A "Tiger King", the title alone brings together the fascinating and terrifying creatures like tigers, and the domineering, glamorous and story-filled allegation of "King", coupled with the endless magical and realistic elements in the plot, which makes a wave of surprises come. Next wave. But if there is any clear intention for the documentary itself, it is probably to draw attention to the privately bred big cat industry and the harm it may bring, as stated at the beginning and end.
Now that Netflix exposes all kinds of people in this gray industry to huge traffic, we may already be able to see the changes in the trajectory of their lives with our criticism, sympathy, or anger towards these fellow human beings. But those big cats, as the moral protagonists and actual background boards of the film, what attitude we as onlookers should take to pay attention to them may still be a question worth thinking about.
To tell my conscience, this documentary made my love for tigers rise uncontrollably. The furry little tiger in the arms of Wild Joe and the cult doctor not only directly caused the tourists who were at the scene at that time, but also the audience like me who never thought that one day they would smoke tigers also unexpectedly found that the little tiger is really very cute. So much so that every time I get the footage of the little tiger interacting with the tourists, I can't take my eyes off it, and I can't help but substitute for the excitement of playing dogs online. Ironically, I don't know the critical meaning of these shots: Wild Joe and the cult doctor use the cuteness of the little tiger for profit, the tourists' love for the little tiger for profit, and the audience who thinks they are full of love and peace. The curiosity and bystander of harmless little creatures for profit, the intimacy and caress of every tourist, the love and curiosity of every bystander, are the shackles that keep these big cats in cages and deprive them of their freedom. The iron wire is also the bullet that finally killed them in a hurry.
This is probably one of the reasons why Ms. Carroll, the "animal protection person", is so unpopular. Her zoo also has tigers on display for people to look at. Even if she doesn't make money out of it, never abuses her, and really cares about improving the quality of life for the big cats, it's hard for me to believe that putting tigers in zoos for people to watch is for the sake of tigers. Stimulating people's love for big cats and attracting people's prying eyes, after all, is it to meet the needs of big cats to stand center stage and enjoy the gaze and gaze of the audience? Or to enable big cats to realize the value of cat life and achieve a world-shattering career that conforms to mainstream values?
I have to admit that a "Tiger King" really made me like big cats more, and it also made more audiences like me pay attention to a gray industry that was rarely seen in the past, and let us see the survival of human beings. The mighty weakling. But for the vast majority of humans, it would be strange to want to go further with the big cat. We should take the initiative to maintain social distance from them.
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