A still from Latvian film Flow, which won the Oscar for best animated feature earlier this month.
Courtesy of Sideshow and Janus Films
Courtesy of Sideshow and Janus Films
Perhaps you’ve sat on the couch next to your dog and wondered: What do they see when they look up at the television screen? Are they as engaged as their human counterparts?
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have been looking for those answers.
“I’m a massive geek about dog behavior,” veterinary ophthalmologist Freya Mowat told Morning Edition. “I have my own dog and he becomes the pilot project for all sorts of thinking and ideas.”
Mowat teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Last year, she and her team surveyed more than 1,200 dog owners and found that, unsurprisingly, dogs respond most to on-screen images of animals, especially other dogs.
In the study, sporting and herding dogs appeared to watch more TV than other breeds. And younger pups seemed more engaged than older dogs, possibly due to their stronger vision.
Mowat said The Lion King was a particular favorite among the furry friends of those surveyed.
This month, The New York Times reported on another movie that seems to have a special hold on our pets.
The Latvian film Flow, which recently won the Academy Award for best animated feature, has no dialogue – just music and the animal vocalizations of a cat, capybara, dog, lemur and secretary bird who band together to survive a catastrophic flood in a post-apocalyptic world.
@maddiforresst I love when dogs look at the tv screen, her little brain can not comprehend they aren’t real 😭 #fyp #foryoupage #foryou #goldenretriever #flow #movie #oscars #academyawardnominee #goldenretrieverlife #dogsoftiktok #doglover ♬ original sound – Maddi Forrest
Videos all over social media show cats and dogs fixated on Flow — ears perked up, eyes locked on the screen.
Flow producer and co-writer Matiss Kaza has seen those videos – which became popular after the movie began streaming on Max last month.
“We heard some reports early on in the theatrical run that some people had actually taken their cats to the cinema and other funny stories, but nothing about this almost hypnotic engagement that the pets have with this film,” Kaza told NPR.
And, of course, the film has resonated with humans too. Kaza says that’s a sign of the times we’re living in.
“We live in this kind of time where tragedy and global catastrophe can just hit you within a second’s notice. And that’s what happens with this flood, which seemingly comes out of nowhere,” Kaza said.
It can be a really special experience to watch a film like Flow now, Kaza added, because of its themes of empathy and understanding.
“There’s a lot of really beautiful colors that are used in the movie,” veterinary ophthalmologist Freya Mowat said of Flow.
Courtesy of Sideshow and Janus Films
Courtesy of Sideshow and Janus Films
Mowat says, while those themes may be lost on our four-legged friends, pets’ engagement with the film is likely the result of both the naturalistic sounds of the characters, the soothing instrumental music and the striking visuals.
“There’s a lot of really beautiful colors that are used in the movie,” Mowat said. “So, the cat is black and it’s on this sort of colorful background. And if I think about how dogs see using their color vision, I think that exact contrast would be very visible to a dog.”
Mowat says, as silly as it may seem on the surface, the science of pets and screens really does matter.
“People laugh when I say I do this research, but then it gets people thinking because it makes them realize that there’s a lot more than just showing dogs TV. It’s actually the animal some people spend the most time with, you know? So I think it’s really meaningful to people,” Mowat said. “It’s also very gentle and enjoyable content. So I think we all need a bit more tonic for the soul right now.”
Olivia Hampton edited the radio version of this story. Obed Manuel edited the digital story.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
