March of the Penguins

I think we can add to the category of "chick flicks" a new category, "chick documentaries." Of course, since March of the Penguins is all about how the Emperor penguins make their chicks, that's a bit of a pun, but if you're looking for a nature documentary that's all about cute, this is it.

The Emperor Penguins leave the waters around Antarctica at the onset of winter and start walking inland to their rookery. The movie says they always return to the same place, but this conflicts with another seemingly good source of Emperor Penguin information. So, who knows?

What can't be doubted is that the Emperors have chosen probably the harshest environment on the face of the earth in which to pair off and produce just one egg (there are no "clutches" of eggs in this bird's world). It's a wonder the species persists at all. In fact, it may be due to the fact that they apparently live about as long as humans can: 70-100 years.

The link I gave two paragraphs above will get you up to speed before seeing the movie if that's what you want to do. What I want to do here may seem strange: I want to discuss the audience.

I referred to this movie as a "chick documentary," and one thing I noticed as time went by was how frequently the females in the audience would go "Ohhhh" or "Awhhh" whenever something cute happened.

I was reminded of a Nightline segment I saw once in which a researcher expressed considerable concern over some of the "smart" toys being produced in Japan that mimic the behavior of puppies, kittens, or other cute critters. Apparently, he took some of these toys to a mall and put them on display and women flocked to see them, talking to them as if these mechanical objects could hear, understand, and had feelings. Even reminding the women that they were interacting with complex toys would only stifle this sort of response briefly. He was recommending a law against using artificial intelligence to mimic living beings.

Women seem to be hard-wired to respond to cuteness, and Penguins are plenty cute as they walk around in their little tuxedos. They do things that look like things people do. However, I saw no evidence that Emperors are particularly smart. Now, I have no prejudice against birds. I know, for example, that parrots appear to be at least about as smart as porpoises, and crows and ravens may be nearly as intelligent, but Penguins give every evidence of being as dumb as posts, their every behavior being due much more to instinct than any thought process. Parrots are smart enough not to live in the Antarctic, for example!

Despite the fact that this is a "chick documentary," I did find the movie fascinating and enjoyable. I just took the humanization of the birds with a huge grain of salt. Of courze, I had to resist the homey baritone of Morgan Freeman's narration. Mr. Freeman could describe a beheading and make you feel like you were witnessing the reunion of long-separated twins.

I assume this film will receive a big push at Oscar time and I hope the voters in this category have the balls to reject it in favor of movies that are about important subjects and rely on facts instead of emotions to make their points.

March of the Penguins is an entertainment much mroe than an education.