Wolf Portrayal in Movies and in the Media

[wolfdefender68]

How come in every movie wolves play the bad guy even in kung flower panda 2 there the bad guy so what do you guys think about this ?

[La Striata]

Ever heard of The Jungle Book, Dances with Wolves, Balto, Princess Monoke and Wolf's Rain?

[NewMooon]

IT evolves from myths. But a lot of movies and books also portray the wolf as a good image.

[Tarbtano]

A vast majority of movies have placed wolves in the 'hero species' slot, I doubt one film with them being minor thugs will make a difference. I mean really, they aren't even the main villain, a Peacock is

[alethe]

It makes me mad that wolves in movies are either portrayed as "evil or vicious killers" or "loving heroic saints." I have honestly yet to watch one movie that accurately represented wolves as what they are, just another wild animal species.

[TheImmortalWolf]

it makes me mad too its because people always think wolves are vicious killers when they are really beautiful animals. .

[Chumpkins_]

Not many people believe that anymore. They are hated probably less than other animals. Trust me, way more people love wolves than hate them.

[alethe]

Wolves are loved way more than they should be. Pretty, yes. Cool villains, yes. Worthy of taking over the media, no. There are far more interesting animals you can use.

[Nordue]

• I have seen people support the over-emphasis, emphasis, and de-emphasis of wolves across the internet in recent years, with trends varying depending on where one is looking.
  
  As for movies, it is also a mixed bag. Alpha and Omega vs The Grey, for example.

[TheImmortalWolf]

Wolves are loved way more than they should be. Pretty, yes. Cool villains, yes. Worthy of taking over the media, no. There are far more interesting animals you can use.

no barely anyone loves wolves and thatis your opinion so don't treat it like a fact. they didn't take over the media

[Ffeion]

Wolves are loved way more than they should be. Pretty, yes. Cool villains, yes. Worthy of taking over the media, no. There are far more interesting animals you can use.

no barely anyone loves wolves and thatis your opinion so don't treat it like a fact. they didn't take over the media

I am sorry but you are wrong. First of all, this website is number one proof that you are wrong, it is a website dedicated to wolves and there must be plenty of members who adore them.
Secondly, I know so many people who adore wolves and see them as icons.
Thirdly, have you ever seen deviantArt?

Anyways, yes wolves are occasionally seen as bad guys, but they are also seen as heros in some places too.

@river6: I honestly feel Princess Mononoke presents the wolves as more natural, rather than either good/evil. In the film they are basically fighting for their territory and are generally ruthless in a sense, but at the same time they are loyal creatures which follow their leaders orders. I'm not 100% sure if what I am saying is accurate I haven't actually watched the film in a while.

We can't go and say that "Oh wolves are always good/bad guys" without looking at every other animal, and then at the symbolism behind each animals roles in a movie. A dove for exampe is often used to symbolise peace, while a crow/raven is used to symbolise death/sorrow/chaos.

[alethe]

I watched the movie and loved it, agree with you there Necro. But, I wasn't saying that they're ALWAYS villains or heros, but it is often the case. Princess Mononokee was one of the only "wolf" movies I watched and enjoyed because of their role in the movie. Most of the others (Wolf's Rain comes to mind) put them as cheaply made heros. In fact, a lot of the wolf fables made them villains, not the modern media.

[Ffeion]

Oh no I didn't mean to imply that you said wolves are always good/bad, my mistake!
But yeah often, fables tend to label them as bad, and some movies and animes label them as super good guys who do no wrong.

They are wild animals. Fables and animes should not influence our decision, and not only for wolves, for all animals. Jaws being a good example, there are a lot more ferocious animals than sharks. Went off topic a bit, sorry.

[Nordue]

this website is number one proof that you are wrong, it is a website dedicated to wolves and there must be plenty of members who adore them.

• One can make an equally strong case that there are members here who oppose that attitude, for one reason or another.
  
  I agree that wolves are not the only stereotyped animal out there. And that Deviantart is a hub for certain types of wolf-themed art, mostly in the webcomic and OC department. It does host other depictions though, but they are less controversial, and hence receive less attention.
  
  I also strongly suspect that wolves would appear to be excessively popular to certain people online because of their browsing behaviours; people who frequent art sites like Deviantart, roleplay animal characters (including video games and chatrooms), enjoy viewing images/drawings/movies/anime of animals, subscribe to animal-themed forums, and participate in the furry fandom in some way, would probably be exposed to wolf-related media more so than other online habits would expose someone to. And depending on the concentrations of each, one's viewpoint would be different. And this theory doesn't even get into one's offline influences, like living in an area where wolves inhabit, or visiting a zoo or sanctuary, or having an encounter.

[Koa]

Since this thread centers around wolves in movies and in other media elements, I will be moving this thread to Wolf Multimedia. I'll also be changing the title to make it more generalized.