- “The presentation contains some imagery that may disturb some younger
audiences. Viewer discretion is advised
- […..]
1.) Any and all content goes to their original owners that are used in the film.
All credit goes to their original owners
3.) …..therefore we are not going to torture our viewers/audience with sad or
depressing animals in caged kennels; with “In the Arms of an Angel” by
Sarah McLachlan in the background.
5.) Lastly, [*insert a short pause*] - Thank you for coming and Enjoy the
Show.
- ( who we probably left at home to see this film (...maybe on their way to the Alamo
Drafthouse here)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- When we think about dogs, we would more often picture one of the own dogs, or
someone walking their dog, or a silly video of a dog on the internet…
- [insert an image of each dog breed that corresponds to the dog’s breed name]
- And as of June 2018, between The American Kennel Club, The Kennel Club, and the
Fédération Cynologique Internationale c ounted there to be “204” to “344” different “dog
breeds” (Breeding 2018).
- Tonight, we are going to take a look at a breed that is mistaken for a small, yet ingrained
profile in the majority of the population: The Pitbull…
- [show a couple pictures of Pitbulls]
- [insert a few images of pit bulls with these characteristics upon reading them.]
- And they are also well-known for being bred for fighting and protection; showing both
aggression and hostility amongst people and dogs alike.
- [show some snippets of some articles from various newscasts of the relevant
content listed above]
- ”
Then it hit us: “What is a Pitbull, really?
- Yes, it is a completely silly question to bring up, they are simply a dog breed. But this
very question brings quite a different answer: it is that they are not a breed.
- [cuts to black => *end of the prologue: enter Part 1 - “Wait, what?” -
- As weird and a bit controversial as it may seem, **there is no such thing as a purebred
Pitbull**. Pitbulls are a “type of breed”, {optional dialogue = And yes the introduction
purposely mentioned Pitbull’s as a breed, it was indeed intentional}
- [**overlap a black transparent filter to the background graphics and the text in
{**_**} is displayed in white text ~ the words will sync with the narrator's voice in
the background]
- (3/3)[insert the image, name, and scientific classification of each of the four
breeds as the narrator announces them in the background.]
- Even as far back as 2012, news articles programs from the Today Show, Smithsonian
Chronicle, The Cut, and Animal Planet, have been telling their audience that the
purebred pitbull is non-existent…
- We were a little curious and asked our fellow Austin-ites on this very question near
downtown:
- After which, we asked where they heard or read their reasoning if any:
- “And...we don’t want to sound argumentative...but where have you heard of that
[of your answer]”
- “What do you think of pit bulls, or in this case, pit bull types?”
- ***insert audio of several responses below***
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*****WARNING: The Script Below Contains TWO different pathways that depend on what the
interviewees have respond…. The following formats/pathways are Divided by Script A: “Pitbulls
are bad” and Script B: “Pitbulls are just like any dog”. Depending what we receive, please
choose the pathway that corresponds to what follows:*****
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Script A Route:
- Now we don’t want to say that these participants don’t have a point or an
argument...again we were very appreciated for spending their own time in giving their
opinion on the issue. As well to balance out the sum who are either pro or against Pitbull
types.
- ** “Had Pitbulls types always had this dilemma? And Secondly, if their not pit
bulls, then how did they begin?” **
-----------------(End of Script A Route = transition to “Part II: The Creation of the Pitbull”)-------------
Script B Route:
- Now we were somewhat surprised and expecting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Now the question we’re all wondering, “how did it all begin and where did such an outcry
have came about?” Well, let’s go way back to the latest record that started it all -- as far
as the early 1800s in the rural areas of England.
- Poorer English farmers and livestock holders owned work dogs to guard, herd, or simply
kept as family pets (but pretty rarely the case). These were either an Old English Bulldog
[Canis lupus familiaris] or an Old White Terrier [Canis lupus familiaris].
**(both of which had gone extinct before the end of the 20th century, but no specific date)**
- However, they were also used in an early bloodsport known as “bull baiting”, an
extremely cruel game that started popping up amongst poorer areas. The ‘game’
involved an aggregated bull that is “tethered” to an “iron” stake, while and terriers dogs
are released to “harass and attack” the bull; until the bull is “pinned” down and/or killed.
In some cases, people would place bets on which dog can bite down and hold on to the
bull’s nose the longest before they were flung into the air.
- In the perspective of the farmers, despite how cruel and inhumane their participation in
such a sport, bull-baiting was their only form of entertainment during the time period. The
British parliament had implemented the Corn Laws in 1815, which put high tariffs on to
keep high prices on imported foods and grain to make domestic products more
affordable. These laws, however, did the complete opposite to the public; prices kept
rising for food, housing, and overall domestic necessities that had otherwise been
affordable prior. But they were extremely harsh on farmers, as they were unable to
combat or change their prices to make their goods affordable. With nothing else to lose,
bull baiting was seen as a “source of relief among the struggling class” (Love-a-Bull).
- Nevertheless, bull baiting acknowledgment began spreading across the British Isles until
eventually caught the English Parliament’s attention. to remove such an inhumane
activity and enacted the first law against animal cruelty under the Cruelty to Animals Act
of 1835 (Love-a-bull). The new act prohibits the baiting of bulls and bears