It’s not just that they’re wildly popular and can be addictive. It’s because nature documentaries have at least as much artifice as any studio-produced adult video and maybe more. (“Are these seabirds supposed to be majestic or comical as they enact their mating dance? The music tells us. Whom are we to root for in this interaction of predator and prey? Listen for the menacing strings.”) Emma Maris argues that “the solution to the way [nature docs] might warp our expectations is the same as it is for porn — not to ban them, but to diversify them.” – The Atlantic
