The PETA Proggy Awards are given to individuals and organizations who make a difference in the fight for an animal cruelty-free world. They’ve started rolling out 2010 honorees and James Cameron is on top of the list.
“For making a film with an overarching message of decency, understanding, and compassion—as well as breathtakingly beautiful CGI that heralds a new era in filmmaking (one that we hope marks the coming end of the use of live animals in entertainment)—we have awarded James Cameron our 2010 Proggy Award for Outstanding Feature Film,” says PETA’s blog, The PETA Files.
Congratulations, Mr. Cameron! We love that PETA views CGI as cruelty-free. It’s true, animals probably don’t like 16-hour days of endless takes. An elephant doesn’t fit in a trailer during break. Tigers show no fondness for craft services. There’s been evidence that some TV dogs have taken to the limelight (Lassie; the Frasier dogs Moose and Enzo), but in films, where sometimes the storyline calls for difficult and even dangerous tasks for all kinds of animals, CGI is definitely the way to go.
Maybe we should recommend Mr. Cameron to human rights’ groups as well. The astonishing CGI achievements of Avatar could be used to keep actors out of pesky working conditions like heat, smoke, and being shot at by entire armies. Someday, Fear Factor and the like may be created entirely out of a studio — completely fake, but certainly less traumatic.
Wait. Hang on. Fake reality TV?
Allow me to state my personal beliefs on the subject at hand:
- Animals shouldn’t be abused for the sake of entertainment.
- Actors shouldn’t be abused unless it’s in their contract.
- Reality TV show contestants should get what they asked for. Otherwise, why watch?
Good job, James Cameron, and well done to PETA for recognizing him — hopefully, the award will raise industry awareness about the option of choosing a totally realistic computer-animated animal over a live one.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons.