Your movie reflections should be posted by 5pm on Thursdays. Your full analyses are due the following Tuesday turned in via eLearning (aka WebCT).
Your movie reflections should be posted by 5pm on Thursdays. Your full analyses are due the following Tuesday turned in via eLearning (aka WebCT).
This movie was incredibly sad...what a tear jerker. I watched it with my boyfriend and his mom and she was crying most of the movie. I can't believe the male penguin can go 4 months without food...that is crazy. It was very educational, but I would prefer not to watch it again just because it’s kind of depressing. First the guy is in charge of the unborn penguin and if its on the ice to long the unborn baby has no chance and even when the penguin does hatch out of its egg shell it can still die if the mom doesn't get back with food in time or is ate by a predator, then the dad has to desert the penguin for his own benefit of living. I just thought it was absurd in many parts. One example is towards the end a bird snatches a penguin and the other penguins just stand there not trying to fight the bird off or anything. A lot of this movie has to deal with the instinct theory that Charles Darwin proposed. For one, the mother’s know when it is about July and they have to go back and feed their children. Secondly, one the baby penguin is born it knows it needs to have a call so its father can find him once it returns from getting food. Thirdly, once the penguin is so big the parents leave it on its own and they know by instincts that they will have to venture into the water and survive on their own.
This documentary provides us with the opportunity to see firsthand what it is like to for an animal to survive in the harshest of environments known to man. At first, I was puzzled why the penguin would choose to have a breeding ground that is more than 70 miles away from the sea. As the story unraveled, you could see that there was a method to this madness—the ice that lay between them would soon melt away. The penguins’ ability to know when to begin their march and when to make the return trips back to their chick is quite remarkable. It was mentioned that all the penguins arrive from different directions on the same day at nearly the same time each year. There was also an instance in which the mothers sensed an urgency to return back to their children to provide them with the nourishment they needed to survive. Also, the fact that the fathers endure the cruel winters and go over four months without food to see that the chick survives was quite moving to me. For most animals, neither the father nor mother seems to display such dedication to their young for such a long time. If they do, it is most often times the female that remains with the offspring. One of the great features of this film was the honesty it portrayed of the life cycle of the penguin. Yes, they walk a long distance to further themselves from predators of the sea to raise their young, but that does not mean there are not other means of tragedy. Eggs require delicate care from both the mother and father while passing them between themselves, and predators of the sky always have a look out for stray chicks who have wandered off. The cruelties of this reality remind you that this is how life is, and may even make you a bit grateful to be human and have no natural born predator.
This documentary provides us with the opportunity to see firsthand what it is like for an animal to survive in the harshest of environments known to man. At first, I was puzzled why the penguin would choose to have a breeding ground that is more than 70 miles away from the sea. As the story unraveled, you could see that there was a method to this madness—the ice that lay between them would soon melt away. The penguins’ ability to know when to begin their march and when to make the return trips back to their chick is quite remarkable. Instinct theory offered by McDougall in the early twentieth century is prevalent throughout these shots taken from the Antarctic climate, and I was enthralled by it time and time again. It was mentioned that all the penguins arrive from different directions on the same day at nearly the same time each year. There was also an instance in which the mothers sensed an urgency to return back to their children to provide them with the nourishment they needed to survive. Also, the fact that the fathers endure the cruel winters and go over four months without food to see that the chick survives was quite moving to me. For most animals, neither the father nor mother seems to display such dedication to their young for such a long time. If they do, it is most often times the female that remains with the offspring. One of the great features of this film was the honesty it portrayed of the life cycle of the penguin. Yes, they walk a long distance to further themselves from predators of the sea to raise their young, but that does not mean there are not other means of tragedy. Eggs require delicate care from both the mother and father while passing them between themselves, and predators of the sky always have a look out for stray chicks who have wandered off. The cruelties of this reality remind you that this is how life is, and may even make you a bit grateful to be human and have no natural born predator.
I feel this documentary is in line with Hull’s Drive Theory which states “motivation/drive has a purely physiological basis and bodily need is the ultimate source of motivation.” In other words there is a need for food, sex, sleep, warmth, safety etc, etc. Let’s look at our penguin friends in this documentary. First, they walk 70 miles to find a mate in the breeding grounds. With all the fine looking female penguins out there it would normally be hard for the male penguins to find a mate with cheesy lines like “so, you from outta town?” (because everyone is from out of town), but lucky for them the cards are stacked in their favor. Yep, it’s every male penguins dream as the female penguins outnumber the male penguins which means even the computer nerd penguin is destined to score. So, pop the cork on the bottle of Merlot and cue the soothing bass crooning of a Barry White classic as we cut to the female laying an egg. Now we’re in scene two. What happens in scene two? That’s right, a conflict that needs to be resolved by the end of the movie. So what’s the conflict? Well, mama penguin needs to hit the road in search of food leaving daddy penguin to care for the egg. Normally this would have all the makings of a comedy classic because seriously ladies, who in their right mind would leave a man in charge of anything let alone something like this? However, this is the real deal. The female penguins need to get back to the water as soon as they can to not only find food for themselves, but also to produce food for their new arrival. The male penguins are then left to bear the cold weather and care for the egg. When the temperature hits the ridiculously negative digits the male penguins huddle together for warmth and for their survival…and also for comedy relief as I’m sure more than one penguin said to another as they were huddled together “I’m happy to see you and yes, that is a hard frozen egg in my pocket.” Nothing to fear though as the mothers soon return to feed and care for their young as it is now the male penguins turn to head for the water and find food as they have gone an amazing four months without anything. With the mothers back in command they feed their newborns and also shelter them. This story of the penguin’s life ends with the viewer seeing the young penguins jumping in the sea where they will live for a few years before making the journey back to where they were born and thus creating new life themselves.
Crazy, Wow. Those were my first few words after watching this movie. I have to say that some of the things I witnessed while watching this video did not surprise me as much as others did. For instance, I was not surprised that the Mother and Father penguins switched what is thought to be traditional roles, however the amount of time invested in producing, and hatching this little egg did surprise me. It is hard to fathom that the father penguin goes 4 months without eating, when I can barely go more then 6 hours and I feel as though I am starving. I enjoyed listening to Morgan Freeman narrating this story line, and I think it also added to "tear-jerking" moments as well. I couldn't help but feel sad after seeing what the penguins go through in order to have a baby in the first place, to a baby penguin dying within instants of being in the cold winter. Overall, this documentary clearly depicts the life of a penguin, however I felt at the end I was at a bit of a cliff hanger. I wanted to know exactly what was going to happen for the chicks, and yet I was left with the scene of them jumping into the water of the sea. From beginning to end, there were several parts in which that stuck out to me. First being the mother loses 1/3 of her body weight in order to make the egg and is nearly close to starving to death and absolutely needs to leave in order to survive. The second being that the father has already gone 125 days without food once the egg has been laid. Next, penguins are able to hold their breath for 15 minutes and are able to dive 1700 feet into the sea. Of course these are all facts about the penguins. The Fathers have to endure one of the most horrible winters of all with temperatures at -80 degrees, not including wind. As soon as the baby is born, the fathers have gone through this winter and 4 months without eating, however they still have enough to make some milk for the newborn penguin to hold them over till the mothers return. Overall, the mother and father penguins make 3 to 4 journeys of about 70 miles in order to keep themselves, and their children alive. This documentary depicts the motivation of survival, and also the ability to sustain motivation. If these penguins failed to sustain motivation of staying alive, they would also endanger the lives of the rest of their family.
I was surprised at how well-put together this movie was. My first reaction is that penguins definitely have a harder life than people in most ways. Despite whatever hardships we face, almost everyone is able to meet their most basic needs, such as food and shelter. If the tone of Morgan Freeman’s narration is accurate, Emperor Penguins face overwhelming challenges throughout their entire lives.
As I was considering what specific motivation and emotion concepts might be applicable here, one of the first realizations that came to mind was that I know very little about the anatomical and biological characteristics of penguins. Although it might have detracted from the enjoyment of the film, I think it would have been very interesting to hear about such characteristics – it would help us better understand how penguin populations have been able to cope for so many generations.
What really stuck out in my mind was that each of the two parents exerts such incredible effort and invests so much time for the care of a single egg. Given the great dangers that are presented, I wondered how on Earth it was possible that their numbers could have been sustained over time. I did a little more research on the Emperor Penguin, and according to some sources the average Emperor Penguin becomes sexually mature around age 5 and dies around age 20 (but it was said that some penguins have been known to live up to 50 years).
As was mentioned in the beginning of the film, penguins are one of the last “tribes” to remain in Antartica. I wonder how much the bodies of penguins have evolved over time in response to changes in their environment. Of course, over such a long time I expect that a considerable amount of natural selection took place in the penguin population. I still wonder if the evolutionary changes will ultimately be enough to preserve their species over time. I’m somewhat surprised that the penguins haven’t developed more effective ways of defending themselves over time – it seems like the penguins are fairly powerless to stop certain avian species from attacking and killing them.
Online, I also read that some regions have had as much as a 50% population decline and it was said that, “A Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution study in January 2009 found Emperor Penguins could be pushed to the brink of extinction by the year 2100 due to global climate change.” Another reason cited was the negative impact industrial fisheries are having on the penguins’ food supply. Human activities are also said to have destroyed penguin breeding grounds.
I must admit, I feel a little guilty if humans are partly responsible for such large declines in the penguin population. Although I think American fishing industries generally follow a code of ethics, I believe that many other countries’ industries do not, unfortunately. And, policing can be very hard indeed. From a motivation and emotion standpoint, I would say such unethical fisherman have let their greed get the best of them and their concern for marine life seems near nonexistant.
In any case, I think there are many motivation/emotion themes throughout this film. As other have commented, I believe that instinct plays a huge role in the life of a penguin. Although the brains of penguins are probably very different from humans, I think some associations seem to be the same. The penguin family members (mother, father, and baby) all seem to be very attached to one another. I think the attachment humans naturally feel towards family members (which we categorize as a type of love) and the attachment a baby penguin feels toward its mother and father may have a shared instinctual basis.
There are also many other ideas that I have in mind to talk about in the full movie analysis, such as the dedication penguins seem to have to long term goals and what possible biological processes may underlie penguin behavior. Although penguins obviously have a much better ability to retain nutrients and go longer without eating than we can, I believe there must still be a great deal of motivation for not eating for 4 months, all to ensure that the child is safe. In some ways, this behavior reminded me of parents that work long and hard to ensure their children get the best of everything.
In some ways, I think those who view this film may experience an increase in their own motivation, at least in the short term – seeing that penguins can (and commonly do) endure -80 degree temperatures, 100 mph wind, a multitude of blowing snow, and over four months without food, all for the future of their egg, it would seem that our problems are very small in comparison.
I agree that this documentary was very well put together. Although I'm generally not a fan of documentaries, I found it to be thought provoking and interesting.
I took Dr. O'Brien's Human Origins course a few semesters ago as one of my electives for Criminology. Much of the content in this documentary applied to the course material as well. For example, the question of why these penguins would choose to stay and adapt to the frigid conditions, when all of the other habitants chose to leave. Also, I saw a lot of "survival of the fittest" examples in the movie - less desirable penguins didn't receive mates, reducing the chances of producing offspring, and also the chicks that didn't survive the conditions.
In Chapter 1 of our textbook, Reeve describes internal motives. He further breaks these down into three categories: needs, cognitions, and emotions.
We saw many times in which the penguins left their mates and egg/chick to get food. This is one example of the penguins trying to satisfy their need for hunger. However, I also found it interesting that, even though they must have been extremely hungry, the dad put off eating for approximately 125 days just to care for his offspring. This is also similar to the mom's need to fulfill her need for food - such as how she loses almost a third of her weight from producing the egg.
Another example of fulfilling needs is when the father penguins eat snow to satisfy their thirst. I guess I didn't know that penguins even got thirsty, so I found that pretty interesting.
As for cognitions, although I don't think that the penguins could actually consciously examine this, their entire journey to reproduce is a cognitive source of motivation. Their goal, to find a mate and reproduce, is a cognition. Whether they take part in this entire dangerous task to reach that goal just because of instinct, they have a plan - to travel over 70 miles to a specific location. They, then, also must have some sort of belief that they can complete such a task successfully.
In sum, there are so many examples in this movie of motivation, but I agree with some of the previous comments that watching the penguins endure and survive these conditions can be a source of motivation for us, as well as makes our seemingly small complaints seem insignificant.
After watching this I feel really overwhelmed by everything that happened. I felt like their was a lot of dying and fighting for your life, through the terrible winter cold to not eating for long periods of time. I did find it amusing that the mother and father switched roles and find myself oddly wishing we did it ourselves. However it's usually the mother with a stronger bond with the child which I wouldn't trade for anything. As for all the walking back and forth seventy miles or so to and from the water, you could count me out instantly. That has to take so much effort and strength no wonder both males and females are losing so much weight. What an exhausting life! The movie went along with todays discussion about physiological needs of hunger and thirst. Rkac, the person who commented just ahead of me also noticed this, how the parents would take turns taking care of the young and getting food. It's so different from how we take care of our children, yes we take turns but food and warmth are never a problem. This has to be extremely stressful on the mother and father which would produce cortisol. Keeping their young alive is their motivation to keep moving. I always thought that penguins only had one mate for their entire lives so I was interested to hear that it was only in fact for one year. It got me thinking though about the baby penguin though, why don't they want to see them and take care of them forever? After so long they are just left on their own to grow up. Overall I thought this movie was a great example of motivation, their motivation is so great that sometimes I wish I had the same amount before a big test.
I didn't really understand how motivation and emotion would go along with this movie. This was the first time that I had watched it, all i knew was that it was about penquins and Morgan Freeman was the narrarator behind the documentary. But I thought it was a very interesting look into how these penquins survive in these kinds of conditions.
The look at how these penquins just migrate from one area to the other while carrying the eggs and the freezing weather with the winds and snow was shocking. I couldn't imagine being close to any of those conditions, as college students we complain about walking to class when it is 20 degrees out.
But for these penquins, they go through these conditions because they need to survive. And survival is probably the greatest motivation for why people, or penquins, do what they do. Even though it was hard to tell on the penquins what emotions they were feeling, which is how you can mainly see emotion on a human, you could tell what they were feeling when their chid had died or when the family was reuinited after months apart.
I thought that this was a good depiction of motivation other than what humans usually consider our driving forces behind motivations. When watching this movie, I even went though a lot of the motivations that they were going though, happiness when the babies were born or families were reunited, saddness when one had died or were being attacked, and shocked when I saw the conditions that these penquins were in for survival.
I thought this movie was really sad but also, in a way, inspiring. You can really tell that penguins main motivation in life is to procreate and keep their species around. Taking a 70 mile walk to be sure they are in a secure spot for mating and hatching their young is a pretty remarkable feat. I could not believe how they all seemed to meet together (on almost the same day) along the trip and march as a whole group to their destination. The penguins were so in-sync with one another and all of them know the ultimate goal.
Of course, it's remarkable that the penguins can go months without eating just so that their eggs are kept safe and warm. On top of that, they walk another 70 plus miles until they reach the sea on an empty stomach. Penguins have to have incredible drive in order to survive and reproduce in Antarctica. One thing I wondered during the film was whether the penguins procreate for the purpose of keeping the species alive or if, like humans, it's for a sort of family sense. It has been debated whether animals have such thoughts and feelings such as love, but during this movie I assume they do. During the movie, I leaned towards the reproduction of species explanation until one mother lost her baby to the cold, harsh winter. When she pecked at her deceased baby and wailed it was so sad, and I could not help but feel that she had just lost something she loved. When I think about it as a whole, I do not think you can go through all of those challenges they went through if there is no connection or bond to your baby.
This movie was a great movie for motivation and emotion. I had no idea that penguins did so much just to eat, drink, and mate. As Bret said above, it definitely fits into Hull’s Drive Theory. While watching this movie I was amazed at how far the males would go just to mate, especially when they knew it would be such harsh conditions, but in reality it was the best spot for them, because of the thickening of the ice. It amazes me how humans and penguins are different in that way, because some humans just mate with whoever and an offspring comes out, while others do search for a long time, but would probably never walk 70 miles just to have a babyin such harsh conditions.
As for the eating and thirst, it would definitely help to understand the biochemical agents that are working in the the penguins brain to understand how they can go so long without eating. Yes, they fill there stomachs up before they head out for the 70 mile trecherous walk, but does that mean that their body will process it more slowly? I wish I could understand more of the brain structures in penguins.
This movie also showed the view of "survival of the fittest" because penguins were dying and getting eaten by lepoard seals if they werent fast or strong enough to take care of themselves and their offspring. It is definitly sad so say that, because a parent was not strong enough to take care of themselves, that their child would die along with them. As Morgan Freeman said along these lines, "The lepoard seal will take two lives: the mother, and the child."
The penguins definitely went through a lot while trying to nurture and take care of their offspring, it shows that somewhere in the mix of all things they have a strong-will and will do anything for survival.
After watching this movie I believe that I have come out of it with a greater understanding of the Emperor Penguin. These animals are quite intriguing and fascinating when it comes to how they mate and raise their young. I think this movie showed that the penguins have a huge amount of motivation when it comes to their young. For the father to sit on ice for 4 months after walking 70 miles, and keep its chick in the egg warm until the mother returned is incredible. Even then, once the mother did return the father had to walk another 70 miles just to get food to survive, and even then some of the adult males were unable to make the long journey back to the sea. The mother also puts a lot of effort into keeping the chick alive. The mother not only loses 1/3 of her body weight during the laying of the egg, she too also has to walk the 70 miles to the sea many times just to retrieve food for the chick. The whole process of laying the egg and switching of parents so they can walk to the sea and walk back with food for the chick is 9 months. That leaves 3 months out of the year that the parents are not starved or in serious danger due to the elements. This shows us that the Emperor Penguins are highly motivated for their species to survive. A lot of the adults die due to this ritual.
I think that it was good to end the documentary by showing the chicks going into the water for the first time. Michael Y. posted earlier that the emperor penguin becomes sexually mature by age 5. I would like to know what the penguin is doing while the adults are going to their mating grounds.
Morgan Freeman pulls off another stellar performance. He could read an instruction manual or our textbook and make it sound interesting. This movie shows us one of the last untouched places on our planet. You have to give a lot of credit to the camera crew. What they went through was almost more impressive than the penguins. I guess their motivation to film the penguins might be more interesting than the actual film. It couldn't be just for the money, because I am pretty sure camera men don't get paid that well. Although speculations about their motivation for being involved in this project, a behavioral representation of their motivation would have to be effort and attention, as there would be plenty of both of them involved with filming in these conditions.
The tale of the penguins migration to their yearly mating location is truly epic. It seems to me like its more of a evolutionary marvel than an impossible task like they make it sound like in the film. I also doubt its a story of "love" like they say in the movie or like we think of as it relates to humans. It is definitely and extreme act of survival, but it doesn't happen without the penguin being suited to handle this environment. These animals are physically and behaviorally hard-wired to return to their breeding grounds to ensure the best possible success of reproduction(thick ice, walls to block the wind, far away from predators). Their blubber and fur/feathers are well suited to handle the harsh conditions and their group behavior ensures maximum survival. Sure, some of the penguins will die or be eaten, but those other animals depend the penguins as a food source to provide for their own offspring. One part that was particularly interesting was when a mother who lost her own baby tried to steal another baby from another mother. I couldn't really think of a reason for this other than there being some sort of emotional investment or maternal instinct tied to raising a young penguin, even though they only do so briefly.
Everyone above me has really stated almost everything that can be said about how this connects to motivation and emotion. Yes, it is motivating, and fits into the Drive Theory very well as already stated, so I will try to connect this with our human nature and some possible drives that we have that are the same or different between the penguins and us. The thing that motivates me about this movie is the determination that each parent penguin has to take care of this egg, and it does show that sometimes if they are young and in a rush, lose their child to the deadly cold. Yet, they continue and in hopes of next year to have everything go as planned. This can be seen as a life lesson for our society, that sometimes when parents are not experienced and/or ready for a child can make a mistake, it might not be the actual death of a child but maybe they lose their child to neglect. The deadly cold and harsh winter storms shows them as a community and work together to help keep themselves warm and to help keep them alive. That whole it takes a community to raise a child doesn’t take part in our society, it does happen in other societies but as American’s the general thought is, that’s your child take care of it yourself. As we look at our society we do not take it as our responsibility to help our other families, even if we are in the similar situation.
In the time frame where the mother or father don’t leave the egg for food is portrayed at one point as if they might of not known that, but then in watching further you realize that these penguins knew that they were going to be out there for months and prepared themselves for that. I understanding that in saying this, especially after seeing this movie that it might be hard to realize that a lot of other animals stock up on food because they don’t eat for months. Bears do something similar when going into hibernation, as well as squirrels when the winter season arrives. Instinctual yes, I believe that they are very in tune with their instincts but to be fair even humans are born with those internal instincts. Many people who are homeless or have at one point in time been in a situation where food is not readily available, know how to make their food either last, or fill themselves up to a point that will make them full till they eat again. What I wonder most about, is like stated before me the actual brain functions going on because, well in cold conditions our bodies will slow it’s metabolism down in order to conserve body heat and energy, and I wonder if that is something the body of the penguin goes through.
I was really sad while watching this. But i was almost inspired by the drive these penguins had to survive, and to make sure that their egg survived. I could not imagine ever not eating for that long or weathering storms as brutal as they did. It is amazing to see what the male penguins go through for the babies. I felt like crying when they showed the penguins who exchanged eggs and it cracked and broke in the cold weather. They went through all of that hardship and then the egg never even survived. Also when they showed the frozen baby penguins after the storm, i was incredibly sad. I do think they feel emotion in some sense, maybe not the way we do. The mother penguin was almost crying/yelling after her baby froze during the storm. They have an incredible motivation to survive in their harsh enviroment. Survival and the will to live is a huge motivator. I really enjoyed this documentary.
As someone eluded to above, I have no idea how the hell they filmed this documentary through the frigid temps and 100 mph wind. Whether there was a stationary camera docked somewhere and controlled robotically, I haven't a clue, but the production of this film in and of itself is pretty remarkable. The producers motivation had to entail, through thick and thin, a strong drive to tell the story of the emperor penguins.
I definitely came away with a newfound respect for animals such as the penguin. I think it's arguably safe to say that their will to survive and reproduce is greater than ours as humans when you compare and contrast the two lifestyles. I think a lot of that has to do with our ability to manipulate our environment which leads to certain behavioral traits. The penguins are forced to adapt to their environment and as the documentary showed, the environment (time of day/month/year, ice/wind/snow, food cycle and resources) is engrained within their DNA. They have this sixth sense about them which I find remarkable. They know when and where to migrate and just how far they need to go to survive. Their lives are directed by the ultimate power of reproduction and it was hard to watch a father and mother lose an egg that they had put so much of their soul into. One could almost feel the emotions they were going through, whether it was the father who had to physically and mentally battle his way through what I would think is psychologically breaking four-month stretch, or the mother who also makes the 70-mile trek, i.e their march for survival.
What I did find surprising, however, was when the big-ass bird came in trying to steal away one of the baby penguins. Now whether the penguins just can't move fast enough or whatnot, I would think after the seemingly hellish stretch of months trying to ensure the survival of the egg/baby, the penguins would do everything in their power to protect the squad of baby penguins from the bird--which didn't seem to happen. Perhaps it was an early trial, albeit a rough one, for the baby penguins to endure and survive on their own as they would have to do in the coming months and for the rest of their lives.
Also, at the end, it really must be a hard-wiring within their brains to reproduce and survive, because it is definitely not a social bondage or anything like that as the documentary stated that most baby penguins would never see their mothers and fathers again after they dove into the see. Definitely a unique documentary showing an animal's motivation within the framework of evolution.
I felt this documentary was very educational and entertaining. In the beginning it was intriguing when the penguins marched a great distance in order to get to the breading grounds; however, once the story unfolded it was clear why the area was suitable for breading compared to the surrounding environments. Another interesting detail of the documentary was the penguins marched a different route each year due to the ice forming new blockades however, the penguins still made it to the same breading ground within hours of each other almost like clockwork. What is very prevalent in the film is the needs and values of the penguins. They are very protective of their babies (to the point where the steal others eggs; which I though was weird) and they are motivated by food, reproduction, and the protection of their group/family. This is very similar to the values and ideas we hold as humans. All in all it was interesting to see penguins in their natural environment and it makes me think about how each animal’s environment is truly altered to fit their needs. Never in my wildest dreams would I think that the cold ice structures, a 70 miles journey, and not eating for over 125 days would be a suitable environment for any creature, let along a small bird as the penguin.
I had no idea what to expect before watching "March of the Penguins". All I had heard was it was a documentary about penguins and Morgan Freeman narrated the movie. I had no idea how the the documentary would be set up. I also did not realize or understand the conditions empire penguins must adapt to in order to have a chance of survival.
I agree with the comments stated above. This movie portrayed motivation and emotion in a unique manner. I had no idea empire penguins would be able to survive without food for 4 months. I also agree with Austin, these penguins have much more motivation to survive and adapt to changes in the weather than I would. I complain when I have to walk 3 blocks to campus in -10 degree temperatures. I also have the option to stay at home and skip class if I don't want to deal with wind and snow.
Along with the seeing the penguins motivation to live and survive in this crazy weather, you could almost feel the emotion from the penguins. It was heartbreaking to watch the parent penguins leave behind their egg because it had cracked. I could not imagine putting all your energy into taking care of one baby, knowing the chances of survival are so low. From my perspective it also seems crazy, for the parents, to put so much energy and time into caring for your baby penguin, knowing you may never see him or her ever again after they take the plunge into the sea.
Overall, this movie documented the motivation and emotion in the empire penguins life very well. Although I didn't know what to expect before watching the movie, I have much more respect for the empire penguins. These animals endure and survive through treacherous winds and environments.
I found the movie to be very interesting. There were times when the movie seemed rather monotonous; however, I think that it was made to feel this way at times so that the audience could understand the long duration of this process. There were moments that were very sad. For example, seeing all of the penguins that had lost their lives to the ice just lying there. However, if we put it into perspective, humans have miscarriages all of the time. It is the way that nature works.
I found it to be remarkable how long the penguins could go without food. Its remarkable that a species is able to go for 4 months without food and still have the ability to trek 70 miles just to get food after those 4 months. The types of weather that these penguins endured, all while trying to balance an egg on their feet, was nothing short of mesmerizing. It would be so excruciating.
I think this movie definitely applies to Darwin's Intrinsic Theory. In the theory Darwin talks about how a species has the ability to know when they need to do a certain thing purely from their genetic makeup telling them. The presence of a particular stimulus leads the creature to act in such a way. In the March of the Penguins this theory was present in multiple ways. One way is when the Penguins knew that they would have to return to the newborn penguin in July in order to feed the penguin. From their they know that the father will have to go to the sea to feed himself and then will have to return again to feed the new born. Before the father leaves, the newborn knows that it must create a call in order for the father to find it when he returns. The parents are aware when the new addition is ready to make its own way, so with out hesitation the parents set out on their own way to the sea. The new penguin inherently knows where it needs to go and what it needs to do in order to survive in the sea, without being taught.
The documentary was definitely interesting. I was not sure what to expect when I started watching it. I don't know that I will ever watch it again, but it was intriguing to watch.
Wow, there are a lot of comments.
While I enjoyed watching March of the Penguins, I have had a hard time formulating a comment on the movie. So much so that I actually watched it last Friday and here it is Thursday and I am just now writing a comment.
I think that the hardest thing for me to understand is how the penguins physiological needs can be pushed aside for the good of the egg. They were obviously built to thrive in the arctic, but the conditions that they endured made me feel bad for complaining about winter in Iowa.
I also found the fact that they were able to find the breeding ground without any help from landmarks and that all of the penguins found it around the same time. I cannot even point out which direction my house is in if you spin me around a couple of times. I would love to have the type of internal compass that the penguins have.
It seemed to me that the penguins motivation to procreate outweighed their motivation to survive. The motivation to have a baby kept the male penguins in the middle of the arctic winter without any food for months. If the motivation to survive were more powerful, the male penguins would have taken off after the female penguins to go eat.
It is also interesting that having a baby penguin is so important that female penguins try to steal other penguins babies. That seems to go beyond the motivation to procreate because the baby being stolen does not have the genes of the female that is trying to do the stealing. There must be some motivation in penguins to mother a child, more than just to pass done its genes.
One of my favorite quotes from Morgan Freedman was that the emperor penguins were monogamous, sort of. Because many people site the penguins as being an example of monogamy in the animal kingdom, but they do not include that they are only monogamous for that breeding season. It makes sense for both genders to be motivated to seek monogamy in the case of the penguins, because the male can only protect one egg at a time during the winter. It would not benefit either gender to attempt to be polygamous.
Overall, I found the movie very entertaining and informative.
I agree with many comments from other students. I found the documentary very interesting especially simply watching how often these penguins have to march back and forth to breed and feed. If you told me that they had to do this once a year to reach their breeding ground I would be astonished, but to see that both the male and the female penguins endure this march multiple times a year is breathtaking! I also agree that much of their motivation to procreate comes from an intrinsic drive. I highly doubt the penguins could simply decide not to go to the breeding grounds, it's not so much a choice but an obligation. This also plays into the idea that penguins have been able to survive in these terrible conditions for as long as they have. They have to be motivated to reproduce or they simply will not survive.
I believe that the adult penguins were motivated equally to feed and to care for their young. Morgan Freeman stated that if the mother happened to not make it back to their young within a couple of days of being born that the father simply would have to leave their baby to return to the feeding ground or he would die as well. I know that penguins obviously do not have the same emotions as humans, but it does make you think about how the penguins are motivated to live regardless of the fate of their offspring. This is also seen when the parents did not attack the large bird when it was trying to take their young. There is no way to know exactly what was going on in their brains but one could make the assumption that the parents feel the need for the babies to learn how to take care of themselves.
You cannot, however, say that their motivation has nothing to do with emotions because the parents were very obviously distressed when their egg cracked in the cold or when their baby died in the winter. There is something past a biological motivation to reproduce, there are obvious parenting skills being shown with regard to the penguins. It's strange to think about this from such a human perspective because much of what these penguins endure every year seems ridiculous to us! I wonder how many of us would procreate if we had to endure similar conditions.
I was constantly dumbfounded by this movie. How are there any penguins? First, they can die during the normal year from predators, age, accidents, the cold, etc. Then they have to go to their mating ground. There isn’t going to be an even male to female ratio, so someone is going to be left out. If the egg isn’t covered virtually the entire time, the baby dies. If the mom doesn’t get back in time (or dies on the way), the baby dies because the dad will just leave. Statistically, you would think that they would be extinct by now, with so many adversities to face.
I think one of the saddest parts was seeing the egg crack open because everything inside was freezing and expanding. These birds have a hard life, and they live in what has to be the most extreme climate in the world.
There are people in the world that will tell you that animals don’t have emotions. I would absolutely disagree. I can’t imagine that the penguins don’t have the same chemicals motivating them. Oxytocin would cause the strong emotional connection to the egg – in order to ensure the continuation of their species. Cortisol would build up and create more stress – especially if they lost the chick.
Obviously enough survive to continue the species, but it just blows my mind.
However, this movie did have great cinematography, and Morgan Freeman is always a plus. =)
I can't believe I hadn't seen this movie before watching it for class. I own Happy Feet which is the animated version & I love it. It portrays a more child-like version of March of the Penguins, not really stressing the reality of what the penguin species goes through to find a mate and reproduce. It is quite a process that I was aware of but March of the Penguins really portrayed every aspect of the process. I also couldn't believe the penguins have/had to take so much time to travel from the sea to their breeding ground, but in means to survive it's necessary to do so. When the parents are alternating going to the sea as well, going back to the sea is their means of survival. It's unimaginable knowing that if I was a penguin, how high my chances were of losing my life. In the movie there are so many emotions that were shown & that alone can drive a person mad and do something stupid. There were also chances of getting eaten by a bird, sealion, suffering from starvation, freezing to death, and old age. The greatest part of the movie was seeing the parents that had a healthy baby penguin born & them being so happy to see the end result of their hard work that took so much motivation. The saddest part for me was when the penguin (mother?) of the frozen dead baby penguin was mourning for the loss of its life. All that hard work and determination for nothing that year.
I loved the movie, it was great to see in-depth the insides of a species and how they live everyday life.
Simply put, this movie was pretty incredible.. I really had no real desire to watch this movie before; how often do I watch movies about animals? Everything about this movie was pretty eye opening and truly shows how cruel the animal kingdom can be and how animals simply live to survive.
First of all, hats off to the director and all the people that endured these unfathomable temperatures to capture the lives of the penguins. One would assume nothing could, or would want to survive in conditions at the south pole.
I thought one of the most amazing things about this video was that all the penguins live for is to fulfill their basic physiological needs. Their whole existence surrounds around the ability to eat and mate. They spend much of their year in a environment where food is available, and the rest of it protecting their offspring to continue their own existence. Knowing that a species has been able to live and strive in that environment is pretty amazing to think about. Penguins have evolved to have the instincts to survive in the harshest of environments by being able to go over 100 days without eating; that's pretty cool.
I thought it was interesting to see how the adult penguins could be so attached for almost a year, and then split ways once the chick was independent enough to be on it's own. From an evolutionary standpoint this may make sense in that every year there is a new competition for a mate. On the other hand, from an emotional standpoint, it seems surprising that there is no long lasting emotional attachment between the penguins.
From a physiological and psychological standpoint, it's quite obvious that food deprivation drives the males to take care of the eggs during the winter. The mothers endure an environmental agent(no food) which causes a biochemical agent to tell their brains and body they need food. The end result involves the mother toughing out the cold weather, and the men taking care of the egg.
In all, this movie was quite informative and very interesting.
I thought that this movie's main strength was its picture quality. I wasn't even watching it on and HDTV or anything and the pictures were beautiful. It was really cool to see that the penguins knew exactly what to do each year in oder for their eggs and chicks to survive. It's crazy that they live on such a strict schedule, and that they know when it is time to let the father take the egg, when the mother needs to get food, and when they need to go to the center of the ice to find a mate. The whole thing was sort of mind-blowing to think about. Thier inticnt to migrate and mate was enough motivation for them to walk the 70 plus miles to find a mate. We have never really discussed instinct as a form of motivation, but I think that in this movie it was the penguin's main form of motivation.
It was also really interesting to see how long these penguins can go without food. Of course their digestive systems are much different than humans or other more domesticated species, but it was interesting to see the resistence and patience that the fathers (especially) had to endure in order to save their offspring. I think alot of species would be more likely to leave the chick behind and go find food, but the penguins had a sense of pride and loyalty to their chick-which I think is pretty rare in wild animals. Behind this loyalty and pride is an obvious presence of oxytocin, which is why the fathers and mothers felt so connected to their young. It was very clear that the fathers didn't want to leave the chicks when it was time for the fathers to go find food. It is also clear that oxytocin plays a role in penguin's lives because of the fact that the mother who's baby didn't survive the storm appeared heartbroken, and even tried to replace her chick by stealing another mother's chick.
It's pretty cool to see that penguins do have emotions, although they are not as strong or as obvious as those that are present in humans-I still think that it takes some sort of emotional connection in order for an animal to make that big of a sacrifice and commitment to save and help their young survive.
This documentary was phenomenal. As others have said, the work behind the finished product is impressive. The footage that we enjoyed seeing and the close-ups of the penguin lives that brought many to tears was a result of some amazing talent and dedication to the film. I enjoyed feeling like I was right there with the penguins, watching their lives while enjoying the comfort and warmth of my couch!
The emperor penguins are really cool animals and the film showed lots of physiological drives and motivations that they experience for survival. The documentary even showed how, to some extent, the penguins have emotion as illustrated by the mother crying over the lost egg. Despite having these similarities with humans in terms of emotion and some motivational aspects, the documentary definitely personified the penguins a bit beyond what is realistic, in my opinion. Their motivation for mating is procreation, not "love" in the sense of the more complex human definitions of love. However, having a penguin "love story" is definitely more entertaining than a typical documentary. It was pretty enjoyable.
I have seen this movie a few years ago, but I forgot how poignant it really is. It is tremendously fantastic to watch these penguins living in Antarctica successfully adapt to the most inhospitable location on Earth. Among the most amazing facts I forgot about these penguins is the sheer magnitude of their survivability and durability in such harsh conditions. In a matter of months both females and males travel hundreds of miles, while starving, to obtain food for themselves and bring some back for their infants. Their survival methods rely inherently upon a concerted communal effort by all members involved. They must continually share the unspoken agreement of exhibiting the most delicate of processes - the incubation process. I can't believe how, as a group, they develop a schema from which to track their route, even as the environmental conditions and surroundings constantly change. It is especially significant when they all travel to their designated breeding grounds. I grew so emotionally attached to the penguins throughout the movie, and in doing so I couldn't help but anthropomorphize the penguins' behaviors and overall general locomotion. However, I guess that is almost an innate quality we humans develop. I noticed an underlying evolutionary theme that resonated with me. You really being to realize Darwin's theory of natural selection within this group of emperor penguins. The variability in strength and durability is shown explicitly in this movie. Because the winter is their biggest predator, and a nasty one at that, they must be able to exhibit a great advancement of adaptability. Also, they are able to hold their breath for 15 minutes and dive down 1700 feet in the ocean. These survival qualities allow the penguins to procreate and maintain their existence in the darkest and coldest of times on the South Pole.
Finally, one last thought: It would sure suck to be a claustrophobic penguin, that's for sure.
March of the Penguins was a huge movie when it came in 2004. I had never seen it but found it to be incredibly interesting! On the subject of motivation, the lives of the Emperor Penguins are a constant struggle for existence and a fight for the survival of an egg.
The biggest shock to me was the environment they must live in and raise babies. In the beginning of the movie they talked about why the Emperor Penguin was one of the only species to stay and fight the cold. Although many penguins die in their march, it is incredible that this animal can even sustain life in the frigid environment of the South Pole.
The penguins obviously possess a greater sense of motivation than most creatures of Earth. Most students won’t even go to class if it’s ten below and snowing. Penguins basically starve themselves for four months standing in fifty degrees below zero, just so that their offspring might survive another day. They have such a strong sense of urgency to complete their march on time so as to not jeopardize being too late. The bond between mother and child is so strong that mothers who have lost a baby will try to steal another baby! But such as their connection is so strong, the parents will stop at nothing to protect their new family. The motivation of the parents to see the baby through until it is old enough to fend for itself is greater than anything I have ever seen. It is rare to find such an example of the extreme lengths that some creatures will go for something they want.
I'll just start by saying- I'm so glad I'm not a penguin!
I enjoyed the film and found it very informative. Obviously, casting Morgan Freeman as the narrator was the best directive decision, aside from requiring the camera crew to dress in layers.
There were several situations from the film that I want to TRY and accurately link to our class content. So I'll start from the beginning of the story and progress from there. 1.) When the group find themselves at a "road block" due to constantly changing ice floors, they never remain stagnant for long, a new penguin begins to lead the way and others follow. I relate this situation to the concept of Drive, addressed in Chapter 1 on page 29. The text states that animals experience drive when "biological imbalances occur" and "whatever behavior was instrumental to servicing the bodily needs" will be the motivating factor. When the group stops moving, they become more vulnerable to the temperature and are wasting valuable time, so it is necessary to continue moving in order to survive. Why a particular penguins steps up to lead the way, is beyond me but something biologically has driven it to take action.
2.) Once the groups gather and begin to look for a mate, there is often aggression between two females who are interested in the same male. We spoke about this generally on Tuesday but there is clearly a biochemical stimulation occurring as well as the desire to breed and procreate. Since it was the females instead of males (& of course, penguins instead of humans) I may be wrong to say that some sort of hormone was a factor in this behavior, similar to the effects testosterone has on human males.
3.) On the first day that we talked about the importance of WHY we are performing (or struggling to perform) a specific action. I thought of this during the scene in the film where the new penguin parents attempt to transfer the fragile egg from the mothers care to the fathers. When they are not successful and the egg is destroyed during the process, they no longer have a purpose in the march and they return to sea. I believe this is a good example of that concept. The WHY in regards to all the extreme elements they face and behaviors throughout the 9 months.
4.) I found the most interesting moment in the film to be the way some mothers react after losing a chick to the harsh weather conditions. Attempting to steal a chick from another mother. It shows the intensity of their emotional state during the process. Dr. MacLin has mentioned several times during class that you'd have to be REALLY hungry to take a piece of food off the floor or out of the trash and eat it. Well, you'd have have to be REALLY distraught to try and take another mothers baby with no escape from the group and being ridiculously outnumbered.
There were a lot of things about the film that were truly amazing to me, it was a very moving film. The life of these penguins is a story worth telling and I'm glad that this film was created. Which leads me to my last comment. We all heard Mr. Freeman tell us how cold it gets, how little sunlight is present during the winter months, what the wind speed reaches and all about how these wild birds survive the 9 month march. But what I want to know is WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS MOTIVATING THE FILM CREW TO FACE THOSE CONDITIONS?!?!
I started by saying I'm glad not to be a penguin, but I'll end by saying I'm even more glad not to have been a crew member on March of the Penguins! :)
I thought that the documentary was very interesting. Although not the most exciting movie I have ever watched, I found it to be very educational and intriguing to learn about the empire penguin.
I knew nothing about penguins before watching this film. It was hard for me to believe how much motivation and strive that the penguins have to have to do the things that they do for their "family."
First of all, how the penguins find their mate for the year was interesting. The fact that there were more women than men in their group and that they had to pretty much fight in order to get find a male partner showed a lot of drive. It also showed that having a mate and reproducing was very important to them.
Secondly, it was very impressive how they took care of the egg once it was produced. They practiced the passing of the egg and the father actually takes care of it for the first 4 months. Typically, I think of the female always being the primary caretaker of the offspring, so that was surprising to me.
The fact the fathers go for so long without food or shelter was very fascinating. They have to really care about their offspring surving to go through all of the horrific weather and no food. The mothers also show a lot of drive by the traveling very far in order to get food for their soon to be hatched offspring and the males. They risk their lives on the long journey, as well as actually catching fish in the water, because they are prey for other animals.
Overall, I think the movie showed that humans aren't the only ones out there that care about their offspring and their genes being passed on and that will do unthinkable things to make sure they survive. The movie showed that the empire penguins have incredible drive, ambition, and motivation to do what it takes to stay alive and protect and care for their offspring and each other.
As I was watching this movie I couldn't help but also think "how are there any penguins left", I was completely thinking the same thing as nilliejones. With so many being lost each time they make this journey I am not sure how they are still a current living species.
I too had also only seen the movie Happy Feet, and I very much enjoyed that film, but not until watching this movie did I actually realize what the penguins truly go through to survive while protecting their offspring. The determination, motivation and emotion they have invested is amazing. They truly do only live to full fill the basic physiological needs of thirst, hunger and sex. With the time they spend doing that there is very little time left for anything else. When you look at their food deprivation and you look back that the behavioral action process it is crazy to think that they hold out so long for food, they place the life of their child, which is the passing on of their genes as well as their mates genes, above their own personal need. They let their need get so intensified and hold out before their motivated behavior of walking back to sea begins and the consummatory behavior begins.
Overall I greatly enjoyed this movie, and am slightly disappointed that I waited so long to see it, and that it was because I was required to for class.
I thought this movie was really enjoyable to watch, but very sad. It was a lot like Happy Feet about Penguins and their struggle to survivea and raise their young as well. I also thought this movie was a very good movie to show how motivation can drive us, in this movie the motivational drive is for survival. It is a lot like Darwin's survival of the fittest. This movie actually taught me a lot about how hard Penguins and other species have to work and struggle in order to just survive. But, unlike some other animals both the mother and father play a huge role in the survival of their young. Without this motivational drive to survive, the penguin species would not survive. I never knew that Penguins had to travel that far in order to get food for their young and that the father penguins go so long without food and watching their young just so they have a chance of living. It really shows the sense of determination and motivation these animals possess and what they must struggle through every year just to continue their species.
Although I thought that this movie was amazing, I was not as surprised or astounded with what the penguins go through in their life as other people seem to be. These penguins have been around for hundreds of years and have adapted to their climate. They have learned what to do to survive in the harsh conditions of their environment. It seems that the penguins are almost strictly motivated by their need to procreate and to help their offspring survive. Nine months, out of twelve, are spent dealing with breeding.
There is the philosophical question of whether or not animals have thoughts and feelings behind this movie. Are the penguins driven by pure biological needs, or are there thoughts involved? In my personal opinion, I think it is only biological. Every year the penguins go to the breeding ground once they are old enough to reproduce. There is never a penguin who decides to stay behind, near the food (although it might be impossible for them to survive alone during winter without the warmth of the others). I am not saying that animals do not feel, the movie showed a mother penguin crying after she found the chick dead, but is she crying because she loved the chick or because she did not succeed in passing on her genes? After the chicks become old enough, both parents leave; even the parents separate when summer comes. That, to me, does not show a strong bond between parent and child. Because the bond severs so easily, I think that the penguins are purely motivated by biology.
The incredible March of the Penguins displays many things that we as humans cannot even begin to fathom such as the harshest terrain in the world, isolation in the wilderness, starvation, sacrifice and the possibility of abandoning one's newborn for self-survival. I found it very interesting that the father's would have endured so much and yet if necessary they would abandon their newborn to make the trek back to the sea for food for themselves. It seems as if the survival instincts are born into them and honed from birth. The penguins huddle together to stay warm and take turns in the inner and outer rings during the winter storms defying their natural inclinations of aggression and uniting as community to survive, knowing that it cannot be accomplished alone. The commitment to the continuation of the species is astounding to me and yet the children are separated to form their own community. Once the young penguins have learned enough and are strong enough they are on their own. It is understandable that we do not comprehend the separation of parent and child, it is not part of our culture but it is part of theirs. The movie shows us that the needs and drives of a species can vary greatly from our own and how the environment shapes how we act on those drives. Yet, their are always similarities within the animal kingdom. The need to survive (self and species), sex, affiliation, male to female ratio problems, mating rituals, preening, sports and play. Penguins participated in activities that humans do they just do them a little bit differently.
I was surprised when I started watching this documentary. I hadn't really heard too much about what this was so I was expecting something more along the lines of a pixar animation. I thought the filming shots were amazing, and it would be absolutely breathtaking to see that first hand.
Throughout the movie the obvious question that kept coming up in my mind was WHY? Why would they travel that far to maybe produce offspring. Why would they go that long with out eating, and so on? This all seems impractical and definitely not worth the battle. But then again on the flip side, should you survive the treks, the more brutle winters, the possible freezing and death of your "penguin baby" and have this wonderful reward of an adorable little baby that the mom and dad share, for a while anyway.
It is difficult for me to understand why penguins go through all of this just for their offspring for the obvious reason that I am not a penguin also because I have not had children of my own. It makes me reflect on what my parents have been through with me and I wonder how that would compare to surviving the harsh winter storms.
At times I felt that the penguins displayed a genuine emotional connection with their partner and their baby. But I don't think that emotion is the driving force that gets the mom to the ocean for food and back again to feed their young. Except for the neck nuzzles at the beginning there was no affection or true attachment. That makes me think that reproduction for penguins is solely for surviving purposes. If their species wants to continue life on this Earth they must fight to stay alive. I do not know too much about biology and how all animals really reproduce and raise their young, so I am not one to generalize but I do have a question. Are we the only mammals that have such an attachment to our mates and especially to our children?
Before I watched the film I glanced at the only wall post on the website. It said that it was depressing and whoever watched it cried so much throughout the movie. I also watched it with my boyfriend and after ward I was a little upset, but he reminded me, "that's life, dear". And it is. We are on this Earth for a reason and those penguins hang out in the ocean until they are beckoned to go find a mate and reproduce. But even thought that is true, sometimes you just can't help but to tear up at the sight of a frozen penguin baby, or dying mates. I try to relate it to myself and try to put the way I am into the shoes of the penguins.
All in all I really enjoyed the film, the fluffy penguin babies were so cute, and their penguin journey is something to be amazed by.
I was kind of expecting what I saw from The March of the Penguins. And sadly I knew about the Emperor Penguins life because of the movie Happy Feet :) I thought this was a really well done documentary on the Emperor Penguins and their incredibily stessful life. There were so many things going on for the penguins-- survival (for themselves and their egg/baby penguin), and to fulfil their desire to reproduce. I thought some of the parts were sad because the documentary showed some penguins that didn't make it. It was very inspiring though, to know animals have this kind of drive within them to call this their life! Something I really didnt like was the end. I understand this is their way of life, but they just LEAVE the baby peguins? And the narrator went on to say they'd most likely never see their mother or father again. I was wanting to see something more along the lines of Happy Feet (and they live happily ever after in a cute little penguin family). I understand that's how nature works, but it was still sad :(
For some reason this didn't post earlier, I revised it a little bit.
The emperor penguin’s march is something that can only be described as amazing. The lengths that these animals go to reproduce are treacherous and time consuming. Many people do not grasp the extreme nature of the dying, fighting, and survival aspects of the penguin’s life; it can be rather overwhelming for someone who does not know much about them. The movie did a great job of documenting the processes and keeping it entertaining. I personally went into this movie knowing nothing about it or penguins other than they lived in Antarctica and that Morgan Freeman was the narrator. This left me in the dark about how it would relate to motivation and emotion, but after viewing the movie, I was left with a new appreciation for the animal and plenty to talk about in my analysis including: needs and how the order of needs is effected if one is heavily neglected, extreme behavior, instincts, and biological survival aspects.
The most intriguing aspect of the movie to me was that the penguins almost seemed to feel emotion. Most evident when a penguin would lose her baby, body language, spoken language(well kind of), and attempts to take another mother's penguin all point to the fact that penguins could actually feel sad about their young. Though through class discussion it was deduced that it was more of a positive and negative continuum rather than actual emotions.
I had two gut reactions to this film. The first was how sad parts of this film were. When a penguin, especially a baby, didn't make it, I cried. I know this happens, survival of the fittest, circle of life, whatever, that doesn't mean I have to like it. My second reaction was utter awe. This penguins travel amazing lengths just to keep their babies alive. I was in shock at how far they travel and how long they go without food. To go over 70 miles, get food, and come back another 70 miles, just to feed your baby, or to go 125 days without food while you wait for your partner to return to care for your baby. That's amazing. The ideas from the chapter that stood out most for me were physiological needs. While far from human standards, these penguins still have a need for hunger that drives them extreme distances through harsh conditions. They satisfy thirst by eating snow. They also have a need for sex, but only for procreation. Another topic is that of instinct. The penguins do many things that they just seem to know how to do, such as knowing the breeding location, or knowing the "dance" to switch the egg from mother to father. If they fail, they or their chick often die. Lastly, I was amazed by the level of emotion we see in these penguins. The mothers who lose children are so distraught that they actually seem to cry out.