Abstract
Silent Hunter, a 1986 South Africa wildlife documentary directed by Duncan McLachlan and featuring John Varty and Elmon Mhlongo, caused controversy because of ways in which it broke the rules of blue-chip wildlife documentaries. The new possibilities it explored appealed to producers looking for new formats for wildlife television, in particular to Discovery Channel that had started in 1985 in the United States of America. This film was thus a major influence in the move from blue-chip to presenter- driven wildlife documentary. The film also rebelled against many of the restrictions of blue-chip documentaries. With reference to actor-network-theory, this article presents some thoughts on why Silent Hunter is worth considering not only as aesthetic but also as moral critique of wildlife film production.
Highlights
Most academic analyses of the shifts in wildlife documentary over the past half century are based on North American and British trends and consumers and note major shifts: from high production value “blue-chip” documentaries to producer-driven digitally produced content and computer-generated graphics; from wildlife documentaries as part of general television offerings to the growth of specialists channels (Chris 2006; Bousé 2000; Mitman 1999; Cottle 2004; Scott 2003)
This article argues that a maverick South African production, Silent Hunter, was influential in changing the rules of wildlife engagement
This article, through interviews with major protagonists involved in the production, argues that entertainment media such as the Discovery Channel took this as one model for productions for the () new channel and that their success encouraged other traditional channels to follow
Summary
Most academic analyses of the shifts in wildlife documentary over the past half century are based on North American and British trends and consumers and note major shifts: from high production value “blue-chip” documentaries to producer-driven digitally produced content and computer-generated graphics; from wildlife documentaries as part of general television offerings to the growth of specialists channels (Chris 2006; Bousé 2000; Mitman 1999; Cottle 2004; Scott 2003). In the only monograph on African wildlife documentary makers, on the other hand, Hartley (2010) does not really examine the interplay between international and African markets and trends. This article argues that a maverick South African production, Silent Hunter, was influential in changing the rules of wildlife engagement. This article, through interviews with major protagonists involved in the production, argues that entertainment media such as the Discovery Channel took this as one model for productions for the () new channel and that their success encouraged other traditional channels to follow
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