tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010409378436372090.post1348327984348668948..comments2024-03-24T05:22:46.517-04:00Comments on Musings of a Biologist and Dog Lover: Historical Breed Accuracy in FilmStephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08840844954903338887noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010409378436372090.post-79858553630784851952018-10-24T11:55:06.157-04:002018-10-24T11:55:06.157-04:00It wouldn't have been too hard to find a moder...It wouldn't have been too hard to find a modern afghan with bare pasterns and sparse coat, we keep getting the odd throwbacks to the original, some love them but others prefer the full coat. However there are plenty about so it would have been possible to be fully correct in the film.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03964151510073912842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010409378436372090.post-13870925577398837822012-04-20T02:12:40.043-04:002012-04-20T02:12:40.043-04:00I do very much see your point, especially concerni...I do very much see your point, especially concerning how actors may not age exceptionally well. During this viewing of <i>Titanic</i> I couldn't help but get major vibes from the 1990's due to the haircuts on quite a number of actors, including Leo, during the flashback moments. The "modern day" segments were, of course, far worse! <br /><br />It still bothers me a bit, and even worse because Jess confirmed to me in another comment that it's astronomically unlikely that an Afghan was ever anywhere close to being on the HMS Titanic. So, now the wrongness of the breed being used in the film at all is bothering me.Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08840844954903338887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010409378436372090.post-87090329060540471482012-04-20T02:01:48.827-04:002012-04-20T02:01:48.827-04:00Indeed, the Pekes bother me too! I watched The Las...Indeed, the Pekes bother me too! I watched <i>The Last Emperor</i> recently and, though they weren't as bad as they could have been, the Pekes made me a bit upset. <br /><br />Today I actually watched the first episode of <i>Downton Abbey</i> and all I could think when I saw the <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qH-gnwplkX4/Tzq3BBa42yI/AAAAAAAAG5Q/gN_hcDKsHHA/s1600/Roly.jpg" rel="nofollow">pale, pale yellow Lab</a> was "that dog's the wrong color..."Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08840844954903338887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010409378436372090.post-87828353941510551272012-04-20T01:53:56.582-04:002012-04-20T01:53:56.582-04:00Jess, I thought about mentioning that, but I wasn&...Jess, I thought about mentioning that, but I wasn't sure of my dates beyond when the first Afghans made it to the US so I thought I would stick to appearance. <br /><br />As for a sighthound that would be appropriate, there is always <a href="http://www.williammurdoch.net/images/articles_09_Rigel_12.jpg" rel="nofollow">this photograph</a> of the captain with a "wolfhound" named Ben, his <a href="http://www.petside.com/article/dogs-lost-sea-facts-or-titanic-tales" rel="nofollow">own dog.</a> But that dog was taken off the ship before the Titanic set sail. From what I've gathered, there were several other breeds that were definitely included in the minimum twelve dogs that were on the ship, including a <a href="http://www.mnn.com/sites/default/files/dogs_of_titanic.jpg" rel="nofollow">great Dane, bulldog, fox terrier</a>, Airedale terrier, French bulldog, Pekingese, chow chow, toy poodle, King Charles spaniel, two Pomeranians, and <a href="http://www.bluechannel24.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Show-Dogs-On-The-Titanic-April-10-19121.jpg" rel="nofollow">possibly others</a>. There were actually three canine survivors: <a href="http://www.petside.com/article/dogs-lost-sea-facts-or-titanic-tales" rel="nofollow">the two Poms and the Peke.</a> If they just wanted a large dog, a Dane would have worked perfectly well.Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08840844954903338887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010409378436372090.post-56407144992946279582012-04-14T20:01:11.669-04:002012-04-14T20:01:11.669-04:00A Borzoi would have probably been a better choice....A Borzoi would have probably been a better choice.Paihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14108169893140762249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010409378436372090.post-72095408439886428462012-04-13T21:38:18.403-04:002012-04-13T21:38:18.403-04:00Not only is the Afghan wrong in regards to the coa...Not only is the Afghan wrong in regards to the coat, it's highly unlikely there was an Afghan on the Titanic. At that time, there were very, very few Afghans in the UK; Zardin was imported from India in 1907 and he was quite the sensation. An Afghan on the Titanic would have made the papers, as Zardin himself made the papers, even in the US. (Zardin and his kennel mates died of a 'mysterious disease,' and do not figure in modern pedigrees. It wasn't until 1921 that the dogs that were the progenitors of the modern Afghan made it to Scotland.)<br /><br />The first Salukis didn't hit the US until 1913, so that wouldn't have worked, either.Jesshttp://www.desertwindhounds.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010409378436372090.post-23403094698744283602012-04-13T21:13:17.722-04:002012-04-13T21:13:17.722-04:00I see what you're saying. It's a very inte...I see what you're saying. It's a very interesting point that only a dog lover with a keen and critical eye for physical details would make. ;) I guess it doesn't bother me so much because I don't see films as historical documentation, but as an archive of affect. That is, the animals included are chosen for a reason, and they're meant to register a kind of aesthetic or emotional effect on their *contemporary* audiences. Living, moving objects register quite differently than costuming and material objects. There's still a limit to how much you can manipulate animated actors (yes, despite the promises of CGI technology).<br /><br />Sure, Cameron may have a reputation for historical accuracy, but that reputation is very much thanks to his publicity machine. The "beautiful" actors and actresses that populate his films wouldn't necessarily have fit in back then, either.<br /><br />Fifty years from now, I'm much more likely to look back on <i>Titanic</i> as a record of what an Afghan Hound looks like at the time the film was produced, not what an Afghan Hound looked like in 1912. Same with the actors and actresses -- Leo and Kate have a star persona that resonates with the aesthetic sensibilities of the present, but there is no guarantee that their beauty is timeless and universal, even if their screen coupling has already endured a mere 15 years so far.M.C.http://shibasenji.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010409378436372090.post-78373504919931109822012-04-13T15:17:56.276-04:002012-04-13T15:17:56.276-04:00This is a pet peeve of mine as well! So many movie...This is a pet peeve of mine as well! So many movies just don't care about historical accuracy of dog breeds, even when they are so painstaking at replicating every other aspect of the era.<br /><br />Another irk is when they show modern-style Pekingese in the palace of the Empress of China. =PPaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14108169893140762249noreply@blogger.com