Educational Media Reviews Online

"Violence is never the answer." -- Monty Roberts

The elegant, elaborate, and subtle signals that animals use to communicate vast amounts of information use all the senses, only some of which are developed in humans. Body language, gestures, sound, color, and chemicals (including hormones) were in use long before humans developed their complex verbal language of words and sentences, and humans still share many common behavioral traits with other animals.

Using human language, the film Look Who's Talking defines how animals communicate which in turn tells us a lot about human evolution. Examples of various forms of communication are shown using the body posture and song of the Red-Winged Blackbird, the chemical signals of ants, the body language, vocalizations and pack behavior of wolves, and the complex dance of honeybees. Learning how to communicate is critical for survival and reproduction and is the most important component in the socialization of any individual.

It makes sense, then, that learning the other species' language is the most effective means to communicating with that species. The techniques of Monty Roberts, famous for his intuitive work with horses, and Professor of Animal Behavior Temple Granden's work with domestic livestock are used to illustrate this point.

Both Mr. Roberts and Ms. Granden have "deficiencies" according to human reckoning; Mr. Roberts is color blind, and Ms. Granden is autistic. These conditions are thought to have been instrumental in allowing each to more acutely perceive what most humans miss: the subtle "language of the herd." When Monty Roberts trains a horse, he uses the body language of the dominant mare to literally drive the horse away and then bring it back to the safety of the herd. Temple Granden perceives a cow's world as the cow would see it, crouching down and running through stockyard chutes with an eye toward designing more humane handling systems.

Like many of the other Nature of Things series, the topic is introduced, brief examples are given, and in-depth cases are further highlighted. The level is somewhat elementary but informative. The interviews with Monty Roberts and Temple Granden are well done, but are scattered throughout the film and so lack full cohesion. Despite this, one of the most moving segments of Look Who's Talking is actual footage of one of Mr. Roberts' tour stops where we watch him actually bond with and tame a horse that has never been ridden. The footage is partially slow-motion with close-ups of the horse along with overlayed commentary describing the specific subtle signs of acceptance and acquiescence that the horse displays in response to Mr. Roberts' actions.

Finally, Ms. Granden briefly discusses exactly how her autism allows her to perceive the world much as cattle do; and Mr. Roberts extends his beliefs to human relationships, noting that negotiation and communication, rather than violence, are the only answer to successful and peaceful survival.

Highly recommended for K-12 collections. Recommended for college and university collections.

For additional sources on this topic, the Nebraska Behavioral Biology Group maintains a useful page of animal behavior links. For specific additional sources, visit Monty Roberts official Web site. Smithsonian Magazine, issue 98, May 1998, offers informative links to other horse trainers using a similar approach including Buck Brannaman, who was the basis for the character Tom Booker, the central figure in Nicholas Evans' best-selling novel The Horse Whisperer. There is little on the Internet under humane handling of domestic livestock, but there are two papers written by Temple Granden in 1996 on her experience of sensory and tactile stimulation that may provide insight into autism and the relationship of the condition to communication and perception. Finally, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute has a good set of links on the senses at Seeing, Hearing, and Smelling the World.