Street Monkeys
matrushkaka and I have really been enjoying Street Monkeys, which is basically "Real Housewives", without the housewives, with South African vervet monkeys. A tribe of vervets lives in the forested park area of a posh gated community in South Africa, interacting with various human, monkey, and nonprimate locals. The Pani Troop are the protagonists, whose turf is threatened by incursion from the rival Sugar Cane Gang outside the wall. The show follows the tribe as they gain and lose territory and family members, trying to survive in the unforgiving natural world.
Superficially the show is fun. Monkeys are funny and they will steal your pants rob your house. If you enjoy watching monkeys playing, fighting, and overdosing on drugs you will enjoy this show. The 1080p video is beautifully photographed and looks great if you've just purchased an absurdly large TV. Did I mention that the show is narrated by Dee Snyder from Twisted Sister? That too.
Less superficially the show is real in a way that few other "reality" shows are. The characters can't be coached or scripted - they are monkeys. Their actions on screen have serious and immediate consequences. In any episode, any of the characters can (and some do) die. Shit is on the line. When's the last time you saw a reality TV show where the entire cast could suddenly be eaten alive by owls? In what reality TV show wouldn't that be a massive improvement?
Even deeper the show is a lesson in the evolution of organizational behavior. In one direction it's easy to see how natural selection pressured the vervets' individual and group behavior to evolve into what we see today, a combination of individual genes trying to get ahead and groups of genes protecting each other for group prosperity and survival. In the other direction it's easy to see human interaction as a not-that-different manifestation of these basic patterns. Alphas with responsibility for the tribe trying to keep people working for it rather than against it. Walking the line between defending the group from hostile outsiders and accepting the alliance of friendly newcomers. Anger at unfairness, rewarding good social behavior, the tension between individual impulse and deference to elders and community standards. I challenge anyone to watch a few episodes and not start seeing Street Monkey behavior in everyone around them.
Superficially the show is fun. Monkeys are funny and they will steal your pants rob your house. If you enjoy watching monkeys playing, fighting, and overdosing on drugs you will enjoy this show. The 1080p video is beautifully photographed and looks great if you've just purchased an absurdly large TV. Did I mention that the show is narrated by Dee Snyder from Twisted Sister? That too.
Less superficially the show is real in a way that few other "reality" shows are. The characters can't be coached or scripted - they are monkeys. Their actions on screen have serious and immediate consequences. In any episode, any of the characters can (and some do) die. Shit is on the line. When's the last time you saw a reality TV show where the entire cast could suddenly be eaten alive by owls? In what reality TV show wouldn't that be a massive improvement?
Even deeper the show is a lesson in the evolution of organizational behavior. In one direction it's easy to see how natural selection pressured the vervets' individual and group behavior to evolve into what we see today, a combination of individual genes trying to get ahead and groups of genes protecting each other for group prosperity and survival. In the other direction it's easy to see human interaction as a not-that-different manifestation of these basic patterns. Alphas with responsibility for the tribe trying to keep people working for it rather than against it. Walking the line between defending the group from hostile outsiders and accepting the alliance of friendly newcomers. Anger at unfairness, rewarding good social behavior, the tension between individual impulse and deference to elders and community standards. I challenge anyone to watch a few episodes and not start seeing Street Monkey behavior in everyone around them.