremes.
Works Cited
Grandin, Temple, and Johnson, Catherine. Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for
Animals. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010. Print.
Sherrill, Libby. Dir. Beyond the Myth. A Cover Y’all Productions, 2010. Film.
