Never cry wolf analysis PDF

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this paper uses the film schools of thought to analyze the movie "never cry wolf" ...

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Never Cry Wolf Analysis The message of “Never Cry Wolf” can be found using the schools of film criticism. There are three schools of criticism that can be applied to the film. The formalist school of criticism can be applied to the film by how much imagery and visual effects are used. The film uses common human expectation as a driving plot, this relates the archetypal school of criticism. The psychological school of criticism is applied through the motivation of the main character, Tyler Smith. The message that the film portrays is that the ignorance and greed of man can lead to destruction. The movie uses the common human expectations, or the archetype of wolves to build its plot. With the way the plot is set, the archetypal school of film criticism can be applied. This is seen when Tyler Smith is sent by Canada's Dominion Wildlife Service to investigate the cause of the caribou population decline. The agency tells Smith that arctic wolves are suspected as the cause. While researching and observing a family of five wolves and their behaviour, he discovers that they are not the cause of caribou decline, and that they survive almost solely on rodents. Tyler starts a diet of the same rodents to test his theory that large animals can survive on the diet, and disprove the archetype. Tyler befriends two eskimos during his observations, one of which is a wise old man named Ootek with an abundance of wolf knowledge, the other a dim near toothless hunter named Mike. During one of their outings Mike tells Tyler that wolf pelts are very valuable and the only reason he hasn't killed and skinned the wolves is because of tyler's study. At one point during

Tyler’s observations he is seen camping out with Ootek watching the wolves and caribou. As dawn approaches Ootek disappears and Tyler is left in all but his boots as he watches the wolves chase the caribou in vain, for the caribou have the advantage of speed. As he watches the actions of these wild animals he is possessed to run wildly with them. This shows a turn in his character as these animals become more than just a study to him. The visual effects and sounds as Tyler runs wildly through these plains ties in the formalist school of film criticism. Later on in the film, after Tyler has finished his study, the parents of the family of wolves disappear and Tyler becomes worried for their safety. The pilot that brought him to the north flies overhead sporting a wolf tail on the back of his plane, and Tyler immediately suspects him as the culprit that caused the disappearance of his wolves. Tyler pulls out a rifle and tries to shoot down his plane, so the pilot flies off. Soon after Mike is seen by Tyler with a brand new set of teeth. Tyler begins to question Mike about the whereabouts of the parent wolves and Mike replies with a sly smile “stop worrying about the wolves and worry about yourself”. This smile implies that it is Mike, and not the pilot that killed the wolves from Tyler’s study and sold them to buy this new set of teeth. Mikes act of greed ties in the formalist school of film criticism by giving us a visual of Mike's toothless mouth at the beginning of the film, and then his full set of teeth after murdering the family of wolves towards the end of the film. As Tyler packs his things he begins an inner monologue of his study: “In the end there were no simple answers. No heroes, no villains. Only silence. But it began the moment that i first saw the wolf. By the act of watching him, with the eyes of man, I had pointed

the way for those who followed. I believe the wolves went off to a wild and distant place. Somewhere, although I don't really know, because i turned away and didn't watch them go” These words explain a lot about the film. When he states there aren't any heroes or villains, he means that nobody is truly at fault for the decline of the caribou, for they are all part of nature. And when he runs wildly with the animals he is accepting his role as part of nature. But at the same time he is refusing to play the part of seeker in the hunters games. Tylers choice in deciding not to follow the wolves for further studies ties in the psychological school of film criticism. The theme of the film, that greed and ignorance leads to destruction, is apparent. The Wildlife Service that sent Tyler up to study the wolves were ignorant to the fact that the wolves couldn't even catch a caribou. This lead to Mike being able to locate, kill, and skin the wolves for their pelts, and his own avaricious wants....