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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
The Spotted Hyena In Popular Media And The Biopolitical Implications For Conservation Strategy, Annika Hugosson
The Spotted Hyena In Popular Media And The Biopolitical Implications For Conservation Strategy, Annika Hugosson
Animal Studies Journal
The hyena has been depicted as a villain for millennia, with examples spanning from ancient European texts to today’s popular culture. In the past 30 years, especially, catalysed by Disney’s The Lion King, the hyena-as-villain has been cycled throughout various media. By taking a critical animal studies approach to analysing Western media content depicting hyenas, specifically the spotted hyena, I theorize the implications of morally othering hyenas such that they are rendered killable, which relegates them relative to other species-specific conservation concerns. Hyenas are vilified in part through misrepresentations of their actual ecological roles, the biopolitical ramifications of which are …