The Lion Cub from Harrods

As we are entering a new area of study in the Moving Image course which is related to documentaries, i thought i would share with you an observational documentary i recently watched which was broadcast on Channel 5 called The Lion Cub from Harrods.

The documentary was created using footage captured by a friend of Anthony Bourke and John Rendall, who bought a lion cub from Harrods in the 1960s.

The documentary was interesting in a number of ways, firstly because of the interviews with everyone involved in the lions life, this really gave the audience an insight into what first could be viewed as a controversial issue, it helps personalise the viewing experience. Secondly, the footage captured, as it was amateur footage, really provided a "raw" insight into the lives these two young men were living, which contributed to the emotional climax of the documentary.

The program was informative, but very emotive and entertaining at the same time, it was a totally different take on a stereotypical documentary that one would expect, sterotypical issues such as animal rights took a 'back-seat' and the program focused more on the remarkable relationship between humans and animals.

The beginning of the documentary can be found on youtube at this link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QubDayYZ4wI