Hacker Cinema
Lassie
1994 · Film · 94 min
Directed by Daniel Petrie
On their way to start a new life at a sheep farm in rural Virginia, the Turner family are halted by a wreck on the highway that has claimed the life of a truck driver. Spotting the trucker's now-abandoned collie on the side of the road, they take pity on the dog and adopt her. As the city family copes with the change to rural life, including a feud with a neighboring farm family who resent the city interlopers, the ever-loyal Lassie helps them adjust to their new surroundings.
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Having done some multi-week blue water sailing and multi-week backcountry trips, I can tell you that silence is golden. I prefer to go with my dog who is delighted when I have something to say and perfectly satisfied when I want to be quiet.
* yes I know that “Lassie” is not a documentary and if I got in to trouble the dog could not rescue me.
I don’t know about Dory and Nemo, given the incredible range and quantity of distractors in this day and age (which of the dozen movies that came out this week will you take direction from today?), but I know in the past the Lassie problem was both real and long-lived (from anecdotal discussions with animal welfare experts).
But that doesn’t take away from the point of this research and I don’t disagree with it. Movies like Free Willy, Rio, Balto, Fly Away Home, and so many others have definitely worked miracles for turning apathetic (or rather, directionless) children into compassionate adults that care about the plight of the animals we share this world with.
> Lots of diving accidents reports starts with someone being overconfident (ignoring the recommended safety limits or his personal limits), ignoring safety-checks and/or losing his diving buddy.
I am not a diver but I have come close to losing my life three times in the backcountry. Each time I remember my overwhelming thought was "I have been an idiot". And, as you noted, each time: I was alone (or with my dog but no other human), and was overconfident both in gear and experience.
Interestingly in two of the three cases my dog saved my life. Though I knew full well that Lassie is not a documentary, it always felt like I had someone with me.