Underwater Stress

Yesterday, August 23, the GMGs and the three of us went to the Shedd Aquarium, another of Chicago's attractions. But I'm not convinced. The price is way too high, and the whole thing was a bit too hectic and stressful for my taste.

We watched Fantasea, the Shedd's big show, with beluga whales, dolphins, a Californian sea-lion, penguins and a white-tailed falcon. Well, the penguins and the white-tailed falcon made an appearance, but it was hard to understand what the purpose of it was. Total flop, if you want my opinion. The beluga whales were fascinating, and the dolphins were delightful.

I always have mixed feelings about this kind of show because of their exploitative nature, but in the end we succumbed to the "consumer of thrills" that lurks in all of us. The organisers of the show went the extra mile to underline that the animals were not taught to do tricks, but being trained to show their natural behaviour on cue, but the circus element was very present and that always makes me wince. I don't like it.

Moreover, the whole place was full of interactive computer monitors (at children's height) and it was frustrating to see them pay more attention to the fish on screen than the real ones swimming around. Talk about over-stimulation and attention deficit! They should dump those computers in one of the tanks! On second thoughts, poor fish...

We also took part in an "experience". It felt more like an experiment, if you ask me. We went to see a 4-D film called "Happy Feet", about a supposedly cute penguin who loved to tap-dance and in the process changed the world and reconciled humans and beasts... sniff, sniff, bring in the kleenex please! What's a 4-D film? Well, it's one where there's cold wind blown into the room, and snow, and water is sprinkled in your face, and your chair trembles, and you are poked in the back, whenever something similar happens in the film. You may think that it sounds interesting, or fun, but to us it was more like a nightmare. Talk about over-stimulation and attention-deficit! I hope this is not the future of film, because it stinks!

The film also left me and Jarl in a pool of anger, because of its xenophobic undertones; the bad guy was a penguin with a Scottish accent, the fools were the "Amigos", a group of penguins with Spanish accents, the silly guru was an "African-American" penguin, and the hero was the only blue-eyed penguin of the whole of Antarctica, with a cute American accent... too much for us "evil foreigners" to take. The underlying message was sweet, how overfishing by humans is taking the penguins' food, and that there should be a ban on fishing in Antarctica, but this was all lost in the fast-paced, stupidity-induced plot. Give me an old Disney film anytime.

If you want my opinion, don't "shedd your money at the Shedd! Chicago has a lot of other great places to visit, worth your money, your time, and your intelligence.

(L)