Nature television meets gangster flick

Two news bits caught my attention this weekend and prompted this short post. The recent Economist’s article Cue the Fish is old news to wildlife film scholars. However, it does point towards promising research in examining wildlife television and animal shows in the global audience context, something that hasn’t received much attention.

And discussing global contexts, this Australian film, Animal Kingdom, about gangsters in suburban Melbourne suggests ecocritical potential too. Are the cliches of contemporary nature television too easily played out in gangster flicks? Or is this a more subtle commentary on humans and animals? (I haven’t seen the film but the reviews do pique my interest.)