The 23rd Genesis Awards
Posted on April 21, 2009 - Filed Under Charity, HSUS, NB Videos, Nigel Barker Today, Press/Interviews
In large part, animal abuse and exploitation have only received mainstream media attention in recent years.
What happened to animals in the past invariably occurred in the dark, behind closed doors.
Most people simply didn’t stop to think where their hamburgers came from; they didn’t know there were trails of blood behind every fur coat; that the make-up they wore was often cruelly tested on animals; that many animals led horrific lives in zoos and circuses; that millions of animals suffered pain in laboratories. They didn’t know—in part—because the media hadn’t told them.
Today, however, because of the major media, many people realize the disturbing truth about slaughterhouses, fur, vivisection, zoos, and circuses—and all the myriad ways animals suffer.
Eighteen million viewers, for example, watched Dateline NBC for a segment titled “Under the Big Top,” which questioned the moral right of humans to hold circus elephants captive in the name of entertainment, depriving them of their natural lifestyle.
Likewise, millions of people watched the remarkable episode of “The Simpsons” (“Lisa the Vegetarian”) in which Lisa converted to ethical vegetarianism, simply because she made the connection between the lamb chops on her dinner plate and the lamb she had befriended at a petting zoo.
Every year, the Genesis Awards pays tribute to the major news and entertainment media for producing outstanding works such as these, which raise public understanding of animal issues. As much as film, television, print and the arts reflect societal attitudes, they also help shape and change those attitudes. The mass media have the power to spotlight animal issues to vast audiences—literally at the speed of light.
So it is within the major media—with its influential voices and its huge audience—that the Hollywood office of The HSUS concentrates its efforts. The Genesis Awards recognizes that the media hold an important key to a more enlightened and civilized society.
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BRAVO!
that dog is cute !! haha =)