S & A 14,4_colophon 10/24/06 8:46 PM Page i Articles JOHN J. FRASER, DIANA REISS, PAUL BOYLE, KATHERINE LEMCKE, JESSICA SICKLER, ELIZABETH ELLIOTT, BARBARA NEWMAN, AND SARAH GRUBER, Dolphins in Popular Literature and Media .......................................................................................... 321 volume 14 JESSICA SICKLER, JOHN FRASER, THOMAS WEBLER, DIANA REISS, no 4 - 2006 volume 14 PAUL BOYLE, HEIDI LYN, KATHERINE LEMCKE, AND SARAH no 4 - 2006 GRUBER, Social Narratives Surrounding Dolphins: Q Method Study ...................................................................... 351 HAROLD HERZOG, Forty-two Thousand and One Dalmatians: Fads, Social Contagion, and Dog Breed Popularity .......... 383 Animal Issues ISSN 1063-1119 vol 14 no 4 - 2006 (print version) PETE PORTER, Engaging the Animal in the Moving Image ...... 399 ISSN 1568-5306 MARIE LATHERS, Toward an Excremental Posthumanism: (on-line version) Primatology, Women, and Waste .......................................... 417 Review JONATHAN BURT, Conference ‘Tiere im Film, eine Menschheitsgeschichte’, Köln, July 2006; Cynthia Chris. Watching Wildlife ........................................................................ 437 Books Received .............................................................................. 445 Brill Leiden . Boston S & A 14,4_colophon 10/24/06 8:46 PM Page ii SOCIETY AND ANIMALS Abstracting & Indexing Journal of Human-Animal Studies Society & Animals is abstracted/indexed in: Current Contents, Social Science Citation Index, Sociological Abstracts, PsycINFO, Psychological Abstracts, AGRICOLA, BIOETHICSLINE, and Aims & Scope Focus on Veterinary Science and Medicine. Society & Animals publishes studies that describe and analyze our experience of non human animals. 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Visit our web site at www.brill.nl S & A 14,4_f2_321-349 10/24/06 8:43 PM Page 321 John Fraser,1 Diana Reiss, Paul Boyle, Katherine Lemcke, Jessica Sickler, Elizabeth Elliott, Barbara Newman, and Sarah Gruber Dolphins in Popular Literature and Media ABSTRACT This review of how dolphins are portrayed in popular media (including literature, film, television, and music) reveals four themes that may influence public acceptance of current scientific research into dolphin cognition. These themes are: (a) dolphin as peer to humans, of equal intelligence or at least capable of communicating with or helping humans; (b) the dolphin as the representation of a romantic notion of ideal freedom in nature, embodying principles of peace, harmony or love; (c) the dolphin as a naïve, innocent being that is subordinate and in need of human protection; and (d) the dolphin as superior to humans, potentially affiliating with a higher power or intelligence.This review revealed that the use of dolphins in humor reinforced or lam- pooned the four identified themes, indicating a common accep- tance of these themes.The paper concludes with a discussion of the importance of considering popular narratives in the presen- tation of scientific research results. Many modern aquariums are striving to discover more effective methods to inform and educate their visitors about the lives of the marine mammals in their facilities. Dolphins, in particular, are a species with a high degree of public familiarity and desir- ability as a display animal. Aquariums have used Society & Animals 14:4 (2006) © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2006 S & A 14,4_f2_321-349 10/24/06 8:43 PM Page 322 these popular animals in public performances to expand the appeal of their public programs and to promote their conservation missions. Though dolphin shows are popular with the public, actual research into public conceptions of dolphins’ lives and the impact of these aquarium performances on that public discourse have not been the subject of empirical study. Furthermore, the pervasiveness of fictional portrayals of dolphins in popu- lar culture could make it difficult for the general public to distinguish fact from fiction and may pose a barrier for science learning. This review, as part of a 3-year study on the social understanding of dolphin cognition, sought to redress this research deficit by characterizing the themes used to portray dolphins in popular media. The research was intended to aid dolphin researchers and exhibit designers in the framing of their scientific presenta- tions within the public discourse. Background This research was motivated by public reaction to scientific findings from a research project at the New York Aquarium that unequivocally demonstrated the self-awareness and complex cognitive capacities of dolphins previously known only to exist in humans and great apes (Reiss & Marino, 2001). The wide-scale media coverage of the story and