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Performance unleashed: multispecies stardom and companion animal media

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Performance unleashed: multispecies stardom and companion animal media

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Content Performance Unleashed: Multispecies Stardom and Companion Animal Media By Kelly Megan Wolf A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (CRITICAL STUDIES) December 2013 Copyright 2013 Kelly Megan Wolf ii Dedication To Lauren, Rosie, Garbo and River, my own wonderful multispecies menagerie. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements iv Chapter One: Introduction to Multispecies Stardom and 1 Companion Animal Media Chapter Two: Canine Soldiers and Dog Operas: 50 The Lineage of Rin-Tin-Tin and Multispecies Branding Chapter Three: Immortalizing the Ideal: Postwar Consumerism 103 and the Televisual Superstardom of Lassie Chapter Four: From Pet Stars to Star’s Pets: 161 The Transitional Multispecies Stardom of Benji Epilogue: Celebrity Memes and Social Petworking: 212 Convergent Companion Animal Media Notes 235 Bibliography 256 iv Acknowledgements I am indebted to an amazing group of talented and patient librarians and archivists who devoted their time and energies: Ned Comstock at the University of Southern California Library of Cinema-Television was integral to my research into MGM and Lassie publicity materials; the staff at the Margaret Herrick Library Special Collections were helpful in my search for any and all materials related to the history of animals in Hollywood; and Kevin Hallaran at the Metropolitan Museum in Riverside California provided me with immeasurably valuable assistance navigating the materials in the Rin Tin Tin Collection. I would like to thank the indispensible team of administrators that have come through the doors of the Division of Critical Studies since I started in the program and without whom I would have been lost: Linda Overholt for being the right blend of den mother and drill sergeant, Kim Greene for her spirited efficiency under pressure, and Jade Agua for her patient sorting out of all of my questions prior to finishing. I would like to also thank my dissertation committee, Akira Lippit, Tara McPherson, and Henry Jenkins for their valuable and thoughtful feedback on my project. I would like to thank my friends, both newfound and well familiar, for their humor and knowing advice. I would like to thank my family for their support and seemingly limitless belief in me. And lastly I would like to thank my partner, Lauren Steimer for her refusal to accept anything less than excellence, her rigorous and invaluably constructive feedback on the project, and the financial and emotional support without which this entire endeavor would not have come to fruition. 1 Chapter One Introduction to Multispecies Stardom and Companion Animal Media In May 2012, a performing duo comprised of a medium sized, mixed breed canine named Pudsey and a seventeen-year-old British girl named Ashleigh were the first ever “dog act” to win Britain’s Got Talent (BGT), one of the United Kingdom’s most popular competition variety programs on television. For each of their three performances on the program, “Ashleigh and Pudsey” would execute a choreographed dance routine that consisted of Pudsey walking and twirling (in both backwards and forwards motion) while balancing on his hind legs, leaping through air, weaving in and around Ashleigh, climbing and balancing on top of her, and all while Ashleigh is herself dancing around Pudsey. 1 After securing the majority of votes from the public for these endearing demonstrations of physical and psychological coordination, “Ashleigh and Pudsey” were clearly the “people’s favourite”. 2 Pudsey has since gone on to become an international celebrity, appearing on numerous talk shows, performing on multiple variety programs, starring in two films, authoring an “autobidography”, and even meeting Queen Elizabeth II as a part of the annual Royal Variety Performance. The sizable award from their BGT victory, over three quarters of a million dollars, combined with the resulting media exposure has afforded Pudsey a star-quality lifestyle with private exercise yards, bodyguards, and an expensive insurance policy. The popularity of Pudsey has inspired a succession of animal themed talent programming as producers and networks have attempted to capitalize on the phenomenon. BGT producer Simon Cowell created a new “dog talent” special that was released December 2012 for Britain’s commercial network ITV while ITV2 debuted its own pet talent series titled Top Dog Model in September 2012. Utilizing their fame to promote responsible pet ownership, Ashleigh and Pudsey also routinely publicize the efforts of animal protection organizations and are the spokespersons for pet healthcare groups like Vets4Pets. 2 Many discounted the possibility that a mode of performance that utilized the dancing antics of an adorable mutt could enable someone to win a talent competition designed for humans, let alone allow that canine to become as large a star as Pudsey has become. This kind of disbelief, however, is often paradoxically followed by a credulity that borders on the emphatic when human viewers are presented with the images of skilled companion animals, a phenomenon that speaks to the popular fascination with a multiplicity of species seen in moving image media and the publicity surrounding particular animal performers. Ashleigh and Pudsey’s history, their current success, and the influence they have had on the British media market has become a compelling example of not only the complex modes of communication and interaction existing between multiple species that this dissertation is invested in but also of the diversity and marketability of media forms that feature companion animals as star performers. Ashleigh and Pudsey engage in an elaborate mode of interspecies interaction that relies on intense forms of highly specific physical training and they translate that form of interaction into a popular performance identity that is then repackaged by producers and sold to audiences. Prior to their appearances on British television, Ashleigh and Pudsey demonstrated their collaborative skill when they won the prestigious Cruft’s Agility Championship in 2010, a feat that required immense stamina, focus, and coordination from both parties. The choreography that Ashleigh develops for Pudsey clearly capitalizes on the athletic precision and vocal cues that he learned from being conditioned for agility and involves some of the standard obstacles of an agility course as well. 3 Their appearances on BGT were also carefully structured to elicit the greatest possible affective interest from both the viewers and live audience members. Pudsey was constructed as both a desirable pet and a talented professional, the living incarnation of appropriate interspecies engagement. Not only were there highly audible affirmations of 3 Pudsey’s charm heard from the judges and live audience before and after their actual audition, but the broadcast itself also included filmed vignettes detailing the work ethic and emotional bond between Ashleigh and Pudsey. As figures of mass entertainment, subcultural petkeeping practices like agility, and practical animal welfare advocacy, Ashleigh and Pudsey demonstrate the discursive and material contexts surrounding the creation and promotion of animal performers in various media contexts. While Ashleigh and Pudsey are certainly a distinct incarnation of contemporary interspecies collaboration, they are but the latest phenomenon within a long and dynamic history of animal performance in moving image media and one that confirms the necessity for investigating the possibilities and specificities of a more inclusive understanding of stardom and the working relations integral to sustaining those modes of performance. This dissertation intends to theorize the phenomenon of what I call “multispecies stardom”, specifically through the figure of the canine performer, by means of tracing developments in the historical trajectory of a new category I call “companion animal media”. I define “companion animal media” as a range of texts, seemingly disparate in content and form, that are unified through a central figure, the domesticated pet. These are texts that range from genres of narrative cinema that employ animals as their protagonists, to nonfiction pet training and animal welfare programs on television, to the online world of the “cybercute”. 4 Commonly thought of as especially effective and affective analogues for humanity, canines have been an omnipresent and malleable feature within not only the history of the companion animal media category but also the larger media landscape. It becomes necessary to route a discussion of multispecies stardom through an examination of companion animal media because this category of production continually features not only the performing bodies of domesticated pets as central agents but also highlights 4 the manner in which the materiality of that performance necessitates interspecies communication and interaction, both onscreen and off. Tracking the influence that industrial and socio-cultural changes have exercised on companion animal media enables this dissertation to investigate not only the possibility of multispecies stardom but also the manner in which the category operates as a trans-industrial mode and the phenomenon of multispecies performance has changed over time and across multiple media platforms. The American culture industry has historically utilized animal imagery and labor to promote a discourse about “viable” conceptions of human-ness, a strategy that can be seen within multiple media forms throughout the twentieth century. The popularization of each new moving image media technology (film, television, cable, new media) encouraged the economic restructuring of the Hollywood industry but also necessitated the reformulation of multispecies star imagery in order to accommodate these socio-economic changes. During the early Studio Era in the United States, particular animal film stars like Rin-Tin-Tin and Lassie were carefully marketed to appeal to specific Depression Era and wartime cultural imaginaries that privileged images of animals as “ideal” members of society, thus enabling the growth of the pet culture industry in post-war America. The deployment of these canine star images were particularly instrumental in constructing standards of obedient behavior and commendable heroism from the 1920s through the 1940s. The new technologies and economic prosperity that characterized post-war American culture facilitated new connections between the role of television within the American domestic sphere in the 1950s, formations of suburban family life, and the sentimentalized, domesticated pet. The emergence and subsequent meteoric rise in the popularity of television during the post- war period in America acted as another catalyst for the reconfiguration of canine stardom. 5 Broadcast networks capitalized on not only the presold star power of multispecies performers but also the rising interest in purebred pet culture in America by engaging child audiences with a host of fictionalized companion animal dramas like Lassie and The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin that exemplified not only the triumph of the normative family dynamic but also the American heroic imaginary. In addition, the routinized schedules, generic formatting, and least offensive programming strategies of television production ensured that previously exceptional animal performers were transformed into more accessible figures within the domestically situated medium. The increased exposure that was provided by the sizable broadcasts intensified the canine star’s popularity and encouraged the development of ancillary marketing schemes that accommodated the public’s desire for branded consumer goods during the post-war period and after. With the emergence of cable and new media technologies in the late 1970s and 1990s, the restructuring of the Hollywood studio system and the decline of Broadcast network profitability, the prominence of individual companion animal stars began to wane as more affordably produced reality television and user-generated media promoted a new, more quotidian form of multispecies celebrity. The target marketing of cable networks like Animal Planet and NatGeo Wild demands a continuous recycling of animal media and the creation of multiple variants of nonfiction pet programming becomes a cost-effective tool for generating ratings and encouraging consumption. The increase in niche websites designed to appeal to consumers of animal imagery and an emergent social media universe now both construct everyday pets into global celebrities. The animal stars that dominated the television landscape of the 1950s through their performances as America’s favorite fictional pets are displaced in favor of the promise of making media of one’s own actual pets and sharing it within various online communities, however, the work these 6 animals are doing now is less about official training than it is about an appeal to “natural” behavior. Thus the consumption of animal performers is complicated by an increased access to the means of production and the human population’s desire to manufacture their own forms of companion animal media. In order to credibly theorize canine stars as companion animals as well as star quality performing bodies, it becomes imperative to also bridge the divides between posthumanist animal studies, star theory, critical pet histories and training philosophies, and studies of media production. One of the major contributions of this dissertation will be to reveal the intricate connections that exist between the critical advancements that have been made in each of these diverse sub-disciplines regarding multispecies inter-subjectivity, labor as performance, and the socio-economic dimensions of interspecies connection both mediated and otherwise. My work intends to build on previous theories of stardom but will also make an intervention by using posthumanist theories to question the anthropocentric models of stardom and performance, as it is often taken for granted that the object of inquiry in film and media studies is human. Multispecies stardom melds the concerns of posthumanist animal studies and star theory to not only expand the categorical definitions of stardom but also enables star analysis to better engage the material dimensions driving production practices, interspecies engagement, and the relationship between stars and actual individuals. This project answers posthumanism’s call for a more substantive commitment to modes of diverse embodiment and materiality in cultural studies work conducted with animals while simultaneously augmenting the subfield by demonstrating that popular pet-centric media and animal performance can be dynamic and significant objects of critical analysis. One of the goals of this project is to highlight the complexities of interspecies relationships that develop as a result of alterations in training 7 protocols, changes in production practices, specific socio-cultural reception contexts, and industrial restructuring. Questioning the manner in which the value and meaning of modes of animal performance and interspecies interaction are determined and the structures of power in play influencing those determinations comprise some of the most important stakes for this project. Conceptualizing multispecies stardom is an endeavor to disarticulate more traditional patterns of thought that dominate both popular and scholastic engagements with stardom and performance, persona and publicity. As there is still a tendency in academia to undervalue multispecies life, capacity, and purpose, this chapter will explain some of the most problematic concerns underpinning the trend, such as anthropocentrism and speciesism, that animal studies has been working to resolve. I will then examine the sub-field of posthumanist theory and the theoretical and scientific strategies that attempt to counteract anthropocentrism through a thorough interrogation of human exceptionalism and productive discussion of the complexities of interspecies interaction and communication. As this dissertation is concerned with how ideological models and industrial policies affect the production practices and modes of multispecies performance found in companion animal media it becomes crucial to assess the degree to which anthropocentric values have determined the nature and purpose of animals in media production. After explaining the critical modalities driving posthumanist theory that are relevant to this dissertation, the chapter will discuss the specificities and ethos of “companion animal media” and “multispecies stardom” as new theoretical categories that thrive as a result of material multispecies intersubjectivity. Following this, the chapter will explain the calculated reasoning behind why canines have been specifically chosen for the case studies of multispecies stardom that will comprise the majority of this project. 8 Questioning Anthropocentrism: Multiplicity, Contingency, Materiality Animal Studies is a vast, complicated, multidisciplinary field of competing concerns and motivations, with virulent debates over issues that span from methodology and purpose to even the possibility of widespread multispecies intelligence. 5 Theorists have recognized the immense challenges that meet any scholar approaching animal studies from an interdisciplinary viewpoint, a task that often requires the, at least perfunctory, knowledge of a multitude of sub-disciplines as far reaching as literature, history, biology, visual culture, legal studies, ethology, philosophy, and media studies. 6 The methodologies, preferred objects of study, and terminologies of these fields all exercise unique influences over their critical engagements with animals. Some disciplines, like ethology and cognitive psychology prioritize a deeper understanding of animals and their physical, intellectual, emotional abilities and needs while other fields like history and the social sciences are more invested in the dynamics of interspecies life and the roles that humans and animals play in relation to each other. Tools like quantitative and statistical analysis, textual interpretation, archival research, critical theorization, observational fieldwork, and medical testing are all distinct attempts at understanding a variety of multispecies concerns and the most effective work often utilizes a combination of tactics. As a dynamic field, Animal Studies often shifts relation to the multiplicity of research goals and intentions of its scholars and complementary disciplines. Arguably one of the more progressive theoretical projects driving this vast field, however, one that will become a crucial aspect of conceptualizing multispecies performance, is a challenging of the unconscious anthropocentrism and exclusionary binaristic thinking that has marked a great deal of work done in the humanities and other disciplines connected to animal studies. Matthew Calarco argues that 9 “the genuine critical target of progressive thought and politics today should be anthropocentrism as such, for it is always one version or another of the human that falsely occupies the space of the universal and that functions to exclude what is considered non-human”. 7 In naturalizing the human being as the central moral agent of our collective social universe, anthropocentrism enables the construction of a speciesist evaluative criteria that simultaneously elevates humans and places them in contradistinction to nonhumans. The term “speciesism” was coined in 1970 by psychologist Richard Ryder and refers to the drawing of sharp moral distinctions between humans and other animals, a concept that has informed much of the canonical animal rights philosophies. 8 In 1975 Peter Singer defined speciesism as a biased attitude that encourages one to favor the interests of their own species over and above those of another species and plainly states that the majority of human beings engage in some form of speciesist thinking. 9 Tom Regan has defined the term as disproportionately favoring the interests of humans and awarding them a privileged moral status over all others, simply by virtue of their species. 10 Adopting a forceful approach, Joan Dunayer argues that these definitions are inadequate for the ways in which they limit the discussion of what constitutes bias and privilege by focusing too narrowly on species membership and almost exclusively on the role of humans. She supports the viewpoint of Paola Cavalieri that speciesism can be thought of as “any form of discrimination based on species” and contends that the practice includes any actions favoring any human or nonhuman for any number of reasons. Refusing to acquiesce to what she considers the problematic rationalizations of a majority of previous work done on animal rights and welfare, Dunayer flatly denounces human privilege as a negligent inability to treat nonhumans equally in terms of respect. 11 In comparing speciesism to other 10 forms of bigotry like racism and sexism, Dunyaer is making a strong oppositional statement against a system of entitlement that exerts social, legal and political power. This informal placement of the human at the center of all ethico-political consideration fuels what Cary Wolfe calls the “discourse of species” that has historically facilitated the exclusion of animals from critical inquiry within the humanities and institutionalized the elevation of the human over and against all others. 12 A contributing agent in the formation of the “institution of speciesism”, this discursive tendency to articulate difference, and often superiority, according to perceived species distinctions has become a naturalized feature of both critical and common sense explanations of Western identity. The reproduction of this trend within the humanities allows not only for a kind of disciplinary oversight but also legitimates practices of othering that can lead to problematic and devastating consequences. As viable human subjectivity often relies on the disavowal of our animality, this construction of difference affords humans the kind of ethical distance from which to assert material and institutional control over the lives of nonhuman others. The forced separation between human and animal helps fuel a hierarchical system that allows for the valuation of life based on species and those who fall outside the category of “human” are designated as justifiably expendable. The material repercussions of this symbolic organization can be seen in forms of state-sanctioned slavery, genocide and discrimination that rely on processes of dehumanization, the refiguring of people as animals makes their extermination possible. It is precisely for this reason Wolfe argues that the important philosophical projects of fighting the institutionally supported discourse of species and crafting a theory of posthumanist subjectivity have little to do with whether one actually likes animals. The indiscriminate marking of social others of any sort becomes a problem for all living creatures. 13 11 As all of this would suggest, the more progressive varieties of animal studies are as concerned with undoing the speciesist thinking that anthropocentrism encourages as they are with the methodologies employed for achieving such effects. For this reason, my project is especially indebted to the most recent incarnations of poststructuralist and posthumanist theory. These scholars have been working toward a more complex understanding of multispecies subjectivity and cross-species coalition that not only problematizes an entrenched cultural tradition of anthropocentric binaristic thinking but also provides a new methodological space through which all other disciplines, especially cultural studies and media theory, can move through. While posthumanist animal studies is concerned with asserting the primacy of animals as well as with interrogating the manner in which humanistic inquiry regarding animals is conducted, the subfield has had trouble gaining traction due to its somewhat amorphous character and a general scholastic reluctance to abandon “all things human”. 14 The work of Cary Wolfe, arguably one of the subfield’s most prolific and vociferous advocates, provides a kind of coherence and momentum around which future work in animal studies can potentially mobilize. He argues that, while well-intentioned, many of the social and political theories that fuel the work within cultural studies suffer from an inherent and invisible repression of nonhuman subjectivity via a discriminatory framework of thought that privileges the human above all else. 15 Wolfe makes a careful distinction in contending that posthumanism actually avoids promoting any notion of a disembodied “posthuman” subject in favor of critiquing some of the central anthropological principles driving humanism. Engaging Michel Foucault, he draws attention to the fact that humanism, due to its reliance on the dogmatic universals inherited from religion and science to define humanity, was fundamentally at odds with Enlightenment thinking and was never an infallible disciplinary strategy for serious self-criticism. 16 Posthumanism 12 recognizes that the materiality that characterizes the embodied existence of humans is as much biological as it is technological, humanity has never been divorced from what Wolfe calls the “prosthetic coevolution” of humans and various scientific apparatuses such as tools, electronic devices, modes of transportation, and digital technologies. He goes on to state that posthumanism “names a historical moment in which the decentering of the human by its imbrication in technical, medical, informatic, and economic networks is increasingly impossible to ignore, a historical development that points toward the necessity of new theoretical paradigms”. 17 For Wolfe, posthumanism is not about rejecting humanism in its totality, but rather questioning the normative ethical frameworks that invariably create a restrictive definition of humanity that can be used to discriminate against those that fall outside those parameters. Theorists need to reformulate established patterns of thought and adopt different ways of approaching old issues. 18 I take this basic explanation of posthumanism and its request for a reorienting of human primacy as a launching point to critically engage the anthropocentric thinking that has invariably restricted the potential for work on multispecies performance. Augmenting Wolfe’s definition, this chapter constructs a web of theoretical work on animals that, while often eschewing declarative connections to posthumanism, nevertheless participates in the very decentering of humanity that the subfield calls for through the use of three interconnected theoretical registers: multiplicity, contingency, and materiality. The work on animals conducted by scholars like Cary Wolfe, Jacques Derrida, and Donna Haraway embraces a posthumanist methodology that is able to dismantle the exclusionary binary that has been used to separate species by arguing that every subject, humans included, is already a multiplicity of interconnected material practices, situated knowledges, and modes of being. Humans are no longer considered exceptional in their possession of the easily identifiable and essential qualities that have traditionally characterized 13 subjective experience, they become entangled in a complex web where relations between species become sites of diverse multiplicity that are defined by shifting material contexts and interdependency. The arguments made by Wolfe, Derrida, and Haraway are echoed in the scholarly investigations of forms of animal training that rely on complex strategies of interspecies communication. These critical modes of thinking undoubtedly call into question the stability of anthropocentric thinking but also provide a productive way to conceptualize the possibilities driving companion animal media and multispecies stardom. Organizing along these categories allows for an interdisciplinary coalition of concepts about animals that resists the methodological fixations that often ensnare much of the work done on nonhumans and popular media. The interrogation of the fallacy of singular, cohesive subjectivity and identity has characterized a great deal of poststructuralist work, initially producing some crucial interventions but still ultimately struggling to fully realize polymorphous inclusivity. Wolfe has argued that “what was promising in the liberal philosophical tradition for the prospect of thinking the question of the animal was its emptying of the category of the subject, its insistence that subjectivity—and with it freedom—no longer depended on possession of any single identifiable attribute, such as membership in a certain race or gender”. 19 He recognizes that while poststructuralist theory opened up new possibilities for animal subjectivity, the repercussions seemed to force a reversal of what had been gained. In the attempt to denaturalize and remove essentialist markers from definitions of subjectivity, however, the seemingly progressive strategies of liberal philosophy were somewhat problematic in their disavowal of material inequalities and their own structures of privilege. The theoretical tactics that cultural studies and identity politics employed to counteract this issue, while helpful in their recognition of material 14 context, only seemed to re-inscribe the centrality of humanity back into theories of subjectivity and to excise the nonhuman. In order to remedy this, Wolfe argues that theorists need to more seriously engage the embodiment, materiality, and multiplicity of the subject while avoiding the limiting traps of working along the species line. This will allow us to reconceptualize the position of the human as an entity marked precisely, not by its singular cohesion, but by the multiple interconnected webs it has always been an inseparable part of. 20 Wolfe’s advice recognizes not only the well- intentioned nature of post-structuralism but also the means by which these theorists can avoid falling into the very binaristic traps they caution against. It becomes crucial to ground critical theories of subjectivity within a material context, as states of being attain meaning in and through the interplay of shared histories, differential power structures, and forms of knowledge. In questioning not only this institutional placement of the “human” as the categorical marker against which all subjectivity is relationally defined but also the impossibility of such a cohesive structure, the work of Jacques Derrida provides an extensive treatment of the radical potential of multiplicity in rethinking the boundaries between species. In wanting to avoid claiming some kind of homogenous cross-species continuity that would counteract his attention to structures of difference, Derrida argues that there is an actual incontrovertible limit, or rupture, between humans and the beings they have named “animal”. He introduces us to the conceptual framework of “limitrophy” and its potential for interrogating not only the existence of the limits themselves but also what figures, institutions, and/or discourses feed into and reproduce these limits. Rather than comprising a singular line of demarcation, the edges of this “abyssal” rupture between humans and animals become sites of multiplicity and indivisibility, defying easy categorization and identification. Derrida reconceives animal life as a “heterogeneous 15 multiplicity of the living” in which interspecies relations are complex sites that resist easy objectification. It is for this reason that he simultaneously condemns and ridicules the use of “animal” in the singular, any attempt to simplify the complex multiplicity of intertwining existences down to an easily digestible object becomes an “asinanity” at best and a declaration of speciesist thinking at worst. 21 In recognizing that the boundaries separating humans and animals only retain their stability and coherence through the unnatural imposition of human linguistic codes, Derrida is attempting to highlight the manner in which definitions of humanity have always been contingent on animals. There is a cruel irony embedded in the philosophical tradition that disavows the capacity for nonhuman language while simultaneously using that supposed “absence” as the justification for human exceptionalism. Humans have afforded themselves the exclusionary rights to the process of not only naming the entities inhabiting the world around them but also constructing a system of meaning and hierarchy of value that justifies that “right”. 22 He questions whether humans even possess the capacity to understand the potential modes of communicative response offered by other species, stating that we lack the ability to even recognize the diversity of life around us. By creating the neologism “animot” Derrida is not only undoing the linguistic violence perpetrated by humanity’s gross overgeneralization of animals but he is also calling for the reconceptualization of interspecies interaction as more than a set of easily definable oppositions that position humans and animals as mutually exclusive. Derrida goes so far as to state that the suppression of all nonhuman life within an oversimplified category such as “the animal” is an act of willful ignorance that offends the very core of diligent scholarship. 23 16 In remarking that every seemingly singular identity is always a process of “becoming with many”, Donna Haraway, labeled by others as a “high post-humanist”, echoes these claims and recognizes that not only is subjectivity multiplicitous in its construction but also contingent on a host of interconnected things. 24 Through precisely the recognition of the messy entanglements and complex modes of reciprocal interaction that characterize existence, Haraway’s work takes as its task the immense undoing (and redoing) of human exceptionalism, world-building, and multispecies interaction. For Haraway, the subject is always already multiple, a complex figure made up of congealed social histories, ecologies, and technologies, one that is remarkable as much for its immense promise as it is for its ordinariness. In an attempt to truly meld a multiplicity of content and methodologies, Haraway calls for a kind of interdisciplinary cohabitation of critical theory, biology, ethology, animal training, and ethnography while earnestly exploring a diversity of case studies. In her appeal to polymorphous inclusivity and as part of her rigorous engagement with multiple strategies of meaning making, cartoon renderings of lap dogs and photos of redwood stumps that bear a canine resemblance hold as much promise for the traversal of the “Great Divides” constructed between animal and human as do philosophical rhetoric and scientific data. 25 Haraway conceives of “companion species” as a productive mode of being that relies more on a complex web of interspecies co-constitution in which the agents involved come into meaning through their relationship to each other. She refigures the term “species” to account for its divergences in definition and the various contentious historical uses from biological containment and philosophical subject formation to spiritualism and commodification. For Haraway, “species” can longer be used as a marker of exclusion and reductive classification as it is irresponsible to conceive of a category of being that could possibly be singled out while still 17 retaining its coherence. Identity becomes a reservoir of multiple interconnected relationships, both past and present, which rely on the rhythmic interplay of reciprocal looking and embodied communication. Companion species, in their material real world interactions, produce a form of significant otherness in which “partners do not preexist their relating”. 26 Companion species is a category that is defined by a multiplicity of potential interacting agents, the materiality of those real world engagements, and the forms of interdependence that manifest as a result. It is not simply about humans and animals coexisting, but of the recognition that we do not live in a vacuum devoid of consequences, histories, and implications for the future. This is why Haraway points out that companion species can never be a singular entity, it is always comprised of two or more agents operating as one. 27 Haraway is careful to distinguish, but not diminish, the specificities of companion animals from her more amorphous category “companion species”. While companion animals can take on a diversity of forms and functions in relation to humans, she makes a rather practical designation that one does not consume one’s “companions”. The term “companion animal” maintains its own complex, albeit truncated, history that inherits the anxieties, progressive scientific intentions, and emotional investments of those seeking to reclassify “pets” as therapeutic agents rather than superfluous luxuries. 28 The terms “dog”, “canine”, “pet”, “companion animal” are all classifiers that are socio-culturally specific and bear their own connotative significations and histories of usage, their meanings and significance have habitually shifted over time and in relation to various causes, individuals, and cultures. Canines lived alongside humans as companions for thousands of years prior to their remaking as “companion animals” in the 1970s. Despite its usage for centuries, the term “pet” still maintains a great deal of ambiguity in meaning and practice and has as many historically classed and gendered 18 implications as does the contemporary invocations against its usage. 29 While this dissertation remains cognizant of the complexities of each term’s usage, the purpose of the project is not to engage in verbal activism but to remain sensitive to the material practices and modes of communication that characterize actual companion species relationships. 30 The project conceives of certain degree of common sense equivalency, within the boundaries of relatively popular parlance, between canine and dog, pet and companion animal. And while I consider multiple variants of pet, including “fur baby”, to be valid identificatory markers that characterize a great deal of communication within companion species relationships, I avoid the usage of highly particularized terms like this within the dissertation. 31 Wary of any theories that attempt to etherealize the connections between companion species, Haraway takes pains to ground her discussion through material examples and continual appeals to the mundane and ordinary, especially in her discussion of training methodologies. Positive training is a form of operant conditioning whereby the reinforcement of desired behavior patterns is achieved through the offering of a positive reward during the commission of said desired behavior. She argues that we need to avoid characterizing desirable behaviors as either naturalized or without context. As training is the conditioning of both parties through the very calculated and complex process of adding and eliminating specific actions, the individual behaviors themselves become part of an intricate process of mutual remaking that affirms the possibility of communicating with other species. 32 The calculated techniques and carefully orchestrated conditioning are all necessary parts of training but are never proper substitutes for the response that she calls “irreducible to calculation. Response is comprehending that subject- making connection is real, response is face-to-face in the contact zone of an entangled relationship”. 33 In this concept of interspecies correspondence, these very material and physical 19 encounters, Haraway is providing a very specific answer to the questions of response and reaction Derrida poses. Not only do companion species “speak” but they are both caught in a continual process of mutual recognition and exchange. In a reversal of traditional logic that echoes this sentiment, Louise Green questions whether animals might perceive the human alienation from their own forms of bodily communication as an inadvertent “inability to control its speech”. Without the proper training, due in part to the hubris of believing our own myth of exceptionalism, humans generally lack the perceptual prowess to understand how their physical comportment and bodily movements communicate meaning. Thus our engagement with other species constitutes a form of “noise which is almost but not quite speech” and mostly becomes illegible. Citing the work of trainer Christopher Brookin, Green explains that humans can be taught to recognize that their bodies relay messages through posture, relative disposition, and direction of gaze. 34 This becomes a crucial method for creating a space, much like Haraway’s contact zones, in which interspecies communication can exist through shared socialization. Other discussions of the complex embodied communication experienced in forms of animal training can be found in Vicki Hearne’s comprehensive treatment of the subject. Very much an antecedent to Haraway’s theories on significant otherness and interspecies co- constitution, Hearne’s methodologies for training and rehabilitating dogs and horses rely extensively on conceptions of responsibility, mutuality, and transformation through a shared respect for language and a consistency of action. In instructing a dog to retrieve, track a scent, or simply heel, Hearne argues that mutual understanding and responsiveness can never be achieved without immense attentiveness and discipline on the part of the trainer, they become responsible to each other. In regular obedience training, both dog and handler participate in “language 20 games” that enable them to develop shared conceptions of everyday objects and activities through repetition, thus interspecies communication is achieved through bodily movements and physical contact. 35 While recognizing that the trainer’s authoritative positioning is both necessary but also open to potential corruption, Hearne argues that obedience and the ability to command are mutually reinforcing entities that cannot (or should not) exist without each other. The relationship between a tracking dog and handler, especially those working in law enforcement, requires a high level of trust if the trainer is to avoid the “psychic imperialism” that undermines the capabilities of the working dog by imposing anthropocentric limitations. 36 Hearne argues that by recognizing that dogs and humans “inhabit worlds with radically different principles of phenomenology” we can begin to appreciate the manner in which canine experiential knowledge is defined by a sensorial capacity that humans are profoundly lacking in, smell. The handler must learn to recognize the signs that indicate whether a tracking dog has successfully located the correct scent, this “reading” then becomes a dialogue that relies on a multi-directional flow of knowledge. She states that “tracking training creates the kind of knowledge all talking does, or ought to do—knowledge of the loop of intention and openness that talk is, knowledge of and in language. The dog as well as the human must learn this participation”. 37 Thus the tracker and handler, in their symbiotic sensorial connection, participate in Haraway’s construct of significant otherness, the two are reconstituted and made again as a result of their relation to each other. Hearne extends the notion of the conversational aspect of interspecies contact through her discussion of the art of horse training and riding. Truly adept riders recognize that horsemanship is a reciprocal, participatory, and wholly humbling activity that involves relinquishing assumptions about human exceptionalism. She explains that as equine consciousness primarily 21 relies on a form of kinesthetic knowledge vastly more complex than the human somesthetic system, the relationship between rider and horse is marked by radical asymmetries in perceptive ability. It is for this reason, and the human over reliance on visual and linguistic faculties that horses are often thought of as either unintelligent or threatening. Horsemanship requires that riders open themselves up to a new mode of physical comprehension and communication, to the realization that these creatures possess a depth of material knowledge about us that we will never have of them. 38 Paul Patton echoes these claims in pointing out that despite the arsenal of verbal commands and conditioning apparatuses used in training horses, these aids are only viable as part of a larger system of nonverbal communication that occurs within what he calls a “somatic framework” of physical contact between the rider and horse. Forms of touch, degree of pressure exerted by the rider, and modes of bodily comportment that include eye contact and posture are all integral components of a complex form of interspecies correspondence that Patton argues operates multilaterally. 39 A great deal of animal studies and other disciplinary fields that work on and with animals focus much of their efforts on the exploration of the cognitive capacities (higher order consciousness, language, states of intentionality, etc.) of other species as a means to argue for increased animal welfare, rights, or simply higher moral status. 40 While these inquires are often noble, the task here has not been to simply assert that animals possess viable forms of consciousness and are therefore worthy of moral consideration, but to use the ideas here to reposition human and animals within less exclusionary working relations. In thinking through these various theoretical and materialist strategies for undoing anthropocentric bias we can begin to productively reconceptualize the placement of human beings, no longer as stable, exceptional individuals determining the meanings and value of nonhuman others, but as one of the many 22 species enmeshed in a complicated web of inter-relationality where identity and knowledge are always shifting and contextual. Therefore my project considers the most salient examples of this reworking to be found in companion animal training (agility, scenting, herding, performing) as these forms of interspecies contact often require the development of detailed and consistent patterns of action (and response) that continually force both parties into reciprocal recognition. This dissertation is primarily invested in not only the specific ways in which particular domesticated animals (performers) and humans interact and make meaning out of each other, but also how these material relationships are historically and culturally specific. The primary case studies that are included in the project are all deeply concerned with the manner in which the dynamics of training regimes and cross-species modes of socialization define various multispecies star’s careers and performances. Each canine star is marked, physically and symbolically, by the particularities of very historically contingent conditioning methodologies that were informed by socio-cultural changes in the perception of animal use value. While Rin- Tin-Tin’s mode of performance was affected by an established system of training for police and war dogs that envisioned practical uses for canines, Lassie’s career was defined in relation to the model of positive conditioning popular with Hollywood studio trainers. An investigation into the different training strategies becomes even more relevant because of the ways in which companion animal media, as a textual category and mode of production, is reliant on animal trainers and the performance of animal stars for the creation of companion species narratives. Companion Animal Media Sustained scholarship on companion animals and media is still an underdeveloped sub- field, at best it is often relegated to the peripheries of the work being done in wildlife studies or 23 routed through a more generalized discussion of popular animal imagery. While this is not to discount the wealth of crucially informative research being done on these topics, there still remains a reticence to thoroughly engage the potential importance that pets and their specific modes of performance have for understanding the complex roles that culture and industry play in the development of domestic interspecies relations. Claire Molloy calls attention to the fact that animal narratives and imagery have become a seemingly omnipresent feature of our contemporary media landscape, the popularity of which is often directly translated into industrial profitability. She recognizes that the fascination that humans have for animal texts makes them “economically significant for media industries, which, in turn, play an essential role in shaping the limits and norms of public discourses on animals and animal issues and so constitute a key source of information, definitions, and images”. She argues that this construction of non-humans within various media is only one facet of a larger system that establishes the rules by which interspecies relations are governed and the manner in which animal life is carefully controlled and commodified. Even despite this seeming importance, media coverage of domesticated animals and pets is often trivialized and relegated to the background as either a palliative or distraction. Molloy explains how animal stories in print and television news media, commonly categorized as “soft” news, are used primarily to alleviate the tension normally produced by the “seriousness” of reports on crime, economics, and politics. 41 While studies have shown that the connections between companion animals and their human counterparts certainly fulfill a therapeutic function, the more pressing issue here concerns how these larger strategies of representation reveal entrenched anthropocentric assumptions about the meaning of animal existence. 42 It becomes even more important for media scholarship to investigate not only how this trend persists but 24 also work through new strategies of counteracting it, however substantial. This segment will explain the category of companion animal media in more detail with respect to its industrial specificities, textual consistencies, and overarching ethos. Companion animal media is a multi-media, intertextual, transindustrial category that utilizes the performances of actual domesticated animals to construct narratives, both fictional and otherwise, whose central concerns are made possible by, and revolve around, the relations between companion species. There can be a range of multispecies agents within the text, both in kind and in number, however the primary figure is the domesticated pet. The narratives focus on the manner in which these agents have an impact on the world around them and develop intricate relationships with their human counterparts. There is a greater emphasis on interaction rather than action itself as this speaks to the socialized, communal, and interactive nature of companion species life and the process of training. While many multispecies stars were often marketed in terms of the impressive feats that a viewer could witness in a given text, the physical spectacles themselves are usually in the service of promoting some form of diegetic interspecies unification while also satisfying an extra-diegetic training directive. Companion animal narrative strategies can range from the fictional storylines of classic genres like the family melodrama and the western to the unscripted pet training and rehabilitation programs common to contemporary reality television. The performance careers of the multispecies stars discussed in the case studies allows the project to engage with a variety of different genres and modes of production from the early cinematic comedies and westerns of Rin-Tin-Tin to the Classical Hollywood melodramas of Lassie and the Network Era nonfiction specials of Benji. One of the most defining features of companion animal media production, however, is the simultaneous employment of actual animal 25 actors and their trainers/handlers to perform carefully orchestrated maneuvers and the effacement, in one way or another, of that training. In ways akin to other dynamic genres, companion animal media texts and their signature characters can be found within, and sometimes across, multiple media forms. As the work here is more focused on material interactions between companion animals and humans and the ramifications that industrial restructuring, technological developments, discursive strategies and cultural changes have on those relationships, the most productive avenues of investigation are provided by the moving image media of film, television and video. These forms have provided the most extensive and sustained amount of companion animal texts within which the work of the multispecies star figures most prominently. Canine actors Rin-Tin-Tin and Lassie performed in a series of films in the 1920s and 1940s and their direct line descendents were later employed to continue performing the branded character roles within television programs of the 1950s. Due in part to the fact that there were a smaller number of projects produced over a shorter period of time, maintenance of the majority of the Benji brand was facilitated by two performers that starred in the films and television specials made in the 1970s and 1980s. While there are many companion animal media texts that employ animal performers whose personas and careers where not augmented by the multigenerational quality of multispecies stardom, however, the texts that are most associated with performance dynasties have a tendency to maintain a longer cultural shelf life. The explosion of digital video and internet technologies have contributed to the emergence of new forms of multispecies celebrity, in figures like Maru and Grumpy Cat, that are fueled by the convergent mediasphere’s cross platform marketing, niche fandoms and grassroots production and distribution tactics. 26 There are certainly other media forms that can be thought of as part of the category of companion animal media, however, their limited influence and longevity make them less amenable to sustained analysis. 43 Print advertising employs animal models (and their handlers) and conducts photo shoots of their subjects that they then manipulate in various ways to sell particular products. The advertising campaigns that were connected to particular branded star pet images (Rin-Tin-Tin, Lassie, Benji) promoted a host of consumer goods utilizing the canine performer’s likeness. Although it is less common, music producers and composers have utilized animal performers to provide vocal tracks on popular singles and more avant-garde compositions. 44 While popular radio programs of the 1920s and 1940s utilized barking sound effects that were recorded by the actual multispecies stars, Rin-Tin-Tin and Lassie, the majority of other dog sounds were human produced. It becomes necessary here to distinguish between animated depictions of domesticated animals and pets, a form I consider more aptly belonging to “children’s media”, and texts that use corporeal incarnations of companion animals because of the ways in which the industrial constraints, forms of labor, and even semiotic potency differ significantly between these two forms. 45 While this dissertation is greatly concerned with how modes of representation and discursive construction possibly impact the lived experiences of domesticated animals in the real world, the material specificities of the types of work involved in the crafting of these texts also need to be attended to. The kinds of interspecies interaction, both on set and backstage, are impacted by the particular mode of production which, in turn, influences the meaning produced by such performances. 27 Multispecies Stardom Scholarly work on stardom and celebrity comprises yet another interdisciplinary subfield that has theorized the importance of the star as a complex figure through whom histories of industrialization, socio-cultural trends, strategies of identification, and modes of being congeal. Any credible claims made within contemporary star studies have to account for the multilateral intersection of sociality, star subjectivities, and formations of industrial power, and how the economic and discursive practices of the latter exercise a great deal of influence. The contemporary study of stars continues to be an important interrogation of “the social production and circulation of meaning, linking industry and texts, films and society”. 46 The canonical work that has proven to be the most productive for my project’s conception of multispecies stardom are those theories that conceive of stars as a phenomenon of consumption in which meaning making strategies operate multilaterally, as economic entities circulating in a complex system, and as laborers participating in shifting relations of power. Complementing this established body of scholarship are new formulations of performance that examine modes of multispecies interaction and their historical and material contexts. These new theories inherently reproduce some of the central concerns of posthumanism through this intersectional approach and conceptualization of the star as a figure enmeshed in contextual webs of influence. It is crucial to understand how ideological meaning is produced through the discursive power of culture institutions whose goal is to generate the most profit from workers that occupy a complex and contested position. While the fascination with figures of celebrity is a historical phenomenon dating back hundreds of years, with the emergence of a viable publishing industry in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries enabled a transformation of older oral traditions into new forms of 28 print culture. Journals, newsletters, pamphlets, and other publicly distributed material capitalized on the fascination with sensationalized reportage, including society paragraphs and columns that often discussed upper class indiscretions. 47 The emergence of cinema enabled a thoroughly modern preoccupation with the popular performers whose images and information were being circulated via this new form of mass media and reinforced by an already thriving popular press. While the majority of early scholarly work on stars often reproduced the dominant trend of biographical recounting common to the fan magazines and press columns of the Studio Era, the 1970s witnessed a flourishing of new analytical work on stardom that emphasized the sociological dimensions impacting the phenomenon. Responding to the perceived limitations of previous work, the next wave (1980s and onward) of important scholarship on stars re- approached the topic from a historical standpoint, with a special emphasis on the origins of the star system and historically specific modes of audience reception. 48 Building on this framework, the most recent trends in star studies prioritize investigations into performance as a form of labor and stardom as an economic phenomenon that is part of a newly globalized media structure. This section will now trace the important developments within these three primary modes with an eye toward the work that provides compelling examples for how multispecies stars are discursive subjects with interior lives, economic entities with industrial value, and working bodies with institutional protection. Francesco Alberoni’s sociological framework is helpful for the ways in which a more inclusive definition of what constitutes stardom is used. Employing previous conceptions of Weberian “charisma”, he defines stardom as a phenomenon by which an unconditional appreciation and curiosity for certain individuals is cultivated. These figures are imbued with qualities that transcend the boundaries of lived human experience. It is from this connection 29 between stars and the rest of society that Alberoni then argues that while the images and lives of stars are indeed constructed to elicit the highest potential fascination from the public, it is irresponsible to ascribe infinite power to those that manufacture the images. The star system creates the conditions for potential popularity, something that is then validated by the public. 49 The claim that the phenomenon of stardom, and the charismatic “persons” who elicit an undeniable fascination, can only exist outside the realm of institutional state power mirrors similar arguments made about the unique potency of animal media. Animal media scholars like Jonathan Burt have recognized that animal imagery in film elicits curiously intense responses from viewers, a phenomenon he attributes to both the cinema’s tropes of realism and its intimacy of address. 50 The symbolic and analogical qualities of animal imagery have made it a novel subject of moving image media since its inception. Richard Dyer builds on these claims as he attributes even greater agency to those that receive the star texts and images that have been manufactured by the studios, arguing against models that discount consumption as a site of meaning. Dyer’s work has been, and is still currently, formative for any analytical work on stardom because of his complex and comprehensive treatment of the phenomenon. He explains that the four primary media texts that work in conjunction to construct a particular star image are promotion, publicity, films, and ultimately criticism. Promotional and publicity materials can be closely intertwined if discursive outlets (fan magazines, gossip columns) only disseminate studio material, however, items of publicity can still lay claim to a degree of “authenticity” depending on whether the information is in the star’s interest, and by extension the studio’s, or not. 51 It has been recognized that Dyer was instrumental in calling attention to the ideological function of stardom and placing the star within a complex discursive system, concepts that are important to my discussion of multispecies stars. 30 Especially pertinent to the analysis at hand is his discussion of the possible ways in which stars are made to embody social values that are thought to be in variable modes of crisis and fluidity. But while Dyer approaches stardom from two main frameworks, that of stars as a phenomenon of production and of consumption, the emphasis clearly lies with the latter and often at the expense of investigating the historical specificities and the economics driving stardom, something that other scholars have addressed. 52 Dyer’s later work, in response to this kind of criticism, accounts for the ways in which particular star images are indeed historically situated and acknowledges the impact that society, economics, and audience reception have on the analysis of star images. Despite numerous scholarly (Marxist, Psychoanalytic) and industrial efforts to destabilize the concept of human individualism, Dyer argues that the idea of singular and cohesive inner essence is still an omnipresent and “necessary fiction” that enables many of our societal institutions to function. The star then becomes a figure that initially facilitates anxieties over individualism by virtue of their often fractured identity but ultimately asserts the stability of personhood, that these performers have a core essence that can be witnessed across texts. Thus the construction of the star’s private life as who they “really” are acts as an affirmation of individualism and encourages the division of society into binaristic spheres (private/public, individual/society, naturalness/artifice, etc.). 53 While conceptions of what it means to be human are constructed and circulated via star images, often encouraging a common sense understanding of behavior and identity, Dyer asserts that the star phenomenon itself is still characterized by a persistent instability and malleability by virtue of the socio-historical specificities that govern the creation and perception of the “natural”. Stars consistently question notions of individual identity and naturalness precisely because their images paradoxically reproduce those ideas within the mass 31 mediated texts consumed by viewers. 54 All of the case studies presented in this dissertation, along with others, reveal the extent to which studio generated publicity, popular press materials, and personal appearances cultivated the impression of a viable private life for the multispecies star. Canine stars were especially useful for conveying a host of human social and moral values. Providing a thorough historical context for the emergence of stars and their subsequent commodification, Richard deCordova recognizes how discourse encouraged the social transformation of the public’s interest in cinema and the subsequent creation of the star as an individual product. Around 1909 the star in its initial incarnation “emerges as an economic reality” as picture personalities were beginning to be recognized by either their own names or the names that audiences ascribed to them, but the discourse was still primarily centered around the text. After certain performers attained enough exposure and popularity to be considered stars, public investment expanded to include discussions of the star’s private life outside of their work. 55 After 1911, spectators became accustomed to seeing the names of leading actors on the introductory slides of many films, further encouraging the emergent star system to flourish and making the named players into crucial commodities. Stars could command greater salaries, a practice that was fostered by production studios eager to lure away a particular star with promises of higher pay. In Barry King’s economic analysis of stardom as an occupation, he connects Marx’s concept of real subsumption to the management of the star and their image. The capitalist’s direct intervention into the character and quality of labor used in the production process parallels the manner in which the studios encouraged the conflation of star image and character. 56 Studio executives generally attempted to diminish the potential power of stars at every turn by promoting discourse about the stars that naturalized their labor as a form of 32 performance, effacing material working conditions through exploiting the audience’s frequent association of the actor’s persona and their role. 57 Studio contract deals manufactured not only particular images of their salaried stars but were one of the dominant instruments for the labeling of performers as property and making them subject to studio power. Many scholars have confirmed the overriding importance of the exclusive, long term, option contracts that best characterized studio power over stars. Performers often signed a deal that bound them to a studio for the period of at least five to seven years. Embedded within these contracts were the six month option clauses that afforded executives the power to keep or release any given star throughout the duration of the contract. Stars were the property of the studios, to do with as they saw fit, often to the resentment of the performer. 58 Average non-human performers were also often thought of as property, studio possessions to be housed in menageries and infinitely replaceable. MGM maintained a zoo on the studio premises prior to subcontracting companies like the California Zoological Society, Goebels Lion Farm, and Jungleland for animal rentals from the 1930s through 1960s. The language of these contracts would commonly stipulate limited studio liability and compensation in the case of animal death or injury and sole ownership over the image and advertising rights. 59 Thinking of the manner in which stars are made into commodities whose existence is marked by their economic value can open up a space of continuity between human and nonhuman performers, as forcing a confrontation with strategies of objectification encourages the development of a more expansive ethical common ground. In addition to recognizing the importance of ideology and economics, investigations into stardom have accounted for the agency and subjectivity of the star as a working figure whose corporeality was often manipulated. Utilizing a cultural studies methodology to interrogate the 33 historical formation of the actor as a social subject whose identity was often formed in relation to industrial power relations, Danae Clark focuses on the conditions of performance labor that produce the images of spectatorial fascination. She recognizes that the construction of the “laboring subject” is brought about by “social, material, and discursive relations of power”, the crafting of star subjectivity is comingled with structures of studio dominance that created an evaluative hierarchy of star labor. 60 Despite the efforts at publically denigrating the star’s labor as less than work, internal studio practices did recognize the importance of craft and training to the actor’s performance. Studio efforts in procuring acting and dialogue coaches and making connections to outside drama schools and academies communicates, if not an understanding, at least a recognition of the labor involved in creating a cinematic role. 61 Stars under contract in the Studio Era often underwent physical reconditioning and were instructed in proper socialization techniques prior to their exposure to press and fan clubs. It was imperative that the stars adhered not only to generalized standards of ideal comportment but also to the particular personas crafted for them by publicity departments. 62 Lauren Steimer, in her work on the global action genre, recognizes the complex connections between financing structures, transnational distribution patterns, labor, and unique forms of stardom. The highly trained performers she calls “star-laborers” are able to produce impressive bodily spectacles that in turn come to define that performer’s star image and govern their reception context. In remarking that stars are not devoid of a material history, she accounts for the manner in which the visual spectacles produced by these star-laborers were directly contingent on and bore the traces of the intense training and history of bodily practices. She argues that the star-laborer is both a category of performance and a system for analyzing how material conditions impact the unique physical contributions made by the star. 63 Steimer’s work 34 is formative for my project for the ways in which stardom is conceived as a phenomenon in which the somatic talents of highly skilled performers exercise a determining influence over their star texts and are an invaluable part of media production. Multispecies stars undergo intense physical training in order to not only learn how to communicate with their handler but also perform the actions required of them during production. Clark’s theory of labor power is important for the way in which it affords the worker/star a space of agency in their struggle to assert control over their working conditions and the terms of their labor exchange. In the case of animal performers, that assertion of control came from outside the studios from ancillary institutions like American Humane and the Hay’s Office, whose responsibilities included protecting the multispecies performer. The American Humane Association’s Hollywood Office was established via contract with the Hays Office in 1940 and was officially able to attend to the protection of animal laborers that performed on the film set by directly monitoring them and reviewing scripts. 64 The impetus for the formation of the organization came after a horse was killed after being sent over a seventy-foot cliff during the filming of Jesse James (Henry King, 1939). This incident provoked widespread shock and outrage over the treatment of the animals involved in the Hollywood production process. Amendments to the Motion Picture Production Code in 1940 included “Special Regulations on Cruelty to Animals”, a resolution that officially codified rules that had been circulating around Hollywood since the 1920s. This was a change significant for the way in which it redefined certain animals as entities worth moral consideration and placed them in direct equivalency with other human agents like children. Apparent cruelty or brutality to animals or children, especially scenes in which the branding of humans or animals took place, were treated as “repellent subjects” by the resolution. 65 Much like all industrial self-censorship, defending animals, and 35 more importantly, being perceived as protective of animals, suited the economic needs of the film industry. 66 As discussed, human and animal performers share a high degree of kinship through the similar ways in which they were subject to studio publicity tactics and contractual authority, strategies of industrial commodification, and forms institutional regulation. Ultimately though, it is my goal to simultaneously explain that while multispecies performers can certainly find a place within these prescribed models of human stardom they also work outside those limits and build toward a new understanding of how the star figure is a multiplicitous agent, whose subjectivity is constantly shifting in relation to a host of different institutional, technological and interpersonal conditions. Borrowing from Haraway and Steimer, I argue that the bodies of multispecies stars, and images, are also the site in which historical changes in interspecies communication, specific training regimes, regulatory policies and political processes, reproductive practices, and technological developments congeal. The body and image of Rin- Tin-Tin bears the traces of historical breeding and training protocols for German Shepherds, the technologies of WWI military weaponry, the unique stunting required of each production, and much more. Lassie and Benji both inherit all of this in addition to the cultural, technological, and socio-economic specificities that govern their unique star texts. Multispecies stars are also always contingent on complex strategies of interspecies communication, the connection between a star and their handler requires discipline, focus, and immense physical skill to create the “natural” behaviors that come to define great performance. Working in front of the camera often forces the multispecies star and trainer to rely on the multilateral reading of gestural cues and eye contact, even under conditions of extreme distraction. 36 I would also argue that, as a result of this, sites of multispecies media production operate as one of Haraway’s “contact zones”, becoming a reservoir of interconnected material relationships that rely on reciprocal acts and forms of diverse embodiment. The production process for any media text that incorporates multiple species requires not only carefully orchestrated interspecies performance, but also the participation of a host of ancillary figures, companies, and organizations that work in conjunction with media management and crew in many of the production stages. Mediated interspecies interaction often requires the careful review of script and narrative materials in the development period, for not only the plausibility of various interspecies behaviors, but also the monetary expense of realistically portraying those actions. Sets are often carefully constructed to account for the vagaries of working with multiple species, especially in terms of camera placement and lighting equipment. Veterinarians, trainers, security personnel, certified American Humane representatives, and handlers are all on set at various points of production to ensure the safety and excellence of the profilmic multispecies event. The guidelines often governing how this welfare is ensured rely on an even larger contingent of diverse individuals. In close consultation with a host of human scientists, behaviorists, professors, and industry experts, American Humane culls from experts in hydrology, aeronautics, veterinary medicine, national disaster relief, motor vehicle use, and special effects. 67 With an understanding that performance is a site of multiplicity, theorists have pointed out that material working conditions entail a host of interconnected modes of being, not simply human. Michael Peterson utilizes the discipline of performance studies to conceive of each individual production as representative of interspecies social relations. This method accounts for not only the materiality of the performance itself, in terms of the physical action taking place and 37 the actual manner in which human and nonhuman performers interact, but also the thematic meaning produced by the act. Peterson argues that it is this approach that constitutes the “animal apparatus”, a merging of practical and theoretical concerns about how animal performers are a significant part of both the technical and ideological infrastructure of each performance. 68 While the emphasis here is primarily on live theatrical performance, it nevertheless provides important methodological insight into how the analysis of animal acting needs to operate more holistically and account for the material as well as symbolic. Multispecies stardom, by virtue of the diversity of human and nonhuman animals involved and the complexity of interspecies interaction, breaks down the binaristic formulations of star theory and rebuilds them into the complex web of polymorphous interconnection that the star now functions within. As a result, while multispecies stardom figures most prominently in performances and productions that require interspecies communication to function, this model can account for texts that display a careful consideration of and close interrelation with even less familiar companion species. Media history is replete with examples. The use of animatronic apparatuses whose mercurial functionality force substantial aesthetic and financial changes, remote location shooting that requires the intense restructuring of traditional production practices and scheduling, and the incurrence of unforeseen meteorological events and phenomena that have even shut down entire productions. 69 Previous star theories are still useful for helping us see that there is indeed a multilateral quality to star creation, where divergent interests and influence can be intertwined. Therefore multispecies stardom can become a model that rethinks stardom as a phenomenon whose existence does not predate the interaction of the multiple parties involved. This is important for thinking through the manner in which multispecies stars, their counterparts (both handlers and 38 co-stars), studio publicity tactics, and audiences are entangled in a complex system of making meaning out of performance. Dyer’s work is useful for providing a framework of case studies that account for the situated nature of particular stars, a tactic I will be utilizing for my own examples of multispecies stardom. However, my project intends to reformulate this myth of cohesive inner subjectivity that he argues reinforces not only the allure of various stars but society itself. As human subjectivity has historically fashioned itself in opposition to nonhuman life, the argument for stars as coherent human models of behavior and psychology would seem to hold up. Posthumanist theories would, however, take this analogical quality and expand it to account for the manner in which the cross-species affiliation that occurs in multispecies stardom reveals a larger field of possible subject formations. Audiences are not simply interacting with multispecies texts, but with the matrix of institutions and personnel, both past and present, that enabled the production of that text. The star images of multispecies performers in the Studio Era were indeed carefully crafted via revelations about their private lives, however, this should be seen, not simply as an attempt at producing an authentic persona for that performer, but also as the means through which humanity inadvertently exhibits its dependence on interspecies coexistence, rather than exclusivity, for subject formation. In addition to diverging from Dyer’s formulations about star subjectivity, this dissertation also refrains from replicating his methodological reliance on textual analysis. This dissertation recognizes that the films and television programs in which these multispecies stars appeared provide a material base from which to investigate the specificities of their performances as well as the changes in companion animal media, however, it limits the special consideration of formal and thematic properties to the instances in which an analysis of those meaning making devices substantially reinforces the extra-textual dimensions of the multispecies star’s persona and the publicity tactics. 39 Some of the innovative work being done in media and performance studies has already started utilizing an animal studies approach when thinking through performance, one that can help further augment my theory of multispecies stardom. Claire Molloy argues that despite the influence that discourse exercises over the popular perceptions of animals, they are still material beings with interests divergent from our own. It then becomes paramount to investigate the connection between the manner in which these animals are made to signify certain meanings and the reality of their lived experience. 70 She points to the way in which the industry’s continual employment of animal performers and narratives is enabled, and sustained, via the intricate connections between the regulatory norms, economic policies, aesthetic conventions, and discursive regimes that allow Hollywood to function. This system carefully promotes specific images of and ideas about animals that have the possibility of influencing greater perceptions about nonhuman life. While Malloy’s work often takes the existence of animal stars as a given and does not pursue the theoretical underpinnings of animal stardom or investigate actual training regimes, her work is one of the few to actually engage the idea of popular animal performance in a sustained and serious manner. Molloy argues that one of the main strategies that can be seen across a variety of publicity tactics that promoted animal performers is a mode she calls the “discourse of talent”, in which nonhuman stars were differentiated via claims to extraordinary human-like abilities, the effect of which successfully divorced the performer from their more animalistic qualities. These tactics were useful for humanizing the animal star and enabling the studios to market them as commodities for human consumption. 71 These discursive attempts to make multispecies stars more legible, and thus relatable to human audiences, participate in the same strategies of promotion that are part of the ordinary/extraordinary binary. This dichotomy is complicated in 40 the figure of the multispecies star, however, as the marketing of the performer’s extraordinary (read human-like) capabilities creates an equivalency between exceptional animality and average humanity. They become, in a sense, “just like us”, but often at the expense of highlighting the actual transcendent qualities of the multispecies star. As already discussed, the training regimes that facilitate onscreen interspecies communication are made possible through complex interpretative processes and highly disciplined intersubjective action. No acting methodology or training school in the world is able to produce exceptional human performers through a system of communication completely alien to their entire phenomenology. 72 This is somewhat tangential to the point, however, as the intention here is to focus less on multispecies performance capability and more on the material and intersubjective means through which that capability is made possible. The model of multispecies stardom highlights the manner in which in media production relies on a multiplicity of interrelated figures that depend on forms of mutual communication, both linguistic and embodied, to create the material effects necessary for performance and thus media creation. As we have seen, there are still features of traditional star theories that complement how multispecies stardom functions, most important of which concerns the larger discursive framework that the star circulates in. The studio publicity, press releases, and popular discourse reveal the extent to which humans positioned themselves in various modes of relationality with respect to animals and function as an important part of understanding the histories of various multispecies stars. Knowledge of multispecies performance is always situated at the intersections of various forms of media production and consumption and real world practices of interspecies cohabitation. 41 Canines as Stars Perhaps the choice to focus exclusively on a singular group of animal performers would seem limiting in the face of a theory of multispecies stardom, however, it is my intention to utilize case studies that would best represent the range of complex issues that fuel this new theoretical category. It is certainly true that there have been many types of animal performers, such as horses, felines, birds and primates that occupied positions of great importance within the American media industry, however, canines have maintained a level of emotional primacy and practical utility within media production and American culture at large that I think cannot be matched. Scholars and researchers from multiple disciplines have made numerous claims concerning the material and symbolic importance that canines have not only within individual human lives but society at large. After thousands of years of cohabitation and socialization, humans have developed complex relationships with their canine companions that rely on a host of interpretive strategies. Dogs were historically constructed as symbolic figures of healing and protection, a belief that stretches back thousands of years to ancient civilizations. Modern incarnations of this belief can be found in the countless studies demonstrating the medical and psychological benefits of interspecies companionship. It is recognized that dogs, and cats to a certain degree, possess particular attributes that have made them such successful and popular companions. Their capacity for the development of social bonds mirrors our own and canines are especially adept at generating affective connections with specific individuals. From a practical standpoint, dogs are comparatively hygienic, maintain similar biorhythmic sleeping patterns to humans, and are generally of a size small enough to be considered a minimal threat despite their carnivorous disposition. The common tendency of canines to seek physical proximity to humans while communicating nonverbal affection and interest are some of the traits that humans find 42 most desirable in a companion animal. Dogs are seen as empathic, sensitive creatures that can be integral to an individual’s sense of well-being. 73 This connection has precisely enabled popular media texts to craft representations of dogs that are not only meant to be legible to human audiences but are intended to operate as analogical figures of identification. The human inclination to anthropomorphize the world around them has not only made practices of domestication and pet keeping possible but also naturalized the tendency to read nonhuman figures in allegorical ways. 74 Recognized as the “primary metaphoric and totemic animal in current American culture”, dogs have become an extraordinarily popular means of establishing symbolic connections with human audiences. Researchers have argued that dogs occupy a dual category in which they become both anthropomorphized and totemic animals; the strategies of meaning transfer operate multilaterally as dogs and humans are constructed as analogues for each other. 75 As a result of this strong psychological linkage, much of American literary and moving image media texts utilize canine characters to model appropriate social formations and modes of behavior. 76 This can have a positive impact on the treatment of animals, however, some argue that the misrepresentations of dogs in children’s texts can lead to unrealistic expectations of canine behavior. 77 Common sense definitions of humanity and the humane are still often contingent on the positive treatment of companion animals like dogs, however, and violations of the social contract are often met with accusations of monstrosity. 78 The performance capabilities of canines also make them highly suitable as a case study for multispecies stardom. Dogs, as a result of a long established process of interspecies socialization, have a high aptitude for learning human words and carrying out a multitude of behavioral directives. Research studies have also posited that, because of this extensive history 43 of domestication, dogs have a higher tendency towards submissiveness and nonaggression than other species when interacting with humans and this often accounts for greater degrees of cross- species affiliation. 79 Therefore the training regimes are slightly less intensive than with other species, consume less of the trainer’s time, and are ultimately able to elicit more reliable performances. This is not to suggest that the work involved in training a dog, to perform any number of tasks, is simple or lacks an immense amount of patience and discipline. Trainers have pointed out that the methodology of conditioning used varies depending on the species as certain domesticated animals, felines in particular, have different perceptual and psychological processes that impact how the handlers can best encourage the most appropriate behaviors. 80 Canines also make exceptional case studies for multispecies performance for the manner in which they are able to better fulfill a host of industrial requirements in terms of marketability and cost effectiveness. The dog’s symbolic malleability and psychological legibility makes them especially potent images for American audiences, which in turn allows Hollywood to produce forms of animal media with a high degree of certainty that they will perform well in both the domestic and overseas markets. Film narratives that center around canines, and in particular puppies, have been known to provide substantial returns on investment, if not for the actual box office sales then for the ancillary product possibilities and franchising opportunities. 81 The explosion of cost effective nonfiction companion animal media programming on cable television has always enabled branded endorsements, product placement, and a general fostering of pet consumer culture. The actual on set management of canine performers is less expensive, especially in the case of exotics, and the consequent animal mortality insurance premiums are lower than other larger animal performers. 44 Methodology It is important to not only investigate the images of animal stars but also the actual material conditions and historical specificities that invariably impact this unique form of work and performance. Jonathan Burt argues that the abstraction of the animal that occurs in semiotic analysis is reductive and ignores the complex and very specific historical developments that have occurred in animal imagery. 82 Lorraine Daston and Gregg Mitman have recognized that the ways in which we think with animals is historically and socially specific, how interspecies communication and coexistence is thought to function changes over time and is subject to the vagaries of culture, science, and politics. 83 This dissertation blends cultural studies and posthumanism in order to investigate the manner in which multispecies stardom and companion animal media are impacted by changes in industrial structures, media technologies, modes of discourse, and socio-cultural norms. In an attempt to better understand the actual dynamics of viewer interaction with the images of multispecies stars and companion animal media texts, I conducted a survey of Lassie fans that inquired about their meaning making strategies in regards to the series, personal interactions with companion animals, and the potential intersection of the two. In addition to investigating actual fan practices, much of the research for this dissertation comes from archival sources and documents that have afforded the project unique insights into the tactics of multispecies star creation and maintenance. Combining theoretical analysis with archival research and reception studies will enable multi-faceted insights into the nature of these changes and the larger implications of them. Historical accounts of animals and their interactions with humans have a unique set of responsibilities that differentiate them from traditional historical accounts. Erica Fudge explains that while the ethical imperative driving most histories of marginalized groups would seem to be 45 an adequate motivation, the chronicling of non-human subjects in particular presents some difficulties. Because our access to animals of the past is always mediated through human documents, any historical content derived is ultimately a discursive representation of animals, rather than actual animals. Fudge also points out that an analysis of the rhetorical strategies utilized to characterize animals within historical documents reveals not only the ways in which animal being was conceptualized but also how that society positioned itself in relation to animal life. By avoiding the problematic assumptions that fuel the rhetoric of the past, theorists can craft new methods of speaking about animals and thus change the conditions of contemporary interspecies relations. In promoting a decidedly poststructuralist approach to history, Fudge argues that the best way in which to engage accounts of animals in the past is from a holistic perspective. She explains that holistic history presents “the sense that ‘human’ is a category only meaningful in difference; that the innate qualities that are often claimed to define the human…are actually only conceivable through animals; that is that they rely on animals for their meaning”. 84 Histories should move beyond using animals as a means for simply understanding humanity and instead recognize the ways in which past interspecies interactions communicate knowledge about humans as well as question the status of humanity. Animal stars cannot speak about their own significance in the same ways that human performers are traditionally able to assert themselves. Therefore it is important to analyze the means by which the discourse about animal stars of the past reveals the patterns of thought that paradoxically placed the canine at the center of definitions of human identity. 46 Chapter Breakdown As this project is attempting to historicize multispecies stardom over an extensive period of time and across multiple industrial configurations and cultural contexts, the dissertation will be structured as a series of case studies that focus on particular canine performance careers. An analysis of each multispecies star’s career trajectory and the diversity of media forms in which they appeared will provide the foundation from which to understand multispecies stardom not only as a trans-industrial enterprise but also as a multigenerational phenomenon. As multispecies stardom also demonstrates the fundamental interdependence between modes of performance and the lived experiences of material animals within the domestic sphere, each case study examines the connections between training methods, forms of publicity, petkeeping trends, and strategies of animal welfare. Each chapter will discuss the manner in which the multiplicity that characterizes multispecies stardom is built off not only the interspecies modes of communication seen in the handler/performer dyad but also the historical shifts in cross-species behavioral conditioning and institutional protectionism. Concurrent with the exploration of multispecies performance in the following chapters is the analysis of companion animal media as a category/mode that transforms over time according to changing socio-cultural, technological, and industrial contexts, factors that in turn have an impact on the expression of multispecies stardom. Each of the multispecies performers chosen for analysis, while their careers certainly include a variety of cultural forms, can be closely associated with particular companion animal media forms (film, television, digital video) that contributed to their greatest level of fame. This allows the project to discuss the often mutually reinforcing dimensions of both companion animal media and multispecies stardom. 47 The first chapter will discuss Rin-Tin-Tin in relation to the history of military animals used in multiple capacities for both World Wars, cross-species behavioral conditioning during the interwar years, early Studio System financing structures and production practices, and the covert studio infiltration of early television. Necessary to the understanding of the role that Rin- Tin-Tin played in these contexts is an explanation of not only his war dog origin mythology but also the historical changes in training protocols for war dogs and Progressive Era approaches to childrearing as Rin-Tin-Tin embodied both the potential of proper moral socialization but was simultaneously a somewhat recalcitrant working dog as a result of his conditioning. Rin-Tin- Tin’s employment by Warner Bros. during the 1920s was part of both their low-cost, low returns budgeting strategy as well as an attempt to compete in a market dominated by the craze for German Shepherd performers. The concurrent rise of discursive fan outlets at this time enabled both Rin-Tin-Tin’s rise to prominence as well as the legitimation of multispecies performance as a whole as viewers and studio executives alike saw the immense value in canine centered narratives. Rin-Tin-Tin’s multigenerational star brand attained the greatest level of stardom via his film work while descendents carried on the name by also diversifying his image through a multiplicity of performance contexts including vaudeville, serials, and war dog training seminars, and television. The extension of the Rin-Tin-Tin brand via The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin television program, brought about by the collaboration between the Hollywood studios and Broadcast networks, would ultimately fracture the star canine’s image and lay the foundation for the future lawsuits over the ownership of canine’s name and image. Chapter two examines U.S. postwar economic prosperity and increased suburbanization, Hollywood studio publicity strategies, and the emergence of television as an exceptional industrial model for the commodification of stars via an examination of Lassie. As one of the 48 massive stars of the postwar period, Lassie’s popularity as an ideal pet and reputation as a consummate performer were informed by a history of alterations in sentimental attitudes to animals and institutional protectionism. The connections between postwar housing regulations and increased consumerism, changes in petkeeping practices, and televisual depictions of familial domesticity are all intricately connected and inform Lassie’s star text as they reveal the manner in which Lassie’s continued stardom was both contingent on the development of the suburban ideal and part of the larger investment in purebred canine ownership. Her star image, carefully orchestrated first by the MGM publicity department and later augmented by CBS and Campbell’s Soup, transitioned from the ideal action hero to an icon of All-American goodness and maternal sentimentalism as executives wanted to capitalize on society’s burgeoning affection for domestic pets. The early television industry’s calculated use of cinematic performers and the unique management of her branded image would catapult Lassie into superstardom during the first major era of companion animal programming on television. While her career began in films, her immortalization would come via the massive popularity afforded by the new medium. The third chapter and final case study investigates Benji as a transitional figure whose star text and career are indicative of the major shifts seen in the period between the post-studio and post-network eras. Benji’s discovery narrative and the manner in which his status as a rescue mutt contributed to the increased visibility and viability of shelter adoption as a specific form of companion animal welfare dovetailed with an emergent animal rights movement that politicized animal welfare activism. Benji’s career spans at least two highly mercurial periods in American media history that each witnessed massive transformations in content creation, audience composition, and marketing tactics. From the late 1960s through the late 1970s, the Hollywood film industry was fundamentally altering the manner in which it produced and distributed media 49 products as the emergence of independent production companies like Mulberry Square specialized in films with unique canine-centered perspectives and welfare-oriented star branding. The television industry from the late 1970s through the late 1980s instituted major changes in marketing, visual style, and number of available channels. With the emergence of cable technologies in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the increased demand for inexpensive programming, and the advent of niche marketing strategies, companion animal media was reconfigured through the popularization of nonfiction pet programs that ultimately shifted the focus from the multispecies star to the celebrity trainer. The epilogue discusses the influence that online social media and video sharing outlets have on expressions of companion animal media and formations of multispecies performance modes as the current media marketplace enables a confluence of digital technologies and participatory culture to transform companion animal media into a grassroots phenomenon with commercial marketability and global circulation. The most prevalent forms of contemporary companion animal media can now be found in the online world of the “cybercute”, a digital universe of user-generated memes in which the multispecies star is reformulated into the multispecies celebrity as the “performances” in popular videos are no longer facilitated through carefully orchestrated movements ensured by skilled training but by “natural” behavior. It explores the connections between forms of contemporary celebrity coverage and convergence culture and the manner in which the cybercute universe and particular multispecies celebrities are indicative of the changing marketplace as well as expressions of both inter and intra species connectivity. 50 Chapter Two Canine Soldiers and Dog Operas: The Lineage of Rin-Tin-Tin and Multispecies Branding Figure 2.1 Rin-Tin-Tin III demonstrating his Red Cross Dog responsibilities (Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum, Riverside California) A photo, taken during the war dog training camps conducted at the military installation of Camp Haan in 1943, shows an impressive looking Rin-Tin-Tin III outfitted in a backpack and harness bearing the Red Cross emblem. In the image Rin-Tin-Tin towers protectively over a wounded human soldier being treated by a pair of female nurses (see Figure 2.1). The quartet appears to be behind enemy lines, the space demarcated by mangled strands of barbed wire fencing. Staring intently off into the distance, “Rinty” is seemingly alert to the possibility of further danger as he completes the tableau of warfront heroism and demonstrates the viability of canines as agents of effective military defense. Most likely taken as part of a publicity stunt to promote the efficacy of the canine corps and encourage the donation of civilian-owned canines, 51 this image becomes a particularly apt visual metaphor for the ways in which the star canine’s history, persona, and career were defined by complex and often contradictory multispecies relations. A homeless WWI foundling who became a glamorous star, Rinty also represented the possibilities of canines as both military weapons and agents of mercy. Although he lacked an official pedigree, Rinty came to embody the ideal characteristics of the German Shepherd breed. He was also known as a highly trained performer, an often fractious and aggressive costar, a companion animal and the property cited in numerous heated legal disputes. The longevity of the Rin-Tin-Tin brand image clearly demonstrates the multigenerational and trans-industrial qualities of multispecies stardom. Now in its tenth generation, the lineage of Rin-Tin-Tin has sustained twenty-nine films, five serials, one radio show, and a television program, enduring not only the transition to sound in the late 1920s but also the emergence of television in the late 1940s. 1 A dark coated German Shepherd of muscular build, the original Rinty performed in the majority of the films while trained under Lee Duncan, most of which were made during the mid to late 1920s while his descendents carried on the move to serials and television. At the moment in which the Camp Haan photos were taken the star image of Rin-Tin- Tin was in transition and had already been augmented by the militarization of interspecies relations, early cinema stardom and fandom, German Shepherd training strategies, studio commodification and publicity tactics, and trends in companion animal training that dovetailed with childrearing philosophies. The staged nature of the photo also highlights the manner in which the canine performer connected the military service of actual war dogs, different strategies of interspecies communication and training, and the constructed images of Hollywood cinematic production and persona manipulation. 52 The unique production practices, aesthetic qualities, and publicity tactics of the early cinema era exercised a great deal of influence over the expression of one of the first major periods of companion animal media, conditions that ultimately shaped the image and persona of Rin-Tin-Tin. While his star text extends across multiple media platforms, Rin-Tin-Tin can be contextualized primarily as a Studio Era film star whose popularity and career were at their highest point during the time that Duncan and Rinty spent under contract at Warner Bros. studio during the 1920s. The production specificities of making silent films provided the multispecies star with a unique venue to exercise his impressive physical abilities while the editing tactics of the still experimental medium created the means by which multispecies performance could earn popular and even critical success. The demands of studio production and publicity necessitated a supply of performers, of any species, that could command the attention of domestic and international audiences and differentiate cinematic products. An emergent studio and star system, the informal nature of which afforded the infiltration by amateurs, enabled the popularization of numerous animal films and actors. While Rinty’s primary audience for the earlier portion of his career was adults, the move to serials and television would earn the star a new contingent of child viewers eager for the suspense and heroism that the new formats provided. The multispecies stardom of Rin-Tin-Tin demonstrates the diversity of interspecies modes of communication and the influence of various training philosophies of the early twentieth century. His star text during the 1920s was most clearly dominated by not only his own personal wartime discovery mythology but also the history of service animals and war dogs that were integral operatives during World War I. Unlike the other multispecies stars that this dissertation considers, Rin-Tin-Tin was a working dog whose physical training, breed specific capabilities, public appearances, and governmental affiliations all spoke to the service oriented 53 nature of the canine’s actual lifestyle. 2 This afforded the multispecies star access to a high degree of interspecies cohabitation and communication that included the trainer/handler relationship he maintained with Lee Duncan, the interaction with audiences and groups of children during live performances, the connection with the canine recruits at Camp Haan, and the collaborative work that Rinty did with other species in his serials and televisual work. The canine performer was a figure of functionality whose presence in Duncan’s life was built on a companionship defined by clear boundaries. Rin-Tin-Tin can clearly be thought of as a working professional whose less accessible nature was the result of his persona and training. The contradictory and sometimes contested nature of Rin-Tin-Tin’s history, image, and interspecies relations speaks to the plurality inherent in multispecies stardom, a characteristic that makes this canine star an ideal candidate for analysis. While the performer/handler relationships that characterized later star’s careers were relatively straightforward, Lee Duncan’s history, persona, and capabilities had a marked influence on the development of Rinty’s star image, his training, his career trajectory, and ultimately his proliferation. Duncan’s, and by extension Rinty’s, personal history is one of inconsistency, riddled with controversial assertions, embellishments, and secrecy. Most star texts are built to varying degrees on this kind of masquerade, however, and it becomes less important to uncover the “reality” of Rin-Tin-Tin’s discovery and lineage and more crucial to investigate the multiplicity of forms that the canine star takes on as a result of the varied scholarship and discourses available. The extent to which Duncan bred and sold the offspring of Rin-Tin-Tin also speaks to the expansive nature of the star’s existence as descendents occupied positions as varied as household pets and show dogs to members of the Japanese military canine corps. As Rinty’s image expanded and took on a diversity of forms so too did his corporeality. 54 This chapter will first contextualize the emergence and discovery mythology of Rin-Tin- Tin in relation to the proclivities of his trainer/handler Lee Duncan as well as the history of working military animals from which Rinty’s star text and career inherits a great deal of its imagery, contradictory content, and training ethos. During the pre and post WWI era, strategies of behavioral conditioning often extended across species as both animal handlers and parents adopted similar means to encourage appropriate conduct in their charges. Following this, an examination of early studio financing structures, production tactics, and talent procurement, especially at Warner Bros., will reveal the means by which Rinty, among other canine actors, was able to rise to prominence. The establishment of a network of performers that could fulfill the demands of an expanding medium and the corresponding coverage of the fan magazines enabled the formation of a more diverse contingent of stars that could include a variety of species. The chapter will then discuss the manner in which the production of The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin television program confirms the institutional collaboration that existed between the Hollywood studios and Broadcast networks during the early years of television. The covert infiltration of television production by studio interests was an indicator that the nascent medium was considered less of a threat and more of an opportunity to expand with presold material. Finally, an analysis of the legal disputes concerning the control over not only images of Rin-Tin- Tin but also actual physical manifestations of the canine star give the notions of intellectual property and copyright new multispecies dimensions. Orphans and Soldiers: Rin-Tin-Tin’s Discovery, Training, and Military Heritage Even the most fanciful and elaborate of discovery mythologies concocted by the Hollywood studio press departments would have had trouble competing with the origin story that 55 has defined Rin-Tin-Tin’s career. Although it is slightly unclear as to how exactly the story was first publicized, this narrative was commonly invoked in the popular press and fan magazines of the 1920s and reproduced since in recent biographic accounts and critical analyses of the star canine. According to his personal records, Lee Duncan was stationed in France during WWI and found Rin-Tin-Tin cowering amongst a litter of four other German Shepherd puppies and their mother inside the ruins of war dog kennel located near a recently destroyed German occupied airfield in Flirey, France on September 15th 1918. 3 Duncan picked out the two puppies that he thought looked the most like “little fluffy dolls” and named them Rin-Tin-Tin and Nanette after the French good luck dolls that had been made popular during the war. 4 After the 1919 Armistice Duncan and his squadron were scheduled to return home to the U.S., however, only after much negotiation and hard work were Rinty and Nanette allowed to accompany him on the arduous fifteen-day boat journey across the Atlantic and back home. 5 The context in which the canine star was born speaks directly to the multispecies nature of warfare and the necessity of interspecies collaboration during the twentieth century as many national militaries utilized working animals for a variety of ancillary responsibilities. Specialized groups were trained in cooperative interspecies communication and interaction, strategies that enabled them to negotiate complicated terrain and defend against possible enemy combatants. This section will trace a brief history of the use of canines for military service, the qualities of the various breeds thought of as ideal war dogs, and the conditioning regimes utilized by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. This history shaped the way in which Rin-Tin-Tin was raised and later trained by Duncan, the canine star’s image construction and film work, and eventually the manner in which the canine’s descendent was employed in WWII army publicity and actual demonstration. Rinty’s existence as a working dog, conditioned to be a police dog via strict 56 strategies of control and obedience, would sometimes conflict with Duncan’s public presentation of the canine as a loved companion animal. This discrepancy was indicative of the larger methodological conflicts in the behavioral conditioning ethos of the interwar era, both for children and pets, and speaks to the multispecies concerns driving modes of discipline and nurturance. The use of canines as active combatants, guards, and messengers during times of war has been in effect to varying degrees for millennia. The ancient Egyptians and Greeks utilized dogs to protect members of the royal families while their armies would bring them into battle alongside the cavalry. Their excellent skills at scenting and tracking made them ideal for sentry work and guard duty for encampments of soldiers. 6 Roman armies would outfit contingents of dogs with spiked armor and utilize them as disruptive attack forces during battle. While prior to the invention of gunpowder canines were commonly utilized as a form of assault weapon, as military weaponry began to modernize and become more mobile by the end of the eighteenth century the methods for utilizing war dogs changed. While the continued mechanization of warfare in Europe throughout the nineteenth century did not deter the military employment of canines, their functions were shifted away from tactical assault to ancillary and support measures for the troops. While both American colonists and Native American tribes utilized dogs for scouting, sentry, and transportation purposes, the U.S. military never really developed a sustained use for them. While soldier-owned dogs were used in a primarily informal capacity as messengers during the Civil War and others became mascots, American military strategists as a whole did not appear to invest much in the use of canines for warfare. In an effort to adopt more mechanized technology for warfare American forces increasingly abandoned what were seen as 57 older and outdated modes of fighting, a ethos that would leave them reliant on the British war dog program during World War I. 7 Although difficult to tabulate with absolute accuracy, an estimated sixteen million animals, species ranging from camels and horses to homing pigeons and dogs, were deployed during WWI. Europe, in particular Germany, had already been developing protocols for military dog training schools during the 1870s and employed over 30,000 canine soldiers during the war. 8 This investment by the Germans in maintaining conditioning schools and breeding programs for their national breed of war dog, the German Shepherd, provided the means through which Rin- Tin-Tin was born. Many canines used during the war were generally employed for ambulance assistance, messenger services, and sentry detail while others would carry munitions, hunt rats in the trenches, and provide comfort to soldiers. The Red Cross Dog (also known as Sanitary Service or Mercy Dogs), was especially helpful for bringing supplies and water to wounded soldiers on the battlefield and alerting their cohort if rescue efforts were needed. Larger dogs could transport injured soldiers away from the trenches and front lines via two-wheeled carts. 9 Some canines were especially adept at signaling impending poison gas attacks and enabling troops to retreat or put on protective equipment. 10 Stories of famous canine accomplishments can be found throughout official historical accounts of the First World War and their inclusion is indicative of the symbolic functions of public petkeeping that reinforce later forms of multispecies stardom. Community pets, or mascots, often occupy ambiguous positions as both allegorical figures and actual living creatures, their existence becomes a site in which public sentiment coalesces. 11 While it was generally against Army regulations to possess unsanctioned animal companions while on duty, many soldiers disregarded this mandate. These mascots, usually canines, were not trained for any 58 specific duties other than companionship but often contributed in other very useful ways. Stubby, a pit bull mix, became the unofficial mascot of the American troops of the 102d Infantry and helped protect his platoon against poison gas attacks, incoming artillery shells, and the infiltration of enemy soldiers into their encampments. He was even awarded the rank of sergeant by the commanding officer of his Infantry Division. His infamous pluck and fortitude made him an icon of American military success and after returning home he became a famous canine touring the country, meeting President Woodrow Wilson, participating in parades, and eventually becoming immortalized in the Smithsonian Collection after his death. 12 Some canines that were trained in an official capacity gained notoriety through their courageous exploits. Satan, a small mixed breed dog being used to carry messages between French encampments, became a celebrated hero for saving an entire battalion from German forces. Braving an onslaught of artillery fire while wearing a protective gas mask, Satan successfully delivered a pair of messenger pigeons that would carry a distress call to nearby French reinforcements and bring about a decisive allied victory. 13 It was precisely accounts like these, along with the natural inclination to glorify all forms of battlefield heroism, which fueled the desire to present Rinty as a war mascot with his own unique stories from the frontlines. While other types of dogs that were considered particularly apt for military service usually came from breeds like Airedales, Retrievers, Doberman Pinchers, Terriers, and Sheepdogs, the German Shepherd was considered the most iconic war dog of the group and this conception was increasingly popularized throughout the 1920s. U.S. Army personnel had long recognized the breed’s reliability, powerful speed and endurance, and their malleability and often maintained a special regard for them once out of the service. 14 They were often argued to be the most ideally suited to the vagaries of military service because of their intelligence, scenting 59 ability, and thick protective coat. 15 Even prior to WWI, German Shepherd breeders and kennel owners marketed the canine as an efficient and protective animal capable of providing companionship as well as security. Due to their large size and concurrent reputations as excellent police dogs, German Shepherds were commonly employed to guard large country estates and the breed quickly became associated with the landed gentry and upper classes. 16 Since WWI, the breed has held a dominant position as a deterrent and enforcer in national militaries and domestic police forces, however, sometimes to unfortunate results. The remarkable physical power, endurance, and strength of the German Shepherd has also been historically used by, and become an unfortunate symbol of, the cruelty of the Nazi military, fascist and colonialist regimes, and police brutality which have contributed to the contemporary overshadowing of the breed’s capabilities for productive life saving public service. 17 In addition to touting Rinty’s war history in connection with his own military service, Duncan often exploited the association of German Shepherds at the time with the valor of police and war work to earn special consideration from sympathetic judges during conformation and agility shows. Tactics similar to this would resurface later as a large part of the narrative construction and publicity efforts related to many of Rinty’s films as both Duncan and Warner Bros. wanted to prolong the positive associations the public had with the heroism of war dogs. The methodologies that Duncan utilized to condition Rinty for film work and live performances were influenced by the ethos and strategies employed to train war, police, and general working animals, tactics Duncan would have been exposed to from his military service. Duncan himself has recounted a series of discussions about training war dogs that he had with a German sergeant being held at the military camp in which Duncan was stationed during the war. Professing to have “learned a lot about the German Shepherd” from this individual, Duncan also 60 provides some details about how the German military utilized their dogs for guard duty that he would later use when instructing American troops during WWII. 18 Although it is unclear the extent to which he utilized it, Duncan owned a translated copy of a manual entitled Training the Sanitary Service Dog, one of the main instructive handbooks for handling war dogs in the German military. Training protocols were widely circulated within the service animal community prior to the war and after, especially by German Shepherd breeders and enthusiasts hoping to popularize the canines. 19 While manuals that provided instruction in training canines for war work highlight the overall importance of patience and dedication to properly conditioning a dog to respond to commands and carry out directives, a clear emphasis on strict compliance is present. The nature of working with animals during active combat necessitated this as the lives of all parties involved in the process depended on it. Through continuous repetition to the point that the behaviors became second nature, the canines in training were thought of as extensions of their handlers and maintained a direct connection to them. The modes of interspecies communication and interaction that were utilized to maintain multispecies military endeavors would eventually reproduce themselves within Duncan and Rinty’s collaborative process of training and performance. Handbooks acknowledged that while it was important to avoid breaking a canine’s spirit and ambition for work, the ultimate goal was to elicit obedience to one master’s authority. Good guard dogs are taught to dislike the approach of strangers or their general presence, this would enable the canines to better alert their handlers to the presence of enemy soldiers. When being commanded to track and subdue an actual suspect or escaped prisoner, canine soldiers are conditioned to grab sleeves and/or limbs with their jaws and overpower the combatant. Manuals are unclear about the exact character or amount of force used to overcome possible suspects, 61 however, they insist that “one cannot work too much or go too far in perfecting this lesson” as the “possibilities are limitless”. 20 Although Duncan was often vague in his public explanations of his training methods, the behaviors and activities that were routinely performed by Rinty in films and live shows bear the unmistakable marks of this kind of police training. The power and athleticism that defines the German Shepherd as a breed also contributed to Rinty’s exceptional suitability for the energetic stunts required of his film work. Chasing down and fighting with villains, jumping through the air and biting down on the forearms and necks of the “enemy”, climbing steep slopes and negotiating crawlspaces, carrying heavy loads, and traversing difficult terrain at high speeds were all common actions seen in his films and expected of the trained guard and war dog. The tactic of training the police dog to ward against the danger of the unknown had the unintended consequence of encouraging Rinty to engage in overly aggressive behavior towards other actors that, while not being well-known to the canine performer, should certainly have never been considered a threat. This not only earned Rin-Tin-Tin a reputation for being difficult on set but also contributed to the kinds of roles that were created for him. Many of his films operate as thematic explorations of the conflict between a canine’s wild nature and his connection to a human companion and domestic life. Where the North Begins (Franklin, 1923), Tracked in the Snow Country (Raymaker, 1925), Below the Line (Raymaker, 1925), Clash of the Wolves (Smith, 1925); Hills of Kentucky (Bretherton, 1927), Jaws of Steel (Enright, 1927), Rinty of the Desert (Lederman, 1928), and Frozen River (Weight, 1929) all depict a conflict within the psyche of Rinty’s characters that forces them into a tough negotiation between their fiercely untamed natures and their innate desire to protect humanity. Often this conflict is brought about when Rinty’s characters are initially supposed to be pets but are accidentally separated from their 62 human companions at an early age and forced to live in the wild, thus becoming a complex blend of nature and nurture. In addition to the thematic content, some of Rinty’s films utilized his training to carry out precarious and often dangerous stunts. In The Lighthouse by the Sea (St. Clair, 1924), Rin can be seen carrying a flaming cloth up a steep flight of steps to the top of a lighthouse and depositing the cloth into the lantern, a feat that actually left the star slightly singed. 21 While the filming of The Night Cry (Raymaker, 1926) required Rinty to climb ragged cliffs and actually fight a live condor, the film is filled with other dangerous scenes in which Rinty is struck repeatedly with a chair during a fight with a rancher and can be seen accidentally tumbling head first down a cliff side. Despite his promotion as an extraordinary war dog, the impressive displays of physical power, scenes of violence, and images of aggression that were a common feature of Rin-Tin- Tin’s films often provoked anxieties in audiences and critics concerned about the potential for animal cruelty. Circumventing suspicion, Duncan was careful to publically promote the use of humane training strategies and the kind treatment of animals, asserting that Rinty was an intuitive subject that required guidance rather than the use of coercive force. 22 Training was discussed by Duncan as a way for individuals, children especially, to bring out the obedient tendencies that were naturally present in canines, a tactic revealing the cross species nature of socialization practices that had been in effect since the mid-1800s. Katherine Grier explains that the increasingly sentimentalized view of animals that characterized the nineteenth century was part of a “domestic ethic of kindness” that privileged an engagement with the social world built on the concepts of gentility, stewardship and compassion. Individuals needed to work on cultivating the values of benevolent charity and spiritual perfection within themselves, self- discipline and morality were crucial aspects of a thriving domestic sphere. Children and animals 63 were especially connected in a process of mutual socialization where both sides were thought of as needing special care and guidance in order to become well-mannered members of the household and the larger community. 23 Child-rearing philosophies of the Progressive Era positioned the child as an essentially moral agent who was in need of consistent nurturance and animal companions played an important role in the civilization process of young children. Domesticated pets and their young human companions were teaching each other to be moral entities. Adults were also required to model appropriate standards of comportment in their interactions with the family pets and other animals, helping to cultivate a sense of moral fortitude. Parenting advice and anti-cruelty literature both constructed children and animals as agents that possessed an innate capacity for appropriate behavior that could be cultivated by adults and training was required to carefully direct the imitative qualities fueling the antics of canines and children. 24 While the emergent field of child behavioral psychology promoted a newly scientific approach to rearing that emphasized the important role of the parent, the methodologies espoused were often at odds with each other. Whether the approaches were of a strictly rational or sentimentalized character, however, the ultimate underlying goals were to successfully condition the child for productive civil life. 25 Advice on the care and training of animals in the late nineteenth century was also primarily relegated to eliciting behaviors that conveyed basic decency and civility. When pets, dogs especially, were allowed inside the house they had to be taught to control their elimination habits, only excrete waste outside and never on a neighbor’s yard. Extended instruction in task oriented obedience training was generally reserved for the masculine realm of sportsmanship and the military and did not infiltrate popular petkeeping practices until the 1940s. 26 64 While Duncan routinely asserted that Rinty’s behaviors were conditioned solely through patience and care rather than fear or violence, these claims effaced the more practical underpinnings of the lifestyle that the two lived and speaks to the complex expressions of “kindness” that can be seen across different communities. The employment of dogs for sporting and farm work during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, cultures in which Duncan had a self-professed investment in, approached interspecies relations from a more utilitarian perspective. Kindness was seen less as a means of indulging and overprotecting one’s animal companion and more of a respect for their needs and abilities as an active and sentient creature, especially if the canine had a history of working alongside humans. 27 In his own personal notes Duncan goes into great detail about the extensive time he and Rinty spent in the wilderness of California and the Pacific Northwest. There is a candor with which Duncan discusses examples of injuries that Rinty sustained while on their numerous outdoor adventures or the potential harm that could have come to the canine during his film performances. 28 Rin-Tin-Tin was thought of as both a functional animal who provided a set of necessary skills and a companion who could fulfill and keep pace with Duncan’s desire for adventure. After reviewing scripts for narrative plausibility Duncan would often instruct the writers and directors of Rinty’s films that it was unrealistic to have the star engaging in overly sentimental behavior, arguing that Rinty was “not cute”. That assertion is clearly substantiated in the majority of his earlier films, however, his public appearances at children’s homes and hospitals would somewhat contradict the fierce qualities cultivated through his onscreen persona. The variety of training strategies that were utilized throughout Rinty’s career also reveal the changing nature of interspecies engagement and the increase in sentimental petkeeping. The early portion of Rin-Tin-Tin’s life was clearly dominated by his work as a police and 65 sportsman’s dog, training that recommended a dispassionate approach to conditioning where excessive coddling or fawning over one’s dog was to be avoided. Manuals of the pre WWI era that provided instruction about dog handling for amateur sportsmen warned against allowing the canine to become “everybody’s dog”, a canine was required to adhere to their handler and no one else. This strategy had a direct impact on Rinty’s on set multispecies relationships as articles and interviews detailed his aggression and propensity to bite his costars, Rin was police dog trained to dislike any individual who was not his master. 29 While the first two generations of Rin-Tin- Tins were all trained utilizing similar methods, Duncan eventually abandoned the one-man approach and allowed Rinty III and Rinty IV to develop affectionate and diverse relationships with the individuals around them. By the late 1940s and 1950s the film industry was dominated by professional trainers, working with animal performers whose sole function was acting rather than service and sporting, who had moved away from overtly force-oriented methods. The film industry had transitioned from a period of reliance on service animals and amateur handlers to the era of the professional pet, seen most distinctively in the immense popularity of the Lassie brand. The “Mortgage Lifter”: Rinty and Warner Brothers According to his personal accounts Duncan arrived home from the war in 1919 with Rin- Tin-Tin and Nannette by his side. During a short quarantine period after their disembarking in New York, the two puppies were placed in a nearby kennel on Long Island. While staying there, Nanette was unfortunately stricken with distemper and died shortly thereafter. The sympathetic owner of the kennel gave Duncan a new female German Shepherd puppy, also to be named Nanette, to take with him back home to California. 30 Once home, Duncan took every opportunity to establish connections with the local German Shepherd clubs and their enthusiasts, knowing 66 that his two puppies were certainly sought after commodities despite their lack of official pedigree. Duncan, impressed with Rinty’s athletic abilities, began entering him in local German Shepherd Club dog shows in Los Angeles. Although he performed poorly during conformation trials, Rinty excelled in the working category of the programs and was filmed in 1922 successfully jumping/scaling a wall that was eleven feet and nine inches tall. This footage, shot by a friend of Duncan’s named Charley Jones, became a highly sought after short that demonstrated not only the popularity of animals on film but also the potential viability of Rinty’s onscreen talent, earning Duncan three hundred and fifty dollars. 31 Rinty and Duncan were approached by William Desmond to work on a small budget independent film called The Man from Hell’s River (Cummings, 1922), a “snow” that would be shot on location in Yosemite. 32 Soon after, Rinty was hired to perform a somewhat smaller, though well received, role in My Dad (Smith, 1922). There are more than a few competing accounts of how Duncan and Rinty earned their eventual contract with Warner Bros., and Duncan himself is vague on this point. Some posit that Duncan infiltrated the studio while Jack Warner was attempting to shoot a scene with an uncooperative wolf and Duncan offered the services of Rinty who performed impeccably. 33 Others argue that Duncan met with Harry Warner, a shrewd businessman who was looking to capitalize on the emergent craze for German Shepherds, saw the value in the talented canine performer. 34 Ultimately, the two were hired by the studio to work on a feature, written by Duncan himself, entitled Where the North Begins (Franklin, 1923). The success of their first major studio film earned Rinty a prominent place at Warner Bros. with a lucrative contract. The multispecies star would go on to become the most famous canine performer of the 1920s. 67 The nascent Hollywood studio system of the early twentieth century was in a process of standardizing the conventions of talent development, production aesthetics and efficiency, and promotional marketing that would eventually enable Rin-Tin-Tin to become a massive multispecies star of early Hollywood cinema. These industrial processes would also exercise a great deal of influence over the nature and characteristics of the companion animal media texts that were being produced at this time. The remainder of this section will discuss the manner in which the films that Duncan and Rinty made, as part an emergent trend of animal-centered narratives that would comprise the first major period of companion animal media, enabled Warner Bros. to simultaneously maintain commercial viability while establishing a branded studio product that could generate its own popularity. The demands of studio production and publicity necessitated a supply of performers, of any species, that could command the attention of domestic and international audiences and differentiate cinematic products. Multispecies performers became especially marketable at this time and Warner Bros. was especially invested in maintaining their competitive edge by employing their own canine superstar. As studio production eventually became a simultaneously regimented system for making profits and collective process of creative innovation, films were required to be a blend of economical efficiency and aesthetic novelty. The cinematographic and editing strategies of the medium facilitated the specific acting talents of multispecies performers as many films utilized physical spectacles and the intercutting of close-up reaction shots to convey a host of meanings. Fan magazines of the era were an integral part of the promotional process for studio films as the public fascination with Hollywood extended to stars of all kinds, the star image and personal history of Rin-Tin-Tin was as manipulated as any of the major stars. Rinty’s own personal 68 history would soon become subject to the kind of fanciful embellishment characteristic of both multispecies engagements and the creation of many Hollywood legends. The development of moving image technologies and the resulting popularization of the emergent medium of film has historically maintained complex multispecies overtones. The latter half of the nineteenth century witnessed a host of pre-cinematic instantaneous photography studies that enabled the development of early film technology. It is now well-documented how a photographic experiment, commissioned by Leland Stanford in 1872 and conducted by Eadweard Muybridge in 1973, produced undeniable proof of the sequential movements constituting the gait of Stanford’s favorite horse, Occident. The success of this endeavor encouraged Muybridge to pursue further motion studies of animal movement, the culmination of which can be found in his Animal Locomotion (1883-1887), a comprehensive 781 plate photographic exercise depicting numerous human and animal movements. 35 Prior to this, innovations in photographic and celluloid manufacturing necessitated the use of animal by- products like gelatin that could provide a viable base for light-sensitive particles to affix to and enable the development of an actual image, gelatin emulsions were the glue that held moving images together. 36 Demonstrations of the new cinematographic apparatus resulted in one of the first appearances of a domesticated animal “performer” on film. One of the early kinetoscope shorts that Edison filmed was Electrocuting an Elephant (1903), in which the execution of Topsy, a performing elephant at Coney Island who was deemed unsafe, was enacted by means of electrocution. 37 The sensationalistic exploitation of this rather gruesome event was eclipsed by the fascination with the technological innovation of motion pictures and revealed the potential draw of animal imagery. 69 Early cinematic production during the first two decades of the twentieth century would see the rise of the first major period of companion animal media as many studios were quick to take advantage of companion animals as exciting agents of rescue, intrigue, and action. The British studio Hepworth was responsible for not only what is thought of as the first use of a canine protagonist, Rescued by Rover (1905), but several other dog-centered narratives often featuring their star collie performer Blair. The popularity of the Hepworth films inspired many other British and American studios to produce film shorts featuring a host of animal characters that ranged from horses and cats to elephants and chimpanzees. Canines were by far the most widely utilized animal performers and almost every filmmaker, from the larger studios to the tiny independent production companies, wanted to capitalize on the trend for heroic and faithful dog companions. Vitagraph Studios employed Jean, a black and white collie owned and trained by Lawrence Trimble, who became a popular performer until her death in 1916 while Luke, a pit- bull mix, was commonly the star of many Biograph films during the 1910s. 38 The majority of these films were short in length, contained simple narratives and often only required the animal star to perform a few tricks or engage in some comic slapstick with their human costars. 39 The 1920s would see the canine elevated to the status of dramatic, top-billed star through several feature length films and the German Shepherd would reign supreme as Hollywood’s breed of choice. 40 The first major canine performer of the era was Strongheart, an impressively built German Shepherd dog that starred in the immensely popular film The Silent Call (Trimble, 1921). The financial success of the modestly budgeted film was thought to inaugurate a frenzy of copycat studio productions hoping to capitalize on the public’s investment in canine heroism, a trend that would enable Rinty to secure parts in the films he made prior to his leading role in Where the North Begins. 41 The sizable profits the Warner Bros. studio earned from this film only 70 further solidified the marketability of German Shepherds and encouraged the other Hollywood studios to follow suit. 42 In an attempt to compete with Warner Bros., MGM made five films starring three different German Shepherds and finally settled on Flash, marketing him as “MGM’s Famous Police Dog”. 43 While the larger studios occasionally participated, the more notable German Shepherd performers of the 1920s (Thunder, Sandow, Peter the Great, Klondike, and Ranger) were commonly employed by the smaller independent production companies like Gotham and Film Booking Office (FBO) whose limited financing encouraged them to take advantage of the decent return on investment that these films provided. The characteristics of early companion animal media were clearly driven by the complex interplay between audience interests, trends in profitability, and studio hiring practices. Executives saw that viewers were invested in a particular kind of canine star and narrative, action-oriented dramas featuring German Shepherds, and shaped the mode of companion animal media to suit their needs. The prolific nature of Rin-Tin-Tin’s career is indicative of both Warner Brother’s low- budget, low-return financing strategy and the era’s increasing emphasis on individual star branding as a means of generating consumer recognition in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Gerben Bakker points out that the period between 1900 and 1930 was defined by an increase in studio marketing strategies and brand extension efforts that attempted to generate public interest in particular films. These included franchising successful films and stars, purchasing pre-sold material like novels or plays that the audience would easily recognize, and engaging in ancillary merchandising tie-ins. The studios would refer to star’s names in order to differentiate their products starting in the 1910s and onward. The popularity of stars and the longevity of their careers made them ideally branded products that the studios could utilize to generate publicity and recognition for individual films. In the 1920s releases had longer theatre 71 runs and required greater publicity from the studios that would subsequently engage in national promotional campaigns and wider release patterns to guarantee higher profits. 44 Rinty was the most productive of the canine stars during the 1920s and Warner Bros. took every opportunity to promote their star as a branded product, always billing the star above his human costars in close proximity to the name of the studio. The canine performer was a reliable source of income for the studio and the continual production of the lower budget, moderately profitable series of films enabled the executives at Warner Brothers to cover costs and maintain commercial viability at a time in which the studio was looking to expand beyond its poverty row status. 45 This perpetual stream of modest commercial success would give Rinty his reputation as the “mortgage lifter”, a characterization that has been slightly exaggerated over time but is indicative of the popularity that surrounded the canine star and the stability he provided for the studio. 46 The meteoric rise of the multispecies performer within early cinema of the 1920s speaks as much to their novelty and profitability as it does to the aesthetic economy of silent filmmaking practices that were utilized in these companion animal media texts. It has been recognized by a few of Rin-Tin-Tin’s biographers that the canine certainly possessed an impressive set of physical and affective talents that were aptly exploited by the cinematographic and editing strategies of the era. Arguing that while canines and humans utilized a similar arsenal of emotive equipment for their roles that minimized any performative disadvantages, Susan Orlean points out that the on-screen behavior of dog stars avoided the pantomimic qualities of human acting. Trainers routinely professed that the key to effective canine acting was the encouragement of natural behaviors and actions that dogs could conceivably carry out. 47 This ethos would become progressively more suspect as canine stars like Rinty would engage in increasingly more dangerous and unbelievable stunts in his films as a means of garnering attention. Rinty could be 72 seen escaping forest fires, climbing down chimneys, fighting live condors, and carrying open flames up flights of stairs. 48 In addition to the physical prowess that marked Rinty’s career, the manner in which the silent films were shot and edited contributed to a diverse set of meanings that are indicative of multispecies performance. As the medium was experimenting with new methods of expression, the use of close-up and reaction shots enabled filmmakers, actors, and editors to craft different performances based on the takes utilized and their relationship to other shots within a sequence. Praised by critics in the popular press for the way in which his thrilling heroics are marvelously “superb piece(s) of acting” and his human costars are “overshadowed” by his reasoning skills and emotional presence, his naturally intuitive intelligence reveals his “almost human nature”. 49 The fan magazines and gossip columns were notoriously predominant media outlets for the kind of publicity that the studios wanted to release about their stars. Janine Basinger details the frequency with which the popular press featured stories about not only Rin-Tin-Tin but Hollywood’s multispecies celebrities in general. Fan magazines loved all of the performing animals and routinely ran stories complete with numerous photos and drawings, even inventing a subgenre of “animal auto-biography” in which the fan magazine would construct interviews with the animal performer and craft a backstory for their discovery and actual life. Photoplay was initially invested in promoting Strongheart, however, their interest waned as Rinty’s career developed and his performance abilities gained more traction with critics and fans. At the height of the star canine’s fame, in the mid to late 1920s, he was said to receive approximately twelve thousand fan letters a week, earned six thousand dollars a month and was insured for one hundred thousand dollars. He was provided with an ancillary support staff of chefs, valets, and drivers while he cavorted with visiting dignitaries and consumed gourmet meals. 50 While the 73 salary and insurance data maintains accuracy, the latter potion of information was most likely planted by the press agents at Warner Bros. as the fanciful nature of the lifestyle directly contradicts the way in which Duncan lived. The manner in which the press and fans developed increasingly more favorable responses to Rinty over Strongheart was also potentially attributable to the way in which the personas of the two canine stars were constructed by their respective studios and trainers. While both German Shepherds had publicized histories of supposed military service during WWI, Rinty’s origins as a rescued war orphan struck a more emotional chord than the ferocity that characterized Strongheart’s discovery narrative. Trained as a physically imposing police dog, Strongheart was the consummate soldier, an intense fighting machine that was imported from Germany. 51 The narrative of Rinty’s discovery on the ragged battlefields of WWI served a number of functions for all of the parties connected to the star canine’s career and speaks to the diverse interests embedded in multispecies stardom. Between the time in which Duncan returned from the war in 1919 and the height of Rin-Tin-Tin’s fame and success in the late 1920s, the canine’s origin story and Duncan’s role in it had taken on almost mythic, and often embellished, proportions. Ann Elwood argues that while it seems to be factual that Rinty was indeed born in France in 1918, it has been disputed that the canine was found inside a war-torn kennel or that he helped accompany Duncan on his flying missions. Personal accounts of other members in Duncan’s squadron explain that the dog encountered on the battlefield was an adult German Shepherd who was later brought to camp and eventually fathered a litter of puppies, of which Rinty was one, with a local French Shepherd. Despite Duncan’s early claims that the canine performer was a police dog that had experience on the war-front, Rin-Tin-Tin would of course 74 have been too young to have participated in any actual war dog activities or squadron assignments, having been only a few months old at the time of the war’s end. Duncan also seems to have been purposefully vague about his rank and squadron responsibilities, claiming to have been an officer and an experienced aviator who routinely flew on several missions. Although not impossible, it would have been extremely rare for an enlisted man (without officer’s rank) to be carrying out flying missions during WWI, and as Duncan was listed as a Corporal it was unlikely he was as seasoned an aviator as he claimed to be. 52 Although she points out that the fabrication of the canine star’s war record was most likely an attempt to solidify Rin-Tin-Tin’s membership in the German Shepherd breed and establish a connection to the pedigreed canines that would have most likely been found in a bunker housing canine soldiers, Elwood also holds the studios and publicity outlets accountable for the manipulation of Rinty’s past. 53 The popular press from 1924 onward never seemed to tire of reproducing the discovery mythology, often calling Rinty a war orphan or foundling and referring to his “zestful adventure” and “hops through the clouds” during his time in the army. 54 Numerous popular news articles even refer to Duncan’s military rank with increasing caprice, alternating from sergeant to lieutenant to captain on different occasions. 55 Regardless of Duncan’s exact motivations, his lack of consistency concerning Rinty’s emergence becomes less important to consider than the machinations of studio publicity machines that wanted to conjure up particular images of their canine star through whatever means. The studio repeatedly exploited Rinty’s origin mythology by including references to WWI in more than a few of his films and even crafted an “autobiographical” film based on Rinty’s “service”. In emphasizing the heroic and life-affirming qualities of Rinty’s rescue and role as a war dog in the press, Warner Bros. effectively sidelined much of the anti-war 75 sentiments circulating within the majority of Hollywood films that dealt with the subject of WWI during the 1920s. Janine Basinger points out that contrary to later films about WWII, the First World War was commonly depicted as a senselessly violent conflict that, in its failure to really solve any of the problems for which the war was fought, demonstrated the necessity of pacifism. While the studios temporarily refrained from making war films, the subject eventually became a topical issue from the mid-1920s onward in ways that blended the tendency to glorify wartime heroism with larger antiwar overtones. 56 In his examination of the Hollywood war film, Robert Eberwein discusses that many genre historians have posited the connections between specific genre films and cultural memory and the role that narrativizing particular historical conflicts plays in a society’s perception of national coherence. In this way, films about war often reimagine the past through the socio-cultural specificities of the time in which they were made. 57 Rin-Tin-Tin’s star power and personal history enabled Warner Bros. to engage the sensitive topic of WWI from the safety of the universal appeal of the canine-centered film. One can see the growing prevalence of WWI references in Rinty’s films as they safely diffuse the problems of the returning veteran via the help of the faithful canine hero. Both Shadows of the North (Robert F. Hill, 1923) and Find Your Man (Malcolm St. Clair, 1924), blend the topicality of veterans issues with the pulpy generic attributes of the action-westerns Rinty was known for. While the narrative of Shadows concerns a war veteran and his faithful dog (Rinty) as they attempt to find the figure responsible for murdering the hero’s father and stealing his gold mining claim, Find Your Man actually casts Rinty as a red cross dog that returns home with his human comrade in arms to face the difficulties of finding employment within a corrupt logging industry. The only one of Rin-Tin-Tin’s films to explicitly deal with his supposed history in WWI was A Dog of the Regiment (D. Ross Lederman, 1927), in which the 76 canine star tends to soldiers as a red-cross dog and helps the human hero avoid execution by the German army in a daring aerial escape meant to invoke both Rinty’s and Duncan’s wartime mythologies. The marketing of these films for children and families would have toned down any realistic or violent content while Rinty’s roles as a life saving red-cross dog, a decidedly apolitical figure during the war itself, fulfilled a dual function of both carefully displacing the anxieties over the loss of life and diffusing the need for commentary. This engagement with Rinty’s war history was but one tactic among many employed by Warners to promote their canine’s heroic and positive attributes. It has been documented that in order to promote their stars, studio executives and press departments would often create their own fan magazines and distribute material to the popular press while selling large amounts of advertising that featured their particular stars. 58 While Rinty was consistently billed as a “war dog” and his military history was reproduced within his film roles and the popular press, over time the studio promotional materials would also craft Rinty as affectionate and family oriented while his competition, Strongheart, remained unapproachably aristocratic, the result of inconsistent publicity and sparse film roles. 59 Photos of Rinty, surrounded by Nanette and a litter of little puppies, appeared in the press with captions discussing his faithful devotion to his family obligations and even quotes of the star canine stating “I’ve only been in love once in my life”. Articles would detail the sorrow that would plague “Mrs. Rin Tin Tin” and her puppies whenever Rinty had to leave on promotional tours for his film releases. 60 This presentation of the middle class canine couple contrasted with how Strongheart and his companion, Lady Jule, were often described in the press as “royalty” possessing “thoroughbred” qualities while Strongheart himself was described as a gentleman with dignified German heritage. 61 77 Multiplying the Brand Image: Vaudeville Shows, Mascot Serials, Dogs for Defense There is a tendency within scholarship that discusses Rin-Tin-Tin as a silent film star to focus on the accomplishments of the first generation, there is an investment in the “original” that seems to efface the generations that came after that were made to bear not only the trademark name and image but also fulfill the contractual obligations and breeding requirements. Multispecies star analysis accounts not only for the multiplicity of agents involved in the production of a star text but also the utilization of various animals to maintain brand continuity and media outlet diversification. As a result, multispecies stardom can be thought of as an intergenerational phenomenon in which the star image is preserved via the delegation of performance responsibilities over an extended period of time. It becomes especially important to conceptualize the work that subsequent Rin-Tin-Tin generations carried out in the service of maintaining the original specifications of their star image because of the manner which each descendent cultivated new dimensions of their star image within increasingly diverse contexts. This section will discuss the live vaudeville appearances, low budget serials, and WWII war dog training that Rin-Tin-Tin, Rinty Junior, and Rinty III participated in respectively. The transitional period between the cessation of major studio film production in the 1920s and covert studio financed television work of the 1950s is marked by a preservation of the star canine’s name via an expansion of the brand into performance modes that epitomize the plurality of multispecies stardom. These modes facilitated a direct form of interspecies contact that extends beyond the handler/star partnership and engages a host of “audiences” that include theatre patrons, military personnel, canine trainees, and American pet owners. While the gradual transition to sound filmmaking after 1926 proved to be a lucrative venture for Warner Bros., the advent of the Depression forced them to recalibrate their spending. 78 The escalation of production costs for their sound films contributed to a concurrent intensification of investment risk, executives at Warners could no longer maintain their low budget, low returns financing ethos that had sustained them through most of the 1920s. The lackluster reception of Rinty’s sound debut, Frozen River, combined with the decreasing profitability of his subsequent “barkies”, the growing popularity of musical spectaculars and increasingly tighter budgeting constraints prompted the studio to terminate their contract with the canine star in 1930. 62 The economic downturn and the loss of his studio salary motivated Duncan to investigate alternative modes of employment and eventually he decided to take Rinty on the vaudeville circuit. 63 Booking theatre venues and playing to large crowds mimicked the conditions of the numerous live appearances that he and Rinty made as part of the promotional work done for their studio releases. The dynamics of live performance within a light entertainment program suited the duo as it facilitated a direct connection between handler and star that was uninterrupted by the vagaries of on set production. Duncan and Rinty could act out a series of short trained sequences that focused attention on Rinty’s athleticism and charm, often invoking the audience as part of the gags. They would engage in demonstrations of the manner in which Rinty was trained to act out certain behaviors and impress the audience with performances of stunts, the often informal nature of the performances encouraged Duncan to improvise the act and sometime he would instruct Rinty to search through the crowds for particular individuals. There were many moments of interaction between the performing duo and the audience, children often felt compelled to ask questions and blurt out incredulous remarks regarding the plausibility of Rinty performing as well as he did. Duncan would often augment the stage act to cater to these questions, having Rinty change direction or alter his movements to show how skilled he was. Billed as the “wonder 79 dog of stage and screen”, Rinty played to capacity crowds and enjoyed a consistent level of popularity throughout their tour. Weary of the traditional vaudeville fare, the press recognized the novelty of their act and praised Rinty’s skill, pointing out his unique ability to appeal to the children in the audience. Despite the constant traveling and performing multiple shows a day, Duncan and Rinty also made time to visit the local children’s hospital wards and orphanages where the star canine engaged a host of individuals from sickly children to hospital staff. 64 The live shows and appearances at local establishments facilitated an expansive multispecies universe in which Rinty, his handler, his fans, administrative staff, theatre personnel, and even other vaudeville actors all participated. After touring the country, Duncan and Rinty were approached by Nat Levine to star in the first “all-talking, all-barking serial in canine or human history” for Mascot Pictures. Founded in 1926 as a production company specializing exclusively in chapter plays, Mascot soon became one of the only substantial competitors for Pathé and Universal through its emphasis on including as much action and exciting stunt work as possible into every episode. 65 Jon Tuska argues that despite the “technical crudities” that were often characteristic of the Mascot productions, they were emotionally arresting, fast-paced, and profitable pieces of cinematic storytelling that pioneered a triadic hero configuration and constructed prominent agents out of a host of animal performers. 66 A common feature of the Mascot serials was the construction of a trio of leading characters, often an adult male paired with a young boy and his animal companion, that would collaborate as one to heroically solve the mysteries of any particular narrative. This multispecies formula for casting and narrative advancement was an innovative strategy for not only increasing audience identification via a plurality of figures but also participated in highlighting the animal hero’s perceptive abilities. 80 The employment of Rin-Tin-Tin only intensified the multispecies trio’s seemingly incredible abilities as the star canine was a featured portion of the promotion for the serials he appeared in. In one of the posters for The Lightning Warrior (Armand Schaefer, 1931), Rinty’s name appears in bold typeface above both the title and the other actor’s names while his image towers over the other figures present and accompanying text extols the exciting ability to hear Rinty (see Figure 2.2). In later serials like The Law of the Wild (Armand Schaefer, 1934) and The Figure 2.2 The poster for The Lightning Warrior (Digital Image, Davycrockettsalmanack.com. Web. http://davycrockettsalmanack.blogspot.com/2012/04/overlooked-films-rin-tin-tin-in.html) Adventures of Rex and Rinty (Ford Beebe, 1935), the heroic trio consisted of an even more diverse contingent of performers (see Figure 2.3). Billed as “The King of the Wild Horses”, Rex was a horse that had gained early fame in the 1920s through appearing in a few of the equestrian films made at Pathé and was now being paired with Rinty on their quests to save the day. The 81 nature of serialized adventure films like the ones produced at Mascot also speaks to both the theoretical and practical dimensions of multispecies stardom through the narrative segmentation and accelerated production schedules. The completion of a serial consisted of twenty-one days of strenuous filming filled with arduous stunting that necessitated the use of multiple canines, including the star’s habitual stunt double, Rinty Junior and sometimes even a stuffed dog for long shots. 67 Even Mascot understood the potential necessity of substituting different canines for the lead, their contract with Duncan and Rinty Junior stipulated that the studio was purchasing the rights to the Rin-Tin-Tin trademark and could use that name regardless of which canine was Figure 2.3 The Mascot Triad Hero of Rex (Horse) and Rinty protecting their boy (Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum, Riverside California) actually fulfilling the role at a given time. 68 The fragmentation of the story and the repetitive dilation of plot that Mascot was notorious for takes the performer image and multiplies it across numerous episodes, increasing the amount of exposure to a larger potential audience. 82 Rinty Junior participated in four serials and nine films throughout the latter portion of the 1930s, however, the majority of the features were low budget enterprises with poor reception and limited publicity. By 1939 Rinty Junior was no longer a starring attraction and was relegated to appearing as a relic of the silent era in ensemble pictures like Hollywood Cavalcade (Irving Cummings, 1939). 69 Despite the numerous roles, the perception of Junior’s performance abilities was, and continues to be, a matter of disagreement and contradiction. Prominent members of the stunting crew for many of the Mascot serials argued that Junior was the superior performer and should have been utilized as more than a stunt double. 70 Members of Duncan’s family have attested to his disappointment with Junior, however, stating that he felt the canine was too large and lacked much of his father’s natural acting ability. Regardless of how the canine was perceived by those actually working around him, the popular press seemed less than impressed with Junior. 71 These discrepancies may speak more to the general decrease in popularity of canine-centered films in the 1930s as well as a the fact that the unique proclivities of the individuals surrounding Junior most likely would have influenced their understanding of the canine’s abilities. The stunt crew would have favored Junior’s more athletic build and less temperamental nature while Duncan would have been predisposed to dislike Junior because he saw him as a replacement rather than a fully fledged performer. While the U.S. entrance into World War II was marked by the similar lack of prescience regarding the utility of canine soldiers that they had maintained during WWI, the American government would eventually formulate a recruitment, training, and deployment program that would connect the domesticated pet with military personnel as an officially sanctioned interspecies defensive coalition. Dogs for Defense (DFD), the organization that was eventually responsible for promoting the public donation of dogs to the war effort, was formed by Arlene 83 Erlanger in 1942 and employed a nationwide contingent of trainers, volunteers and kennel clubs. Their mission was “to bring a coordination of effort and a unity of purpose in the building up of a canine defense corps of which everybody who loves dogs and appreciates their capabilities will be proud”. 72 While the DFD’s efforts to contribute were initially ignored, the military eventually recognized the need for sentry dogs to guard strategic homefront locations in case of domestic sabotage and the DFD was put in charge of recruitment and training. By fall 1942, the Army Quartermaster Corps took over training responsibilities and left the DFD to focus on procurement. They established “war dog reception and training centers across the country” where the dogs procured by the DFD representatives could be medically evaluated by a veterinarian, assessed for their potential skill set, and eventually trained to perform certain duties. 73 After an initial eight-week basic obedience training course, dog recruits could be specially trained for either guard responsibilities or tactical deployment as casualty dogs, messengers, or silent scouts. 74 Of the variety of positions that these canine soldiers fulfilled, the scout dogs that were deployed in the Pacific theatre proved to be the most beneficial to the platoons stationed there. Dogs were thought of as being especially adept at tracking and alerting their handlers to the presence of enemy attackers in jungle warfare where visibility was low and the enemy outposts were easily disguised. 75 The DFD encouraged the donation of dogs by civilians with the understanding that the animals were “gifts” and not guaranteed to be returned, however, many dogs that were donated were deemed unsuitable and returned to their owners. The Marine Corps also told civilians that donated their dogs that they were relinquishing all rights and that the canines were gifts to the U.S. military, however, often the Marine Corps would ask those who donated if they desired their dogs back after service was completed. An extensive effort was made to detrain the canine 84 soldiers after the cessation of the war and WWII would be the last time that the U.S. military would return canine soldiers to civilian society after war service. If the previous owners did not want to retrieve their dogs, they were to be donated as either a seeing-eye dog, a military mascot, given to their handlers, or sold to private buyers. Under no circumstances were the canines to be sent to laboratories for experimentation. 76 Great lengths were taken by the U.S. Army to ensure the public that the canine soldiers home from the war were being taking care of and often enjoying the comforts of civilian life. 77 It was common for the human handlers and their canine counterparts to remain together after their service as the bond that developed during wartime was often incredibly strong. This kind of connection was encouraged as part of the training process as observations about war dog performance noted that the more familiar the handlers and canine soldiers were with each other, the greater the level of efficiency and execution of desired tasks. The formation of a bond between handler and war dog was crucial to the survival of both and the conditioning of both the Marines and their canine counterparts was seen as a team-building challenge that would prepare them for the rigors of warfare. 78 After the advent of WWII, Rin-Tin-Tin III came to occupy a hybrid position, simultaneously a pet, part of a legacy of Hollywood stardom, and a military representative. As such, Rinty would act as the multispecies agent connecting the American public and their family dogs to the histories of war training and contemporary canine soldiers. The Rin-Tin-Tin brand would further facilitate this relationship as the canine star still retained a historic connection to wartime patriotism. After the Army had established a war dog training center at Camp Haan in 1943, Duncan and Rin-Tin-Tin III were invited by Army officials to aid in the efforts to educate the canine and human recruits. Despite Duncan’s initial intentions to officially enlist him in the U.S. Army, Rinty would remain a civilian participant due to the enormous potential for positive 85 publicity that the star canine’s image could provide the Dogs for Defense organization and the war effort. Rinty was given an official army tattoo, awarded the rank of sergeant, and put through the same training course that the other canine recruits were required to fulfill. 79 He proved to be an asset to the Army for the assistance he provided in demonstrating the appropriate skills that were required of the successful war dog and enabling them to learn from example. Rinty was said to excel at the Red Cross assistant classification as he was able to routinely detect and locate wounded soldiers during trials in which live ammunition was used to simulate actual wartime experience. The canine corps was a popular subject in the news and the Army took every opportunity to promote the program as well as their association with Rinty. They allowed film crews from Pathé News to procure footage of the canine recruits from various camps engaging in their exercises and daily life. 80 They also sent out a number of articles to the popular press and publicity photos that detailed Rinty’s heroism and reaffirmed the good treatment of the canine recruits (see Figures 2.4 and 2.5). A press release intended for publication in the Red Cross Figure 2.4 Publicity photo demonstrating the well being of the WWII canine recruit (Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum, Riverside California) 86 Figure 2.5 Rinty III demonstrating the “attack” command during training at Camp Haan (Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum, Riverside California) Courier promotes the canine star as a hard worker, an intelligent and fearless animal who tirelessly serves his country alongside the human soldiers. 81 The DFD was responsible for procuring approximately 40,000 donated dogs between 1942 and 1944, a figure that demonstrates in part the success of the promotional efforts of the U.S. Army and the DFD. Despite the sentimental attachment that many individuals had to their companion animals at the time, giving their dogs to the U.S. military was seen as part of their patriotic duty and the courageous image of Rin-Tin-Tin further solidified that the common pet could indeed become a fearless war hero. Revitalizing the Brand: Market Research and the Television Frontier As the Rin-Tin-Tin lineage and brand name advanced into the post-war era they faced the demands of a changing marketplace characterized by new advertising strategies, consumer research studies, studio restructuring, and integrated media forms. Agencies and production companies intent on maximizing profit and mitigating risk would come to rely on the studies 87 produced at market research firms before moving forward with a project. While the initial emergence of television as a popular mass medium appeared to threaten the dominance of Hollywood cinematic products by increasing the level of competition for consumer audiences, studio executives quickly realized the benefits of televisual production. It is important to discuss the role that marketing and promotional efforts played in the maintenance of the Rinty brand and the multispecies dimensions fueling the making of The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin television program that ran on ABC for five seasons. The diversity of agents involved in the creation and management of the show, from sponsors and advertising agencies to independent producers and studio executives, contributed to contradictions in narrative exposition, canine representation, and promotional work related to the program. Multiplicity defined the treatment of both the characters and actors connected to Rin-Tin-Tin, as several “Rintys” were utilized to enact the lead role while tight budget constraints mandated that the background actors fulfill numerous parts. The popularity of the program would also contribute to the proliferation of Rin-Tin-Tin offspring through promotional giveaways and private procurement, the Rinty image would extend outward to a new category of companion animal that maintained direct connections to the star lineage. Ultimately, this period from the late 1940s to the late 1950s would not only comprise the final decade of a multi-generational career but also demonstrate the expansive elasticity of the brand image that Duncan had created. Rinty’s position as an important spokesdog of the successful war dog program provided the duo with a regimented lifestyle, consistent purpose and level of attention that harkened back to their early days of cinematic stardom. The years at Camp Haan had honed Rinty’s training and after returning home Duncan started investigating the possibilities of returning to feature film production. By the late 1940s America had already witnessed the rise of another canine star 88 performer in the form of Lassie whose films possessed major studio backing, franchise stability, and international popularity. The success of the series would help inaugurate an era in which companion animal media in general, and dog films in particular, were marketed for children and structured the majority of the narrative around the sentimental connection between a young protagonist, usually a boy, and his canine companion. This was a major alteration to the format that had made Rinty a star decades prior, the newly benevolent sensibilities that came to characterize companion animal media supplanted the aggressive and suspenseful energies that had precisely enabled the German Shepherd star to showcase his powerful athleticism. The Lassie series was certainly constructed around a heroic canine figure, however, the thematic core of the films centered around the unquestionable loyalty and devotion to a human master rather than the internal tensions between law and nature that drove the narratives of Rinty’s earlier films. This change was in part a factor of the sub-generic shift of animal films away from the western/adventure to the family-oriented children’s film that is witnessed with the advent of the post-war period. Due in part to the reemergence of a market for feature length animal films, Duncan was able to find an independent production company interested in making a new film starring Rin- Tin-Tin. While the brand name provided some security, the increase in production costs that had occurred since the 1920s meant that the newly incorporated Romay Pictures wanted to make certain that their potential investment would prove to be a profitable one. They enlisted the help of Buchanan and Company to conduct some market research on the brand identification and popularity of the Rin-Tin-Tin name and films among two major age groups, six to fifteen and sixteen to forty-five. The results from the surveys revealed that an overwhelming amount of respondents recognized not only the name of Rin-Tin-Tin but also clearly identified him as a 89 cinematic animal star, demonstrating that the brand still maintained traction with consumers. 82 The push to ensure that there was indeed a receptive audience for Rinty was part of a growing trend after WWII of employing the science of statistical analyses and surveying to better gauge the desires and interests of the consumer marketplace. While advertising agencies had been utilizing these tactics since the late 1800s, they took longer to infiltrate the film industry. Studios had previously engaged in “data-gathering operations” in the 1920s and 1930s that attempted to poll theatre attendees and elicit responses to mail-in surveys, however, these efforts were informal at best and never returned any substantive results. The short length of film releases unfortunately exacerbated the unreliability and time consuming nature of the research methods, any information gathered would be obsolete by the time it was analyzed. The early 1940s saw a greater amount of independent research firms working for the major studios and eventually independent production companies employed them as a means of securing better loans from financial institutions. 83 The positive survey results encouraged the executives at Romay Pictures to not only move forward with producing the film but also engage in an extensive promotional campaign, even the title of the film, The Return of Rin Tin Tin, facilitated the revitalization of the brand. The survey results were analyzed and the advertisers generated a campaign based on Rinty’s continued popularity that appeared prominently on the poster design for the film. Reassuring fans with a tagline stating that “The Greatest Animal Star of All Time is Back!”, the posters prioritize Rinty’s image and name above all others connected to the film as his head towers above both the title and the other disproportionately small human actors displayed alongside him (see Figure 2.6). 90 Figure 2.6 The poster for The Return of Rin Tin Tin (Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum, Riverside California Surrounding the release of the film, Rinty’s image could be seen in Life and The Saturday Evening Post promoting a host of products, including appearances in advertising for two competing dog food companies (see Figures 2.7 and 2.8). 84 Figure 2.7 Rinty III advertising Ken-L-Ration Dog Food (Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum, Riverside California) 91 The publicity materials for the film encouraged theatre owners to ask local schools to institute essay writing contests in their English classes and Rinty-themed painting sessions in their art classes. The production company was heavily invested in targeting the dominant audience for the film, children, and even orchestrated a dog giveaway contest in which a young child could win a Rin-Tin-Tin puppy. 85 These tactics would foreshadow the massive promotional impetus fueling the popularity of the television program. Figure 2.8 Gaines Dog Food Ad with Rinty III 92 The success of The Return of Rin Tin Tin made Rinty a popular subject in the press again and the increased visibility generated a few third parties interested in pursing the potential of a television program based on the star canine. As early as 1948, a producing team attached to Ken- L-Ration dog food attempted to convince Duncan of the educational and monetary possibilities inherent in making a television show that emphasized training protocols, featured service canines, and ultimately encouraged pet ownership and the purchase of dog food. 86 While nothing would come of this particular proposal Duncan soon began entertaining the notion of creating his own television program that would feature both Rinty and one of Duncan’s trained palomino horses. Encouraged by the decent ratings that the television rebroadcast of The Adventures of Rex and Rinty serial was receiving, Duncan approached the Quaker Oats company with the idea and attempted to generate interest by stating that Michael Curtiz would produce and that there was “no question” that television was “the coming medium”. Despite Duncan’s enthusiasm and Curtiz’s investment, little came of this proposal and, after two years of languishing without interest from a major sponsor, the concept was abandoned. 87 Herbert Leonard, a young Hollywood producer, approached Duncan in 1953 with the idea for a program that would feature Rinty as a U.S. Cavalry troop mascot stationed at an Arizona outpost around the year 1870. As the familiar generic components of the western combined with the military aspects spoke to the not only to Rinty’s star text but also Duncan’s love of rugged outdoor adventure. Leonard had succeeded in securing Duncan’s agreement to move forward with the project. Drafting a proposal to present to Hollywood studio executive, Leonard explained that the draw of the Rin-Tin-Tin name combined with the target demographic of children and the inclusion of exciting action sequences would make the program a highly profitable venture. Screen Gems, a subsidiary of 93 Columbia that handled their television prospects and production, signed on to finance the program. 88 Columbia’s covert participation in the television industry was part of a growing trend during the mid 1950s that demonstrated Hollywood studio executives’ prescient understanding of the potential of the new medium. The early years of the studio system’s relationship with television are marked less by an isolationist aversion to the threat of mass-media entertainment and more by a integrative and collaborative ethos that saw the developing technology as a means to further their profitability. Michelle Hilmes points out that the history of Hollywood’s interest in television begins well before the 1950s as studios had started investing in equipment manufacturers and broadcasting stations as early as 1938. 89 Paramount, in an effort to compete with the other major studios, secured ownership of the Los Angeles television station KTLA while it was simultaneously investing in the fledgling DuMont network in 1946. Even prior to this, the studios had attempted to develop a “technique for broadcasting television signals onto movie screens in theatres” called “theatre television”. As the majority of audiences could not yet afford a television set and the studios had planned on televising spectacular events, the idea was promising but short lived due to the FCC’s refusal to allow microwave transmission. The second major alternative that the studios pioneered was subscription television, an experimental form of early pay per view cable in which special programs and films would be broadcast for a fee. Regulatory restrictions and resistance from networks and exhibitors would eventually contribute to the demise of these ventures. 90 Christopher Anderson echoes these claims by arguing that television was not the antagonist that mythical accounts of studio decline make it out to be. While the trade press of the fifties consistently characterized Hollywood’s relationship to television as oppositional and 94 hostile, the studio’s actual responses to the new medium were more complex and varied. He points out that October 1954 was a key transitional moment in the industrial melding of the studios and television networks as Columbia Pictures became the first Hollywood studio to produce an episodic television series. Shortly following this, David O. Selznick and Walt Disney, two of Hollywood’s top independent producers announced their foray into television production with Light’s Diamond Jubilee and Disneyland. This moment inaugurated the initial stage of the long transition from the “Old Hollywood” of the studio era and the “ New Hollywood” of complex global media conglomerates. The studios had been inadvertently building towards this moment throughout the late 1940s to the early 1950s, instituting production practices and marketing strategies that helped them cope with the industrial fallout from the 1948 Paramount Decision. The studios at that point had recognized the value of relying on independent producers to create individual projects that the studios could then finance and distribute, easing the financial burden that many studios were experiencing after being stripped of their exhibition outlets. 91 As an independent company that would handle the majority of daily operations but still be beholden to studio interests, Herbert Leonard Productions provided Screen Gems, and by extension Columbia, the ideal outlet for infiltrating the television industry. The initial development and eventual popularity of The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin translated into a simultaneous fracturing and expansion of the canine star’s image that would encompass a variety of “Rintys” and demonstrate the breadth of multispecies stardom. The name Rin-Tin-Tin had come to signify not only the fourth generation of the line but also the new German Shepherd performer that Leonard hired to replace Rinty IV for the duration of the television show and the host of Rinty offspring that were given away as prizes or sold as pets. Duncan had relinquished his on set responsibilities as head trainer and appointed one of his 95 colleagues Frank Barnes in his place, Duncan was primarily focused on having Rinty perform in the weekly episodes. During the pre-production of the show, Leonard called Duncan to Los Angeles so that he could get a demonstration of Rinty’s skill set and overall presence on the set. 92 The audition revealed that Rinty IV lacked the necessary training and vitality to participate in the weekly filming of the series, Leonard was forced to hire one of Barnes’ trained German Shepherds, Flame Jr., to fulfill the role. 93 Flame would go on to perform in the majority of the scenes for the program and appear with the other cast members during live promotional shows while Rinty IV was relegated to figurehead status, receiving guests at the Duncan Ranch. 94 The publicity for the program never mentioned this arrangement and maintained that the canine portraying Rin-Tin-Tin was indeed the fourth generation of a dynasty with connections to old Hollywood. More than a few articles concocted interviews with Rinty himself and had the canine star detail his own personal history complete with memories of the accomplishments of his “grandpapas” and the advice he was given about television being the next big entertainment medium. These interviews successfully suture WWI heroism, studio era glamour, and modern mass-mediated popularity together through the illusion of an unbroken bloodline as storied as the Barrymores. A competitive spirit characterized the relationship between the era’s two major canine rivals, Rinty and Lassie, as the press consistently compared the two canines. In Rinty’s “interviews”, disparaging remarks are made about Lassie’s “masquerade” and the other less popular animal performers on television. 95 The Los Angeles Examiner and TV Guide articles devoted to the “professional rivalry” that existed between the two stars explain their differences but ultimately provide enough publicity for both (see Figure 2.9). 96 96 Figure 2.9 Los Angeles Examiner Article Headline (Courtesy of Cinematic Arts Library, University of Southern California) Duncan perpetuated the illusion by participating in long interviews and detailed photo shoots that detailed the history of the Rin-Tin-Tin lineage and his new television fame. 97 Despite his knowledge that Rinty IV was not the star of the program and the canine’s future as a performer was uncertain, Duncan was quoted repeatedly asserting that there “will always be a Rin Tin Tin”. 98 As Rinty IV was thought of as the spokesdog for the program, Duncan’s presence in the press was understandable and even encouraged to a certain extent. Screen Gems needed the exposure and the heft of a multi-generational canine star dynasty to compete with the popularity of Lassie. 99 The image and popular understanding of Rin-Tin-Tin was expansive enough to accommodate the simultaneous realities fueling the program’s existence, both Rinty IV and Flame Jr. were actual manifestations of the Rin-Tin-Tin brand despite their different functions and histories. The branded promotions connected to the program, the private donations of puppies to charity events, and the concurrent explosion of public demand for Rin-Tin-Tin line puppies further demonstrated the connections that multispecies stardom maintains with material practices and the lived experiences of actual canine pets. While the general trend for German Shepherds as 97 a breed grew exponentially during the period in which the program was on the air, many fans and their families felt they needed an actual Rinty of their own. Countless fan letters would be sent to the Duncan ranch and a great number of them included inquires, scrawled with child-like penmanship, regarding the availability and cost of a “dog just like Rinty”. Duncan would routinely breed Rinty and sell the puppies to households across the country in order to supplement the family income. The going price for a genuine Rin-Tin-Tin puppy was approximately 250 dollars, what some might consider a prohibitive cost by 1950s standards. 100 The sponsor of the program, Nabisco, would routinely hold promotional contests in partnership with regional advertising firms in which the grand prize would be an actual Rin-Tin-Tin puppy (see Figure 2.10). Children would be required to submit a name, a brief explanation about why they wanted the puppy, and a winner would be chosen. 101 These puppies functioned as yet another commodity available for purchase within the expansive world of branded merchandise associated with the program, connecting American petkeeping practices with media representation and production. Figure 2.10 The proud winner of one of Nabisco’s “Name the Puppy” contests (Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum, Riverside California) 98 The production of Rin-Tin-Tin necessitated the collaboration between multiple parties with often contradictory motives and ideas concerning promotion, representation, and aesthetics that would ultimately foster an inconsistency that even the elasticity of the Rinty star image had trouble contending with. Leonard and the executives at Screen Gems engaged in a continuous battle over the form and content of the program and its promotion that would last for the duration of the series run, clashing over everything from the location shooting and the dialogue to the budget and narrative focus. The program was designed as a military western set in the 1870s with a narrative premise about a young boy named Rusty and his faithful canine companion Rin- Tin-Tin, the only two survivors of an Indian raid, that are adopted into a U.S. Cavalry troop stationed at Fort Apache. The hybridized generic format allowed Rusty and Rinty’s daily adventures to involve a multitude of scenarios including kidnappings, outlaw gangs, Comanche raids, and general mischief. While the premise for The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin successfully melded Rinty’s past persona as both a war dog and a creature of the wild west, the program’s individual episodes focused more on the relationship between a boy and his dog and the larger concerns of a frontier military fort. Rinty is clearly featured in each of the episodes but functions primarily as a supportive member of the larger group by protecting Rusty and the other cavalry officers. The studio wanted the program to center more on Rinty and felt that Leonard should make every attempt to highlight the star canine and his relationship with the young protagonist. They disagreed over the amount and quality of the narrative violence included in the program, Screen Gems was consistently worried that the action scenes were too intense for younger viewers. 99 While the studio seemed to recognize the importance of marketing the program via trademark phrases, Leonard continually criticized them for their lack of foresight concerning the actual ancillary merchandising opportunities. Nabisco, the sponsor of Rin-Tin-Tin, was especially invested in exercising their influence over the content of the weekly episodes making Leonard agree that the show would avoid crime, sex, violence, or other tasteless material, would refrain from including content that would be critical of the U.S., would avoid showing any of Nabisco’s competitor’s products, and Rinty would always be shown eating the prepared dog foods similar to the kinds that Nabisco made. Some of these demands would contribute to the increasingly staid, and often outdated, nature of the program’s setting, characters, and the unquestioned support of the American government. 102 The consistent disagreement and lack of collaborative cohesion fostered an inability to contend with the changing times and by late 1959 the ratings had fallen to an extent that Nabisco was unwilling to excuse, they cancelled their sponsorship of the program. 103 The Lasting Legacy of Rin-Tin-Tin: Trademark and Copyright Lawsuits While the massive popularity and merchandising potential of the canine star had waned since the 1950s, the Rin-Tin-Tin name, image, and bloodline would continue to be maintained over the years by various individuals with competing agendas that would eventually lead to a series of legal disputes over trademark ownership and copyright infringement. The agents involved in these lawsuits developed distinctly separate approaches to preserving the Rin-Tin- Tin name that ultimately reveal the diverse personal investments and competing definitions of ownership and authenticity underpinning manifestations of multispecies stardom and fandom. These court cases would also go on to generate further lawsuits and a more expansive array of 100 plaintiffs whose claims would demonstrate not only the ongoing commercial viability of the Rin- Tin-Tin brand but also the manner in which his image was being fractured and multiplied in relation to various legal, financial, and psychological concerns. The manner in which Duncan bred and sold Rin-Tin-Tin’s descendents was one of the unique attributes of the canine’s stardom and a practice that indirectly facilitated the future lawsuits. While the Duncan family had ceased producing German Shepherds from the official Rin-Tin-Tin bloodline after Lee Duncan’s death in 1960, the lineage was still expanding as a result of the ongoing breeding of direct descendents that had been privately sold as puppies to individuals across the country. In 1957, Jannietta Brodsgaard bought an official Rin-Tin-Tin line puppy from Lee Duncan and secured his permission to breed the dog with the intent of not only selling the offspring but also preserving the Rinty lineage. 104 Brodsgaard continued to breed and show German Shepherd puppies from the Rin-Tin-Tin bloodline and eventually her granddaughter, Daphne Hereford, took over the responsibilities in 1988. Both Brodsgaard and Hereford have publically professed that their efforts are part of a protective appreciation for and love of the Rin-Tin-Tin name and lineage. Hereford eventually registered two trademarks with the U.S. Trademarks and Patents Office, one for live Rin-Tin-Tin puppies and the other for a fan club of the same name, and considered her company Rin-Tin-Tin Inc. to be one of the last vestiges of authentic representation. 105 In 1993, when Hereford contacted Herbert Leonard, former producer of the television series, in an attempt to collaborate on a future project featuring line dogs Leonard proceeded to file a cease and desist letter followed shortly by a lawsuit suing her for control over the rights to the Rin-Tin-Tin name. As Leonard had spent decades, prior to the lawsuit, working on a revitalization and re-release of the television show along with various other Rin-Tin-Tin related 101 media, he was more than reluctant to acknowledge that another individual could possibly claim ownership of the brand. The lawsuit lasted approximately three years and was ultimately resolved in a settlement conference when Hereford agreed to relinquish her rights to the fan club to Leonard. 106 Testimonies given throughout the court case revealed the varying forms of investment demonstrated by the participants, ranging from claims of monetary expenditure to more sentimental expressions of loyalty and heritage. Leonard testified to having spent millions of dollars and countless hours of time producing and re-releasing the television program all while operating under the supervision of Lee Duncan himself. 107 Hereford laid claim to a host of registered trademarks connected to the preservation of the canine star lineage and history and that she was the only individual actively working to ensure that there would “always be a Rin- Tin-Tin”. 108 Several lawsuits would continue to be filed throughout the 2000s against Hereford on behalf of Leonard and Columbia Television Pictures in an attempt to wrest control of the trademarks for Rin-Tin-Tin Dog Food, children’s books, and the general ownership of rights to any “entertainment services…featuring a German Shepherd dog as a live or animated character”. By 2011 Hereford had also been sued by two Rin Tin Tin Incorporated board members for ownership of the most recent generations of Rin-Tin-Tin lineage. 109 Despite maintaining what could be considered control over the majority of the canine’s star image and name, Hereford’s authority had been undercut by the numerous legal challenges. The ongoing uncertainty in relation to the ownership of Rin-Tin-Tin is unique to the star canine and is due in part not only to the informal quality with which Duncan approached many contractual agreements but also the lack of a family heir who would continue the breeding of official line dogs. The stability that characterizes the contemporary employment and expression of other multispecies star brands like 102 Lassie can be attributed partly to the separation of trademark management from actual canine breeding strategies. 110 While the majority of these legal disputes were settled quickly, the lasting significance for multispecies stardom pertains to the manner in which the image and actual material descendents of Rin-Tin-Tin were connected via juridical processes that also constructed them as both physical commodities and artifacts of media culture. The lawsuits filed against Hereford arose in part from the proposition that she was breeding authentic line dogs and therefore could assert ownership over the Rin-Tin-Tin name and image, a claim that connected actual material practices and the lived experiences of companion animals to star image management and intellectual property. The initial courtroom proceedings attempted to determine, not only who “owned” Rin-Tin-Tin, but also what the larger functions of the star brand were and which individuals were best suited to sustain the legacy. While Leonard was approaching the subject from a proprietary standpoint afforded by his years as a media producer creating multispecies texts, Hereford’s efforts can be understood as deeply devoted fan practices that evolved over multiple decades and generations of direct interspecies contact. The idea of Rin-Tin-Tin, and attempts at exercising control over it, have been split and multiplied across several court cases and generations of actual German Shepherds bearing a lineal connection to the first Rinty. In addition to the number of “Rintys” involved, there has been a diverse contingent of individuals involved in the preservation of the Rin-Tin-Tin name and lineage that range from fans and collectors to breeders, litigators, government officials, and media producers. The history of Rin- Tin-Tin, as a performer and as an icon, has always been a complex and shifting matrix of interests and entities demonstrating the intricacy of multispecies stardom. 103 Chapter Three Immortalizing the Ideal: Postwar Consumerism and the Televisual Superstardom of Lassie In his 1938 short story Lassie Come-Home, Eric Knight introduced Saturday Evening Post readers to the fictional character of Lassie, a rough coated collie whose intelligence and steadfast loyalty to a young boy would endear her to countless children for years. While Knight’s vision had certainly secured a place for him among the annals of children’s literature, it would take the translation of his work into the moving image media of film and later television for Lassie to become a massive cultural icon. The production of Lassie Come Home (Wilcox, 1943) as an MGM prestige picture enabled the creation of a new multispecies star brand, originated by a collie named Pal and his trainer Rudd Weatherwax, that would sustain eleven films, a radio program, five television series, one star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and countless forms of ancillary merchandizing and consumer tie-ins. 1 While Hollywood had already been exploiting the popularity of canines as cinematic sidekicks, comic relief, and general atmosphere, by 1943 the industry had yet to see another performer capable of commanding the kind of fame and success that previous stars like Rin-Tin-Tin had earned in the 1920s. The emergence of Lassie (Pal) 2 as the next, and perhaps greatest, canine performer was the result of a complex interplay of postwar socio-economic and cultural circumstances, historical trends in sentimental valuation and institutional protectionism, and industrial control. These conditions would undoubtedly make Lassie not only the multispecies star with the longest running career and most recognizable image but also a timeless index of Americanism. The American postwar period was marked by both public institutional efforts at promoting and ensuring moral interspecies interaction as well as private modes of self- governance that utilized multispecies stars to promote particular ideas about consumption and 104 society. The earlier part of Lassie’s career in films saw the influence of organizations like the American Humane’s Film Unit and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), nongovernmental bodies that fostered multispecies forms of institutional welfare through their protection of both animals and children. 3 The Hollywood studio system was adept at protecting its own financial interests through the public promotion of its role as a conscientious protector of animal performers via the Hay’s Office collaboration with the American Humane. This was a careful tactic that afforded the studios autonomy from governmental interference but also forced them to self-censor the content of their companion animal media texts as well as carefully craft the personas of the multispecies stars under contract. 4 The mechanisms of industrial control and management maintained by the studio system would later feed into an emergent televisual medium that relied heavily on single corporate sponsorship for its early years. The later, and more substantial, body of television work that most defined Lassie’s star text would be directly connected to the industry’s investment in what Anna McCarthy calls “governing by television”, the shrewdly commercial form of moral guidance exercised through the single sponsor program format and an ancillary body of intellectuals, executives, and professionals. 5 The popularity of companion animal media texts during the first two decades of television and multispecies stars like Lassie provided television and corporate executives with a model format for the dissemination of ideas. The extension of Lassie’s star text across multiple media industries also demonstrates the influence that the different formats exercised over not only the expression of multispecies stardom in the postwar era but also manifestations of companion animal media. The convergence of multispecies welfare and star promotion seen in companion animal media texts made by the Hollywood studios and broadcast networks reveal the ways in which the economic interests of 105 media producers were closely intertwined with particular moralistic values that would best benefit their respective industries. As the major studios, and later broadcast networks, exercised a great deal of influence over the construction and dissemination of material related to a star’s public image, an analysis of Lassie’s star text reveals the discursive regimes that positioned both canine performers and actual domestic pets in relation to human codes of morality and behavior. Studio press materials related to canine stars in the United States during the 1940s often mythologized their subjects through a rhetoric of nationalism, partially due to the connotative values of the dog as loyal, strong, and protective. The first major period of televisual companion animal programming seen in the postwar period was defined in relation to the personas of multispecies stars and the programs they performed in became effective vehicles for the dissemination of American values. Multispecies stars like Lassie were carefully marketed to appeal to specific wartime and cold war cultural imaginaries that privileged images of animals as “ideal” members of society. The deployment of the canine star image was instrumental in constructing appropriate standards of obedient behavior and American heroism while promoting domestic prosperity and family values. The multigenerational nature of Lassie’s star brand allowed the performance dynasty to span multiple industrial configurations and media forms during a period of time in which film and television experienced some of their highest levels of viewership and popularity. The economic and aesthetic specificities of each industrial mode had differential effects on the way in which the image and body of the canine star were manipulated. Lassie’s film persona was carefully cultivated through studio publicity tactics as a means to better market the Lassie franchise while institutions of cross-species welfare ensured his physical wellbeing onset. The move to television in the 1950s, in addition to revitalizing the Lassie brand, also introduced new 106 production and reception practices, modes of industrial censorship, modified training strategies, and accelerated progeny cultivation. Lassie’s image is multiplicitous not only because of the manner in which the meanings attached to the canine were constantly shifting based on the socio-economic and industrial changes of the postwar era, but also as a result of way in which the maintenance of the brand was facilitated over an extended period of time via the use of multiple canines, each with distinct personalities. As each of these canine performers, all direct descendents of Pal, were bred and trained to embody the brand and carry on the legacy, the Lassie image becomes a complicated matrix of subjective interspecies connections that extend from trainers, costars and welfare representatives to media executives, sponsors, and fans. The model of multispecies stardom that this dissertation utilizes is precisely invested in the manner in which media production not only relies on various interrelated figures to create the material effects necessary for performance but also the manner in which that performance is directly connected to the lives of actual pets. As a multispecies star, Lassie becomes the site in which past historical changes in sentimental values and petkeeping coalesce with studio era strategies of industrial management and the impending consumer technologies of the postwar period. MGM’s publicity department utilized promotional materials for the Lassie films that encouraged pet ownership via adoption events and purebred puppy giveaway contests, tactics that would eventually be used during the run of the television series. Eventually, the American postwar suburban ideal became the nexus through which Lassie’s multispecies superstardom was fully realized, connecting forms of domestic life with the increased consumption of consumer goods like purebred pets and television technologies to the production strategies of the broadcast networks and the economics of televisual stardom. Multispecies performance is always situated in relation to forms of media production and consumption and real world practices of 107 interspecies cohabitation. In an effort to better understand some of the actual material effects of multispecies stardom found in fan communities connected to the Lassie brand, I conducted a survey with one hundred respondents in which participants were asked to answer questions regarding the meaning they derived from the texts and canine star as well as the manner in which Lassie (and Lassie) influenced their lived relationships with companion animals. The results from the survey proved to be most useful for gauging the meaning that fans made out of the program and will be utilized in the chapter’s later segments on Lassie’s televisual stardom. The chapter’s first task will be to contextualize Lassie’s emergence as a multispecies film star within larger shifts in societal attitudes towards petkeeping and animal welfare and the industry’s desire to capitalize on the popularity and malleability of canine performers. I will then discuss the ways in which the Lassie star image was created and then marketed by MGM as an exemplary figuration of “American” heroism, a construction encouraged by the rhetoric of the press materials related to the films. These publicity tactics attempted to foster a nationalistic identity, through the audience’s identification with the star, which was based on problematic gender politics. Following this, an analysis of postwar housing and consumerism will reveal the manner in which Lassie’s continued stardom was both contingent on the development of the suburban ideal and part of the larger investment in purebred canine ownership. The studio promotional contests that marketed the idea of Lassie to the public ultimately exploited the childhood fantasy of owning a dog that was as perfect as Lassie appeared to be, making both the star canine and common household pets into forms of merchandise that would complement the suburban domestic ideal. The chapter will finish with a discussion of television stardom and the manner in which the funding strategies, marketing practices, and ancillary publicity of the 108 emerging medium would alter performance requirements and uniquely catapult Lassie into immortalized superstardom through the Lassie television franchise. How Lassie Came Home to MGM: Sentimental Values and Cross-Species Welfare Pal was a disheveled mass of undisciplined willfulness. The eight-month old collie was proving too much of a burden for his owner, with the obsessive chasing of cars and the incessant barking. Enlisting the help of established Hollywood canine trainer, Rudd Weatherwax, Pal’s owner relinquished the wayward puppy to the care of professionals who would hopefully rid him of his poor behavior. After a few sessions Weatherwax noticed Pal’s ability to adhere to standardized commands and his unwavering intelligence and alertness. When Weatherwax contacted the owner, attempting to schedule Pal’s retrieval, he discovered that the owner no longer desired to keep the newly reformed collie. Despite an industry-wide acknowledgement that collies lacked the proper disposition for film work, a preconception that would severely limit the availability of roles, Weatherwax agreed to keep Pal in lieu of accepting the rehabilitation fee and continued to train him. 6 Pal was by no means the first canine that Weatherwax had trained, he was already highly experienced at conditioning the behavior of numerous star quality animals. From Asta, the intrepid terrier detective of The Thin Man series, to Daisy, the adorable mixed breed of the Blondie series, Weatherwax had been working for decades training various canine actors for studio films. 7 Despite these successes, Weatherwax still found it difficult to command the upper tier salary of one of the head studio trainers and in 1940 he opened his “Studio Dog Training Center”, a facility that he and his brother Frank Weatherwax co-owned and operated. 8 The mythology surrounding Pal’s emergence as Lassie takes on contradictory forms, as multiple versions have circulated through official biographies, the Weatherwax family’s personal 109 accounts, and studio promotions. Even individuals closest to Pal/Lassie and to the production of the first film Lassie Come Home maintain less than consistent versions. According to Rudd Weatherwax, Lassie’s owner and trainer, he had every intention of keeping Pal as a pet despite the canine’s lack of commercial viability and had only “loaned” him to a friend that wanted to spend time with the collie. When Weatherwax discovered that MGM was conducting collie casting calls for Lassie Come Home, he retrieved Pal and after several call-backs and a film test, he secured the lead role for his protégé from the start of the production. 9 Later information provided by Robert Weatherwax, Rudd’s son and eventual trainer of Lassie, explains that Rudd knew he could not keep Pal as a pet, owing to the family’s financial hardships, and had relinquished ownership of the canine to a friend that took Pal to a ranch. It was after MGM publicized the casting calls that Rudd had a justifiable reason to keep Pal and was only able to do so after buying him back from the friend that had taken the canine in. Pal had not been offered the lead role from the beginning, owing to the fact that he was not a female collie and according to studio executives, Pal was “ugly” and could only be hired as a stunt dog for the film. A female purebred collie with the appropriate pedigree was hired to play the lead. 10 It was only after the lead collie became to be too difficult to work with that Pal was given the chance to prove his skill, successfully completing a difficult task required of the performance to such a degree that the studio hired both Pal and Weatherwax and began generating publicity materials. These discrepancies speak less about any attempt to conceal the manner in which events occurred and more of a general malleability that characterizes human engagements with canines. The meaning generated via interspecies interaction is never fully stable as a result of the lack of transparency that characterizes forms of communication between species. Variable interpretive stances, held by human individuals connected to Lassie/Pal, coupled with actual intentional efforts at crafting 110 the Lassie brand feed into these divergences in mythology. Ultimately, regardless of how Pal and Weatherwax came to be employed by MGM and attached to the Lassie film franchise, they both would become integral to the success of the series. The production of the Lassie series necessitated that Metro Goldwyn Mayer purchase the rights to the extremely popular novella scripted by Eric Knight entitled Lassie Come-Home. For the grand total of ten thousand dollars, the studio gained the entirety of the theatrical rights in perpetuity, ensuring that any of the future profits from the Lassie brand would remain in their holdings. 11 Apart from the financial acquisition of copyrights, the studio’s ideological investment in the fictional canine’s symbolic worth was indicative of the changing status of the dog within society that had occurred since the early nineteenth century, one that saw the dog transform from objectified worker to domestic pet. The remainder of this section will explain historical changes in domestic petkeeping practices and sentimental valuation that informed popular perceptions of Lassie and later influenced the general trend in post-war canine ownership. Coupled with this will be a discussion of the concurrent investments in animal welfare and the development of institutional protectionism that would result in the formation of organizations directly responsible for monitoring Lassie’s on set experience and treatment. The chronicling of these historical trends reveals not only multiple forms of human and companion animal interdependency but also more importantly the extent to which this connection fueled changes in how welfare became defined as a cross-species concern. Kathleen Kete explains that the increased presence of companion animals in the nineteenth century, a process she calls the “embourgeoisement of the beast”, was not only a defining characteristic of middle class life but also a means through which the French communicated ideas about themselves. While the permutations of the 1855 Dog Tax officially 111 classified canines according to their use value and constructed pets as luxuries, the opposition to this “outdated” bureaucratic measure became an important indicator of the manner in which ordinary middle class pet owners articulated specific lived relationships to their pets that defied easy categorization. The tax laws cited that dogs integral to the sustained employment of the working class were to be differentiated from pet dogs whose seeming lack of a core function made them subject to heavy taxation. By the late 1800s, definitions of what constituted a pet were established and included whether the animal went on walks and had free-range access to the domestic sphere in which the owner resided. This limited conceptualization frustrated a middle class imaginary that increasingly defined the purpose of their pets as less utilitarian and more in terms of affect, companionship, and even class distinction. 12 For pet-owners, the dog was seen as a necessary agent for securing the emotional survival of humanity and despite the efforts of local governments, the population of pet canines increased to over three million by the end of the century. 13 Kete argues that petkeeping practices and popular discourse during the nineteenth century crafted the domesticated canine into a model of loyal dependability as a compensatory mechanism for confronting the emptiness that characterized the ever-modernizing world. Journalistic accounts of the time complemented medieval myths about the noble and selfless behavior of pet dogs. 14 Popular media of the late 1800s promoted an even further sentimentalized view of pets through literature and handbooks that linked the dog with domestic and familial happiness, dogs were thought of as instrumental in the moral education of children. 15 Henry Jenkins explains that Lassie Come Home is precisely indicative of this shift in the valuation of the canine as the novel seeks to render its protagonist, Lassie, as the embodiment of a nostalgic longing for the traditional values of loyalty and working class pride lost in the onset of modernity 112 and industrialization. In the universe that Knight envisioned, the relationship between humans and their dogs was akin to a “moral contract”, with Lassie acting as an agent of social reform. Jenkins also points out that the “linkage of those two sentimental icons—the boy and the dog— was no accident” and utilizes Viviana Zelizer’s work on the “sacralization” of the child to explain the coincidental emotional value ascribed to both children and dogs between 1870 and 1930. 16 Children’s literature, like Lassie Come Home, became a rhetorical space that mobilized particular conceptions of the ideal pet and invited the reader to project their own ideas about morality and loyalty. Thomas Ryan chronicles the manner in which the institutional measures for establishing cross-species welfare during the nineteenth century were often concurrent with this rise in the affective connection to domestic animals and an increase in moral and social changes. Britain originated some of the earliest known anti-cruelty legislation in 1822 with its Martin’s Act, a law permitting state intervention into cases when a human individual is suspected of abusing another individual’s domesticated animals. The formation of Britain’s Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) in 1824 was brought about through a coalition of religious leaders, abolitionists, child reformers, and welfarists, demonstrating that protectionist attitudes were not uniformly species specific. The emergence of an organized animal welfare effort in the United States was seen in 1866 with the establishment of the first chapter of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and its adoption within the state legislature of New York. Ryan points out that the founders of both the RSPCA and the ASPCA understood that the state of being defenseless was not exclusive to any one species and crafted legislation that could be utilized in the protection of both children and animals, the belief being that an interest in child welfare was fostered through compassion towards animals. The year 1877 saw 113 the incorporation of the American Humane Association (AHS) under federal law, an institution whose aims were not only the prevention of cruelty and torture to animals but also the national enforcement of all laws enacted for said purpose. The AHS expanded its charter in 1885 to include children and were later instrumental in creating the International Children’s Congress and the International Child Welfare League by 1916. 17 While the welfare movement’s struggle to gain traction with the community at large resulted in the use of explicit visual material to prompt a visceral and often emotional response, the historical use of animal imagery in nineteenth century welfare reform movements was also directly linked to the processes of modernization and society building. Jonathan Burt has argued that the increase in attitudes supporting animal welfare were not simply motivated by nostalgic or sentimental desires to reconnect with nature but rather part of a larger impetus to enact lasting progressive change and build a better future. 18 Burt argues that there are two overarching themes that make the presence of the animal on film a significant aspect of modernity. The first is “the central place of the animal in the development of the film technology and, second, the unresolvable dialectic between humane and cruel attitudes to animals that governs their history in modern culture”. Animals were a motivating force behind both experiments in pre-cinematic image technology, as documented through the motion studies of Muybridge and Marey, as well as the novelty around which much of the early film shorts were constructed and marketed. It is this hypervisibility of the animal figure in early visual culture that Burt argues contributes to the connection between technology, imagery, and the ethics of animal treatment. 19 The growing awareness of non-human labor in Hollywood was precisely part of the ongoing investment in the protection of animals that was initiated in the late 1800s. Animal performers in early Hollywood cinema constituted a class of workers that had little protection 114 under the law, let alone a form of unionized security. Animals and their use in films constituted a potentially lucrative source of income for the early studios and many invested in the creation of studio zoos and menageries from which they could readily select whatever animal they needed for a shoot. Vitagraph studios hired traveling menageries for some of its films while Universal City established its own zoo in 1915 to house the animals that were used in the studio’s jungle films. 20 In order to accommodate the industrial need for animals that could perform on cue, animal trainers became increasingly prevalent from the 1920s onward, the most notable of which handled the top canine stars like Strongheart, Rin-Tin-Tin, and eventually Lassie. In 1925 there was only a small committee that attempted to investigate animal abuse during filmmaking in particular, however, they were not sanctioned by any formal organization. The American Humane Association’s Hollywood Office was established via contract with the Hays Office in 1940 and was officially able to attend to the protection of animal laborers that performed on the film set by directly monitoring them and reviewing scripts. 21 The impetus for the formation of the organization came after a horse was killed after being sent over a seventy-foot cliff during the filming of Jesse James (Henry King, 1939). This incident provoked widespread shock and outrage over the treatment of the animals involved in the Hollywood production process. Horses had been subjected to gross negligence and abuse in Early Cinema, especially within the genres of action/adventure and the biblical epic. With the formation of the American Humane Association’s Hollywood Office came the eventual institution of a set of rules and guidelines that each production had to adhere to in order to garner support from the organization. It has been noted, however, that the power of American Humane to truly enforce regulatory standards has fluctuated throughout its tenure. These principles of animal protection were not effectively enforced on a systematic scale, however, 115 until much later in the 1960s when American Humane attempted to standardize procedures for filming. Unfortunately, with the closure of the Hays Office in 1966, the organization’s influences waned and as a result there was an increase in the employment of unethical animal handling techniques. In 1977, a clause was placed in all Hollywood contracts that allowed the American Humane Association control over all uses of animals in any film throughout the production process. 22 While the official codification of the guidelines did not come until 1988, the common sense nature of the code evolved from the use of practical strategies for the safe employment of multispecies performers that would have been in use since the implementation of the monitoring program in the 1940s. 23 As a result of the lack of regulatory heft during its early years, the American Humane Film Unit and the SPCA have historically relied on the informal cooperation between studio production personnel and their organization’s representatives. The symbiotic nature of the relationship between the humane movement and the Hollywood studios was most clearly demonstrated through the careers and publicity profiles of their most prominent multispecies stars. During the production of the Lassie films, Rudd Weatherwax not only attested to the on set presence of an SPCA representative but also the manner in which that figure maintained executive power over all decisions regarding the safety of any given stunt or scene. Weatherwax also pointed out that the production crew and studio executives were just as invested in Lassie’s well being as he was because MGM would not have wanted to jeopardize their star. 24 MGM made every available effort to publicize not only that their star canine was being looked after but that the studio was responsible for that protection. Publicity materials took great pains to assure the public that Lassie was being well taken care of during the filming of each of the seven films in the series. When traveling to and from the location shoots during the production of The 116 Painted Hills, Lassie supposedly had his own compartment on the train that the production crew utilized and his own station wagon to drive him up to the mountain sets. MGM made certain that the public knew that Lassie was being accompanied by both Weatherwax and an SPCA officer during these travels. Concurrent with these assertions of fair treatment are pre-written articles in pressbooks testifying to Lassie’s “tough” nature through his ability to withstand below freezing temperatures while filming on location in the High Sierras. 25 The need for greater transparency when detailing Lassie’s actual on set treatment was a result of both increasingly sympathetic responses to companion animals and a more expansive knowledge base regarding obedience training during the post war period. During the 1920s, fans of Rin-Tin-Tin’s films demonstrated anxieties, fueled in part from the lack of available information, over the possibility that the canine star was being coerced through inhumane intimidation. Lee Duncan reassured viewers that Rinty was never forced to perform and that canines in general benefited from careful instruction in obedience. Postwar audiences still displayed a similar level of investment in making certain that the multispecies star was not being harmed, however, these concerns came in the form of inquires regarding the filmmaking process and the strategies of production rather than fears over a given animal’s mistreatment simply from being asked to carry out commands. Weatherwax would explain that many of the actions seen on screen were the result of careful makeup effects, staging and editing. Studio filmmaking processes had developed more innovative ways of disguising the padding and other protective apparatuses needed for the completion of various stunts and interspecies fight scenes. 26 As a result of the rise of new obedience methods not only was Lassie’s persona defined by his role as a performer trained via positive conditioning but his on set working relations were characterized by more harmonious interspecies interaction. While Rinty’s police training made his on set 117 behavior somewhat unpredictable and potentially aggressive, Lassie’s reputation in the industry was built on his professionalism and amenable personality. The humane movement’s progressive stance on the possibilities of cross-species coalition encouraged society to recognize the “humanity” of domesticated animals, that their experiences were not that dissimilar from humans. The creation of the Lassie character and later promotion of the canine performer’s star image inherits this history of expanding morality, developments in institutional welfare, and most importantly, the sentimental connections between children and domesticated pets. MGM, in exploiting the symbolic malleability of the canine while tapping into wartime nationalism, would present the American public with a new star that would precisely be able to capture society’s now well-established fascination with companion animals. Capitalizing On Lassie: Promoting the “Ideal” American Hero Lassie Come Home (Fred Wilcox, 1943) inaugurated what would become a highly lucrative seven-film franchise for MGM throughout which Weatherwax and Pal were under contract. The narrative is an adaptation of Eric Knight’s original novella, of the same name, and follows the classic “boy and his dog” thematic as a young Yorkshire boy, Joe, is forced to relinquish his dog, Lassie, due to the harsh economic climate in England. The scarcity of employment had rendered Joe’s father jobless and the family financially destitute. After her new owners take her to Scotland, Lassie ultimately does everything within her power to return home to her master, even crossing the rugged terrain of Scotland and Northern England, swimming rivers, braving storms, and fighting off bandits. The film’s success prompted MGM to pursue a sequel entitled Son of Lassie (Sylvan Simon, 1945) in which the characters from the original have since become adults and Lassie has produced a son, Laddie. Pal’s actual offspring was used 118 to facilitate the role of the infant Laddie, however, because the filming required a fully adult collie for the remainder of the shooting schedule, Pal also played the role of the mature Laddie. In the sequel, Joe and Laddie are engaged in combat during World War II when their Air Force plane is shot down over Nazi-occupied Norway. Hollywood’s attempt to capitalize on the Lassie franchise would undoubtedly exploit America’s emotional investment in images of national pride and military success overseas. The next installment of the series was the only other film to blatantly utilize wartime imagery and also address the traumatic aftermath of battle, Courage of Lassie (Fred Wilcox, 1946) concerns a collie who is enlisted in the K-9 Corps of the military and trained to kill Japanese soldiers. After returning home, the dog suffers from a form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder through which he reverts to an untamed state, killing small woodland creatures and shunning human contact. It seems as if only the love of a young girl, Katherine Eleanor Merrick (Elizabeth Taylor), can rehabilitate him to his former self. The remaining four films of the series abandoned any narrative references to World War II in favor of reformulating Lassie as a symbol of community and familial protection, a particularly apt characterization considering the release of the films during the post-war period of revitalization. The Hills of Home (Fred Wilcox, 1948) and Challenge to Lassie (Richard Thorpe, 1949) feature Scottish locales and highlight Lassie’s ability to reconcile problems within the community despite the threats posed by both nature and municipal bureaucracy. The American locations and sensibilities of The Sun Comes Up (Richard Thorpe, 1949) and The Painted Hills (Lassie’s Adventures in the Goldrush) (Harold F. Kress, 1951) promote the potential of Lassie to restore the nuclear family after traumatic loss or threats. As the narrative settings within the Lassie series oscillate between various international locations, focusing on the actual material conditions behind the production of the series will 119 provide the necessary analytical stability. Lassie Come Home and the other films were produced within the Hollywood studio system, a fact that becomes clear when investigating the manner in which domestic publicity departments customized their marketing strategies for American audiences. In addressing the extra-cinematic operations, namely publicity and promotions, that constructed particular images of canine stardom as a form of ideal heroism, actual industrial practices take greater precedence over an exclusive focus on the text. Erica Fudge discusses how “animals are present in most Western cultures for practical use, and it is in use—the material relation to the animal—that representations of the animal must be grounded”. 27 Film theory needs to support any analysis of animal imagery with an investigation into the material conditions that structure the lived experiences of animals. 28 The phenomenon of Classical Hollywood stardom has historically relied on a discursive system regulated by studio publicity departments and the popular press. In attempting to create a star out of an unknown canine actor (Pal), one that would have the strength and longevity to sell the Lassie series films, MGM’s publicity crew decided from the beginning that the star’s identity had to be synonymous with the title character. MGM utilized its official in-house magazine Lion’s Roar to promote the release of Lassie Come Home in 1943 and one of the highlights is an article entitled “Canine Cinderella”. This feature would be the studio’s first major introduction of their new performer, Lassie, and this initial information would trickle down into popular newspaper columns after the film’s release, influencing all future press (see Figure 3.1). In detailing her backstory, the secrets behind her beauty, and the personal fulfillment that comes from knowing she has injury insurance, MGM crafts a careful image of their new “ingénue”, complete with references to queenly dignity. 29 It was well established that as part of the process of building a new star’s image, a studio would conduct an extensive publicity campaign that 120 Figure 3.1 Lassie’s Persona as Publicized by The Lion’s Roar (Courtesy of Cinematic Arts Library at the University of Southern California) included concocting a ‘discovery’ origin, shooting glamour photos, and crafting rumors about a possible romance with another star. 30 The Lion’s Roar provides everything short of including a 121 love interest for Lassie’s discovery narrative, even providing glamorous photos. Other volumes of the Lion’s Roar detail the “almost human” personality of MGM’s “wonder dog” and boast of her immense fan mail (10,000 letters) and luxurious travel accommodations. 31 Figure 3.2 Poster for Son of Lassie (Sylvan Simon, 1945) The immense popularity of Lassie Come Home, accompanied with MGM’s initial promotion of it, encouraged the studio to continue officially selling the film series on the strength of the Lassie image rather than an unknown performer named Pal. An examination of the studio publicity materials related to the release of the subsequent Lassie films yields strong evidence that the MGM pressbooks and posters elided the existence of Pal in favor of a fusion of star and role. The poster design for the initial release of Son of Lassie operates as a complex manifestation of the ways in which the Lassie brand contributed to the erasure of Pal’s identity. The utilization of both “Lassie” and “Laddie” casting credits, coupled with the prominent display of the film’s title, encourages the spectator to misidentify the young collie on the poster as Lassie, the star, rather than the fictional character of Laddie (see Figure 3.2). If an individual was 122 to correctly assume that the collie depicted on the poster was in fact playing the role of “Laddie”, even that assumption would inadvertently participate in concealing the existence of the actor Pal. This erasure of Pal’s identity would also manifest itself through characters he played in the later films. Although the titles of Courage of Lassie and The Painted Hills (Lassie’s Adventures in the Goldrush) include “Lassie”, the name of the canine characters are in fact respectively “Bill” and “Shep”. These are truly exemplary instances of the melding of star image and performer into a singular product. Pal had become synonymous with his character “Lassie”, to the point that the series functioned through the branded star image regardless of what role Pal was playing. Pal had become Lassie and the studios would then use the star image of “Lassie” to market all of the films in which Pal performed. Producers of the Hollywood studio system often typecast their human stars, however, these performers still managed to maintain some semblance of identity distinct from that of their screen roles. While many aspects of a performer’s persona were manufactured by the studios, the star nevertheless still maintained a fundamental ownership of their image by virtue of it being indexically linked to their physical body. 32 Despite the uniqueness commonly attributed to Pal’s abilities as an actor, his canine image could not be separated from the representation of Lassie. To illustrate the difference using a very obvious example of a human star, it would be akin to a marketing department using a past image of Johnny Depp as the character “Edward Scissorhands” to advertise a new release. While Depp is a star whose existence in the world operates independently from the characters he plays, his name still corresponds to an identifiable star text and marketable identity. The audience is thus denied knowledge of the star as Pal and can simply assume that the actual nature of the canine actor is identical to the idealized images presented. This perception should not be considered a form of audience gullibility but is rather something that indicates a 123 belief that the film star’s roles and performances were revelatory of the star’s personality, they contained clues that if deciphered properly would guarantee a greater degree of intimacy. 33 The studio’s manufacturing of an individual’s star text would often appeal to this desire for closeness by producing biographical information that further guaranteed access to a star’s “real” private life. 34 When dispersed to the entertainment columns of the major newspapers much of this “biographical” data was reproduced fairly faithfully, especially information about Lassie’s discovery and pampered lifestyle. At first the fact that Lassie’s true name was Pal was treated by the press as a “blemish” on her stardom, but overtime, these newspapers would deviate from the prepared script and delve more deeply into the specificities of Lassie’s “real” identity and her “actual” training regime. 35 Explicit references to Pal in the press were more prevalent in material that was published closer to the end of the Lassie film series and seemed to operate as appeals to authenticity. An article from the Washington Post revealed Pal’s past fondness for chasing motorized vehicles and provided amusing warnings about the appropriate gendered pronoun to use while on the studio lot (never “it” or “she”). 36 Richard Dyer argues that as part of the public/private divide that characterizes the star’s engagement with the social world, it is precisely this use of sincerity in characterizing the star’s private life that persuades fans to accept all of the mass-mediated hype surrounding a particular performer. 37 Paradoxically, in alluding to “Pal” the press was further fueling public perception of Lassie as a real star, one whose complicated life warranted exclusive coverage. The anthropomorphization of Lassie became a necessary component of her promotion as the embodiment of perfect American heroism. The marketing of Lassie as an “all too human” star was bolstered by the dangerous stunts performed in the films as well as the articles written for the film’s pressbooks. Many scenes from the Lassie films reinforce the reading of Lassie as 124 an action star performing numerous heroic stunts. We see her swimming the flooded San Joaquin River and scaling high fences in Lassie Come Home, jumping off of large bridges into rushing river rapids in Son of Lassie, and evading explosive devices that were used to simulate gunfire and bombs in Courage of Lassie. Even Pal’s trainer Weatherwax conceded the potential danger embedded in these stunts: Lassie was swimming in the river and we had a speedboat and I was supposed to pick her up at a certain point. The throttle stuck and this boat kept going down the San Joaquin River—and lassie was swimming in the swift current and by the time we could get back to her it was almost too late—but it wasn’t planned that way—it was an accident. 38 The poster for Challenge to Lassie shows Lassie engaging in numerous activities with the accompanying headlines “narrow escapes”, “standing guard” and “fighting thugs” (see Figure 3.3). MGM’s marketing of Lassie as their “all too human” canine star, necessitates this kind of illustration of the performer’s impressive abilities. The provocative phrasing of the headline excites the spectator, attempting to convince them of the “Daring! Dangerous! Death-Defying!” nature of Lassie’s heroism. She consumes almost the entirety of the poster, centrally located with supporting images flanking her action pose. This poster attempts to capitalize on the audience’s anthropomorphization of Lassie, a nascent fascination with the canine star’s seeming ability to enact human behavioral codes of courage and bravery. In attributing human traits to the canine star, spectators facilitate the schemes of studio publicity and become heavily invested in the perpetuation of this anthropocentric construction of Lassie. Generally written by a team of writers working in the publicity departments of the major studios, pressbook materials were carefully controlled. It is arguable whether any of these exact articles were ever printed in a newspaper, however, their very existence, as well as the nature of 125 Figure 3.3 The Poster for Challenge to Lassie (Richard Thorpe, 1949) (Courtesy of Cinematic Arts Library at the University of Southern California) their composition, illuminate the tendencies of the studios to market Lassie in a particular manner. Features from the The Sun Comes Up pressbook materials highlighted the heroic stunt work that Lassie was engaging in for the scenes in which she had to rescue Claude Jarman’s character from a burning orphanage. One feature entitled “Lassie Hero of Fire Spectacle” combined a discussion of the heroic ability of the canine star with a necessary reassurance of her humane treatment by the production crew. 39 This method of commentary provides both publicity for the star and the film itself, utilizing the connotative values of “hero” and “spectacle” to reinforce conceptions of Lassie’s perfection. These articles feed into the canine’s star text as the idealized pet, alongside the other articles promoting Lassie’s perfection. Finally, articles within 126 pressbooks for The Painted Hills detail Lassie’s “real life” courage and intelligence. Entitled “Lassie’s Bark Cues Ocean Rescue of 3”, the author recounts how when enroute to Catalina Island, Lassie’s incessant barking alerted the crew to the presence of a stranded boat, imperceptibly adrift nearby. The Coast Guard awarded the canine hero with a certificate of honor for his help in rescuing the passengers. 40 The veracity of this piece of news is debatable at best, however, the more pertinent issue is its employment by the studio publicity department to promote Lassie as a “naturally” intuitive subject whose dynamic personal life should of interest to fans. Lassie had truly become an entity that incited the kind of traditional fandom reserved for human stars and their private lives. Aside from utilizing information about Pal’s exploits on and off the set to craft public perception of her, the studio publicists would also promote commentary that projected problematic gender politics through the figure of Lassie. Official publicity materials related to Lassie’s films are revelatory in their anxieties over the canine star’s potentially transgressive “cross-dressing” performances. Preconceived articles contained in the pressbook for Son of Lassie convey an even more virulent form of gender policing. The publicity department’s agenda sneaks its way onto the pages with headlines like “Lassie resumes ‘her’ rightful sex. ‘She’ is actually a male collie.” These statements are often accompanied by a “did you know?” precedent, structuring them as public service announcements for the edification of the reader. 41 In promoting Lassie as an embodiment of ideal American heroism, it became crucial to reinforce heteronormative codes of sexuality that would be instructive to audiences. For the publicity team, unlike the popular press, the “truth” of Lassie’s “real” identity needs to be revealed here in order to promote a connection between “natural” heroics, “masculine” behavior, and “male” biological sex. It sends the message that using a “feminine” subject (if Lassie actually were a 127 “female” dog) to enact ideal American codes of individualism and bravery might somehow undermine the patriarchal order. An article amazingly written by Lassie him/herself, entitled “I’m a Lucky Lassie”, states “I am grateful for a chance to be myself again (a he-dog) after the female impersonation in Lassie Come Home. After all, I have my pride.” [emphasis added]. 42 Now obviously this anxious machination to equate sex and gender was channeled through Lassie by the human members of the publicity crew in order to encourage their version of ideal behavior. Their attempt to allay societal fears about gender transgression and assert a clear estimation of heteronormative values are taken to great lengths. The article would also seem to suggest that, if given the choice, Lassie would exercise her/his agency and innately decide to play “male” roles. Thus Lassie becomes the unlikely site of a fervent battle over the proper representation of masculinity in film, whether human or not. A male actor impersonating a female character, without the underlying impulse towards comedic relief, is constructed here as a degradation of morality and pride. As the Lassie films were considered a children’s series, it became crucial to promote the “right” ideas about gender roles to America’s youth. While MGM’s publicity department was asserting problematic gender politics via constructions of Lassie’s persona as the perfect “human”, the studio would later go on to exploit the postwar confluence of suburban consumer culture and pet ownership in order to promote Lassie. The Post War Suburban Ideal and Consumer Culture Despite the common nostalgic tendency to homogenize postwar American culture, it defies easy categorization as scholarship has noted the period’s often paradoxical dualities. The increasingly high levels of U.S. domestic affluence, employment opportunity, and global 128 prominence were coupled with racial exclusion, industrial and urban decline, and cold war nuclear anxieties. 43 Robert Beauregard accounts for these discrepancies and provides a useful periodizing structure for understanding the complicated era he calls the “Short American Century”. This was a period of time, spanning from the late 1940s to the mid 1970s, characterized by acute national prosperity, the simultaneous rise of exclusive suburban enclaves and decline of industrialized urban centers, and the promotion of a newly globalized American position. The promotion of U.S. geopolitical influence and military dominance, bolstered as a result of the nation’s success in World War II, fostered a belief in American exceptionalism, that America alone was a beacon of economic prosperity, governmental stability, and military power. Beauregard argues that this idealized vision of American accomplishment was fueled in part by the “embourgeoisement of the working class” as lower income families now had access to the means of improving their economic status via higher salaried jobs. The suburban ideal, facilitated by this rising employment and increased availability of commodities, was the marker of a distinctly American way of life that privileged a mythical return to arcadian naturalism. 44 The rise of specific forms of suburban development necessitated a careful negotiation of the celebratory mechanization of everyday life via branded consumer technologies and the desire for increased access to natural space. The period that Beauregard outlines, and its uniquely compact prosperity, is especially useful for conceptualizing the latter portion of Lassie’s career and the profitable and highly saturated nature of her media presence during this time. While Lassie had already been constructed as an ideal figure of American morality and heroism via the studio publicity in relation to the film series, the socio-economic conditions of the Short American Century recontextualize the multispecies star in new even more complex ways. This section will explain 129 how the development of the exclusive planned postwar suburban enclave, brought about by a host of cultural and governmental forces, was based on a specific version of the suburban ideal that would encourage the increased consumption of commodities like purebred pets and consumer technologies. The creation and evolution of Lassie’s multispecies star text positioned her at the center of a complicated postwar matrix, simultaneously a genetically engineered commodity inheriting a history of breeding practices and a representative of “natural” biological processes and American domestic prosperity. When investigating the phenomenon of postwar mass suburbanization and its emphasis on consumption, it becomes crucial to recognize that the ideal suburban enclave commonly reproduced through various media forms and popular nostalgia, was only a specific incarnation of non-urban residential life that was subject to distinctly racialized developmental influences and differential support structures. As these neighborhoods commonly exerted a dominant influence over definitions of suburbia, the postwar marketplace structured its product development and advertising strategies around the white taste cultures that occupied a disproportionate share of upscale housing and income brackets. Mary Corbin Sies argues that the specific creation of the prewar suburban ideal, the version that would later inform the postwar exclusive planned neighborhood, was based on principles of efficiency, environmental harmony, technological potential, and interpersonal character. These design practices were instituted to ensure that the ideal domestic sphere was a place of order, health, self-discipline, and familial strength. 45 A complex web of social activists, educators, insurance companies, and popular media, in addition to builders and realtors, all participated in promoting the idealized model home that would come to exemplify upscale, postwar living. 46 130 After the end of World War II, this firmly established suburban ideal would be tested by an exponential increase in population and a demand for affordable housing that far outstripped the supply that was available in the urban centers. The continual waves of outmigration from the cities were enabled by a confluence of anti-urbanist cultural attitudes, federal programs and policies, and private corporate interests that all worked together to successfully funnel a large portion of the white American middle class into a variety of planned suburban communities. It would be these specific forms of suburbia that would become mutually entangled in postwar consumption patterns and domestic prosperity. While the nostalgic pastoralism of the early nineteenth century was based on increasing one’s connection to nature in order to resolve anxieties over industrialization and moral corruption, postwar urban ambivalence was characterized by increasing racial tension and white fears about integration, competition over manufacturing employment and limited housing opportunities. 47 The early intervention of the federal government through legislative and institutional means directly impacted the quantity and character of suburban development patterns of the postwar period. The passage of the National Federal Housing Act in 1934 enabled the creation of the Federal Housing Administration, the agency that would exercise the greatest impact over federal mortgage loan programs and the viability of the American postwar housing market. Wanting to enact mortgage reforms and stimulate private market development, the FHA provided lenders with federally backed insurance against any losses incurred as part of extending home loans. This allowed the agency to dictate the terms and conditions that governed the mortgage process. 48 Unfortunately, the lending policies that government agencies encouraged all banking institutions to adopt enforced discriminatory eligibility standards, the national implications of which were the exclusion of non-whites and the working class from accessing the 131 means to better their living conditions through home ownership. 49 The FHA had an overwhelming influence over the development patterns of postwar residential space and its composition as the agency would routinely deny mortgages for homes in older, racially mixed, or urban/commercial neighborhoods. 50 After World War II ended, the federal government expanded its support for white suburban homeownership through new legislation that would increase access to loans and residential spaces. In addition to providing social services to aid in postwar societal reintegration, the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (G.I. Bill) of 1944 also provided low interest mortgage loans that required no down payment. The government further subsidized home ownership through new federal taxation laws that permitted the deduction of mortgage interest and property tax payments. In 1956 Congress passed the Federal Aid Highway Act that would fund the construction of an extensive, limited-access interstate highway system that would connect outlying residential developments with the urban centers and facilitate the easy transportation of military troops and equipment in the event of an attack on American soil. 51 In conjunction with local governments, the federal government also subsidized the construction of water and sewage systems, necessary components of planned suburban infrastructure without which real estate developers would not have been able to expand as rapidly. All of these measures insured the explosion of the exclusive suburban residential market as the construction of twenty-four million homes was completed between the years 1945 and 1960. 52 The domestic economic recovery that began with military spending during World War II was prolonged by a sustained commitment on the part of manufacturers, government agencies, and advertisers to stimulate the postwar consumer market. As Lizabeth Cohen argues, mass consumption was promoted as a civic responsibility that would ensure the survival of the 132 country. Americans were encouraged to become good customers and to participate in a “prosperity-producing cycle of expanded consumer demand fueling greater production, thereby creating more well-paying jobs and in turn more affluent consumers capable of stoking the economy with their purchases”. In this new postwar economic ethos, private consumption became the mechanism through which consumers were transformed into proper citizens providing for the public good. 53 Postwar economic prosperity also relied in part on the role that suburban expansion played in generating a desire for consumption and the means for fulfilling it on a massive scale. With the government subsidizing postwar suburban homeownership and contributing to the implementation of the necessary infrastructure, corporate real estate builders would further tap into the desire for non-urban living and consumer goods with the production of accessible tract housing that featured all the newest amenities. The lower cost of these houses combined with the longer repayment terms and lower monthly payments provided by the new mortgage policies allowed new buyers to outfit their homes with the latest in available appliances, furniture, and consumer goods. America was encouraged to partake in a multitude of products and supply soon began to outpace demand. With a decreased emphasis on long-term functionality, the infiltration of design aesthetics and planned obsolescence into the marketplace helped to fuel the desire for new and more stylish technologies that would help communicate domestic character and the aspirations of the homeowner. Popular iconic postwar media forms like the Saturday Evening Post carefully visualized the ideal suburban lifestyle as a conglomeration of household appliances, leisure activities, children, television, and pets, successfully positioning canine ownership and televisual viewership in direct relation to domestic happiness. 54 133 Lynn Spigel discusses the emergence of television and other portable technologies throughout the 1950s and 1960s. The rapid increase of these new forms of media corresponded to changes in the composition of American communities, in particular the development of the postwar planned suburban community and new ideals of space and domesticity. 55 The new technologies and economic prosperity that characterized post-war American culture facilitated new connections between the role of television within the American domestic sphere in the 1950s, discursive formations of family life, and the sentimentalized, domesticated pet. Lynn Spigel examines how popular media of the postwar period created a discursive space through which cultural anxieties about the changing nature of everyday life and television’s impact on the domestic sphere were mobilized. Competing agendas that were promoted through popular magazines, newspapers, radio, film, advertising all encouraged consumers to think about television in certain ways. She argues that society’s responses to television were contradictory as a result of numerous factors not least of which were the shifting cultural mores, differential access to new technologies, and upward class mobility due to the post war economy. 56 Anxieties over the machine age were fueled by fears about the industrial degradation of nature and the loss of humanity. The same magazines that touted the wonders of television were also simultaneously warning against the medium’s potential to subjugate the family, to become monstrously out of control. The popular press constructed the television set as a wild beast that needed to be domesticated in order to become an agreeable and pliable member of the household. Other strategies were employed to allay fears about television’s potential unruliness or inappropriateness for the home. Other magazines anthropomorphized television into a host of figures, mostly notably the “family pet”, and in fulfilling this role “television obeyed its master and became a benevolent playmate for children as well as a faithful companion for adults”. 57 134 Television and the family pet would develop an even greater symbiosis through the representation of companion animals like Lassie and Rin-Tin-Tin within some of its most popular genres of the postwar period. As petkeeping assumed more importance in middle class life, the American postwar economic boom also enabled an even greater investment in the dog as an indicator of prosperity and taste. The “family dog” stood as a sign of middle class affluence as families were encouraged to spend time on leisure activities and on luxuries like pets. The larger amounts of space provided by the yards and open floor plans of lower density subdivisions would facilitate the housing of most pets, especially larger canines. Wanting to capitalize on the phenomenon for their Lassie publicity campaigns, MGM helped theatre owners promote canine ownership through promotional schemes in conjunction with the 1949 release of Challenge to Lassie. In an attempt to raise awareness for homeless pets, they suggested that a “Missing Dog Bureau” be constructed in the lobbies of theatres in order to facilitate the adoption of shelter dogs. 58 The placement of the “bureau” inside the theatre lobby, however, invited audiences to conflate the ideal dogs seen on screen with the pictures of homeless pets that needed to be rescued, just like Lassie. The promotion was structured as a wall of photos that had been contributed by the local Humane Society under which descriptions were written, corresponding to each photo. In addition to disseminating imagery that would cultivate Lassie’s stardom, MGM engaged in promotional schemes that encouraged purebred dog ownership. Particular contests, supported by the studio, were meant to appeal to the entrepreneurial spirit of America’s youth. An advertisement in the 1944 pressbook for Son of Lassie encouraged local theatre owners to contact their newspapers so that they could cooperatively engage in a pedigreed dog “giveaway”. Citing the success that the Des Moines Register and Tribune had in orchestrating a contest in which boys, aged twelve to 135 sixteen, would be offered the chance to own a purebred canine as a prize, the MGM publicity department prompted the development of similar schemes elsewhere. The particular contest held by the Des Moines R&T awarded approximately one hundred dogs to the best carriers of their paper and promoted the competition through a myriad of media including radio, advertising, mailed letters, and daily news stories. Each method employed the use of production stills from the Lassie films and pictures of Lassie with Laddie by her side, playing into the fantasy of owning a dog as “perfect” as Lassie herself (see Figure 3.4). The grand prize winner of the contest was even promised a genuine “son of Lassie”. 59 Figure 3.4 Son of Lassie Pressbook Materials Advertising Pedigree Dog Giveaway (Courtesy of Cinematic Arts Library at the University of Southern California) 136 The investment in purebred dogs in general only intensified further as the number of registrations multiplied twenty-fold (1900% increase) between the years 1944 and 1972. While some breeds like the Poodle enjoyed perpetually immense popularity throughout the postwar era, other breeds experienced boom and bust periods of enthusiasm, including the Great Dane, Old English Sheepdog, Irish Setter, and Afghan Hound. 60 There was an increased interest in specialized miniature canine breeds, like the Toy Poodle and Pekingese, and exotic species of tropical fish and birds, the ownership of which was thought to convey luxuriousness. 61 The years directly following the 1943 premiere of Lassie Come Home saw a meteoric increase in collie ownership as purebred registrations for the breed went from 3,000 to 18,400 by 1949. 62 According to other statistics, the collie went from twelfth to third most popular breed by 1949. 63 Internal and external sociological factors exercised influence over the relative fluctuations in public interest for certain breeds during the postwar period, most notably the middle class aspirational taste cultures that fueled the suburban ideal and an increasingly globalized market that imported breeds developed in other countries. Postwar advertising tactics often exploited the purebred canine’s associations with class, luxury, and quality. Products from brands as diverse as General Tire, Walker’s Deluxe Bourbon Whiskey, Kendall automotive oil, and Hadley Cashmeres all utilized images of purebred dogs, sometimes photos of actual dog show champions (see Figures 3.5 and 3.6). 64 The Greyhound Corporation employed an actual gold and white greyhound named Steverino (later to be renamed Lady Greyhound) to help promote the brand to dog enthusiasts but also associate the company with the perceived luxury, sophistication, and taste of purebred dog culture. Lady Greyhound was routinely outfitted with the latest canine fashions and a specially made tiara for her numerous public and television appearances. 65 137 Figure 3.5 Kendall Oil Ad with Figure 3.6 Hadley Cashmere Ad with Champion Silver Ho Parader Champion Silvermine Whipeard While they became undeniably fashionable during the postwar period, purebred canines had been positioned as status symbols since the mid-1800s in England and came to embody class based aspirational fantasies. Harriet Ritvo discusses how the middle class, lacking the finances and access to land that afforded the upper classes their ability to breed horses and livestock, turned to breeding smaller, more accessible animals like dogs. The resulting emergence of Victorian dog fancy, the breeding and showing of pedigreed canines for the purpose of recognizing excellent representatives of a particular breed, was the marker of truly middle class 138 leisure and was practiced with a careful eye towards cultivating class distinction. The rise in popularity of petkeeping at the time encouraged the increased manipulation of breed standards with little care towards practicality, however, and dog fancy became characterized by a tension between upper and middle class goals regarding breeding. Anxieties about the perceived status of their dogs, and by extension themselves, propelled members of the middle class to place greater emphasis on pure bloodlines and appearance over functionality. “The quality of the animal implicitly reflected the status and standards of the owner, it was essential that the hierarchy embodied in pedigrees and show awards be meaningful and secure”. By the end of the nineteenth century, a complex system had developed to recognize distinctions in breed standards and reward those that were seen as superior specimens. 66 Ritvo points out that the Collie breed experienced a particularly shocking form of genetic manipulation that turned a group of intelligent working sheepherders into “sporting” dogs whose primary function was in communicating upper class status. 67 The Collie had maintained a long and respected reputation as an excellent sheepdog in Scotland up until the mid nineteenth century, inspiring Queen Victoria to bring one with her back to England in 1860. This association with royalty made the breed incredibly popular with the public and the Collie was soon bred to have unnaturally elongated heads and noses, physical traits that compromised the canine’s scenting and intelligence. 68 It would be this standard that the executives at MGM would use to evaluate the suitability of the Collies auditioning for the part of Lassie and the reasoning behind why Pal was thought of as less attractive. While his head was considered to be too wide, his eyes too large, and the white blaze on his snout simply atrocious, it would be precisely these traits that would come back into fashion after the film’s popularity and become the markers of a truly beautiful collie. 69 139 Theories of cultural drift and informational cascades account for both the imitative and shrewd decision-making strategies of post war American consumers, desire for a certain breed could be cultivated through that canine’s perceived status or as a result of circulating information. 70 While it is substantially less common, popular media can influence a particular breed’s desirability amongst consumers. 71 MGM’s publicity department certainly exerted a visible influence over not only the popularization of the collie breed but also the promotion of its associative relationship to Lassie imagery. As the promotional and publicity materials helped to construct the image of Lassie as the “ideal” American action hero through posters, preconceptualized articles, contests, and of course, the actual productions themselves, a connection was established between the promotion of Lassie’s star image as the ideal pet and the documented burgeoning of the demand for collies. Transitioning to Television: Production Strategies and Corporate Sponsorship for Lassie While Weatherwax and Pal remained with MGM after the production of the last film of the Lassie series in 1951, The Painted Hills, the studio had little plans of developing any new projects for the team and the legal department was trying to find a way to terminate their non- option contract. When Weatherwax approached the studio’s junior executives with the proposal that MGM transfer all of the rights to the Lassie name and trademark to Weatherwax as repayment for 40,000 dollars in back pay for the work completed during the last film, the studio was eager to agree to what they viewed as a good deal. Weatherwax, after touring the country with Pal and commanding over a thousand dollars per appearance, was approached by Robert Maxwell to develop a television program built around the still popular canine. 72 After securing the rights to the Lassie name for 2,000 dollars, Maxwell teamed with Television Programs of 140 America (TPA) and proceeded to assemble the production team necessary for making the show a reality. 73 After the shooting of the two-part pilot and its presentation to executives at CBS and Campbell’s Soup, Lassie was greenlit for the fall 1954 Sunday evening schedule. 74 The transition from film to television would necessitate changes, not only in the training related to production, but also in Lassie’s star image and branding. Prewar audiences were already familiar with Lassie as an extraordinarily heroic and endearing symbol of American prosocial values, however, the economic prosperity and suburban expansion of the postwar period would coincide with the proclivities of the television market and transform Lassie into an icon of quotidian sentimental moralism. In addition to detailing the performance history, requirements and conditions unique to the televisual production of Lassie, this section will also explain the early television industry’s financing structures and use of sponsorship. Corporate single-sponsorship was simultaneously a common funding tactic for the production of broadcast television programs and the means through which institutional influence dovetailed with a star’s image manipulation, Campbell’s Soup and Lassie became synonymous with down-home American goodness. These attempts at crafting a particularly wholesome image were at least in some part successful as survey responses indicated an appreciation for and acceptance of the uplifting universe of Lassie. The series would continue for nineteen seasons and while the program would experience five cast changes, four alterations in format, and one transition in ownership, Lassie (and Weatherwax) remained the fundamental centerpiece of the show. 75 While the series is commonly separated into four periods loosely associated with various human character changes, categorizing the transitions in canine performers is more productive for understanding the dimensions of multispecies stardom. 76 A total of six collies performed as Lassie over the course 141 of the twenty years that the program was on the air, four of which sustained lengthy periods as the official star: Lassie Jr./Lassie II (1954-59), Baby/Lassie III (1960-1966), Mire/Lassie IV (1966-71), Hey Hey/Lassie V (1971-73). While Pal enacted the role of Lassie one last time for the two episode pilot, his son Lassie Jr. would assume the arduous responsibilities of performing for the program’s weekly episodes. During Lassie Jr.’s tenure the show would make some crucial changes in narrative premise and human casting including the change from Jeff Miller to Timmy Martin and the “transformation" of Ruth and Paul Martin. 77 In 1956, after only two and a half seasons on the air, Robert Maxwell and TPA proceeded to sell the rights to Lassie to oil industrialist and media producer Jack Wrather for an almost unprecedented 3.5 million dollars. 78 Lassie (Lassie Jr.) remained the central focus of the show and helped the program maintain popularity and continuity despite the tumultuous alterations to the production of the show at the time. When Lassie Jr. unexpectedly fell ill with cancer in 1959 and Weatherwax did not have a new collie prepared to take over the role, one of the other second-generation collies named Spook temporarily took over performance responsibilities. While he carried the burden of sustaining the program during a difficult time, it was never intended that Spook become an official Lassie due to his timid nature and anxious distrust of on set conditions. A replacement was quickly trained and in 1960, Baby took over performing the role until 1966 when he also developed cancer and had to leave the program. 79 Prior to leaving, Baby would also weather the major transition in narrative premise that had Lassie going to live with a forest ranger named Corey Stuart (Robert Bray) after the Martins decide to move to Australia. Mire would replace Baby in 1966 and go on to perform with both Bray and two new ranger characters named Scott Turner (Jed Allen) and Bob Erickson (Jack DeMave) until 1971. 80 When Lassie was forced into 142 syndication from late 1971 until early 1974, Pal’s great-great-grandson HeyHey took over performing the lead role. These last seasons saw Lassie roam the wilderness, give birth to a litter of puppies, and eventually go to live on the Holden family ranch. 81 The performance of Lassie has never been an isolated or singular experience as the sites of multispecies media production are repositories of inter and intra-species communication and interaction. While Pal played the role of Lassie for the MGM film series, there were other collies that were used as occasional substitutes. As is the custom for many action adventure films, the use of stand-ins and stunt doubles were commonly employed to temper the long hours often required of the lead and to expedite the transition between difficult shots. 82 Production for the television program also, in addition to utilizing multiple generations of collies to facilitate the role, required the use of an ancillary support cast of collies to fulfill the needs of the shooting schedule. Weatherwax himself had a small staff of trainers and handlers to help him on set including the eventual use of Robert Bray to give hand signals and voice commands during filming for the television series. 83 The production of the program during the Ranger years necessitated the continual review of script material by Weatherwax and producers in order to assess the requirements of each new location shoot. 84 The accelerated pacing of the television production schedule was a distinct change from the film shoots that Pal and Weatherwax were originally used to. The timeline for a film shoot was a bit more forgiving, requiring Pal to perform no more than two scenes per day with enough resting periods in between new location setups. As they were only making approximately one film a year, Pal and Weatherwax had ample time to choose between public appearance opportunities. As the television crew was expected to produce three thirty-minute episodes a week, the production of the Lassie television program necessitated the filming of sixteen pages a 143 day, six days a week, often with long hours of repetitive work. The confined sets of the Los Angeles soundstage in which they shot the scenes were much smaller than the spacious natural landscapes that were used in the film productions, and were often filled with bulky television cameras and other equipment. After working approximately nine months of the year, the cast was expected to go on tour to promote the show during the off-season. 85 The routinized scheduling and often rigorous pacing of television production was also mirrored through the breeding strategies and training regimes that were required to sustain the Lassie brand image. While Pal completed production for all of the MGM Lassie films, a performer who had been thoroughly trained prior to his employment by the studio, the role of Lassie for the twenty seasons of the CBS television program was facilitated through five of Pal’s descendents, four of which were born, raised, and trained during the program’s ongoing production. 86 It was a complicated process of producing a new Lassie that could fulfill the physical requirements of the trademark by having four white feet, a full white collar, and a thin white blaze (see Figure 3.7). Figure 3.7 The “Lassie look”: four white feet, full white collar, thin white blaze 144 The current Lassie would need to be bred with a female collie that possessed the sable and white markings (characteristic of the Lassie look) while also having a genetically recessive gene for a full white coat. Often it would take several litters of puppies to find the one dog that fulfilled the brand criteria and only then would that young canine be put through an intensive training course, complete with exposure to on set conditions, that would test his viability for television work. 87 As Weatherwax would generally limit the number of years a given Lassie would perform to approximately five years, after the second year of work Weatherwax had to start this breeding and training process over again. 88 The unique demands of maintaining consistency in character appearance, the difficulty of which was owed in part to the variability of the collie’s color patterns, combined with the need for intelligence and performance savvy also meant that Lassie’s star quality was not easily reproduced. 89 It would often take thousands of hours to train a collie to perform as Lassie, a process that involved Weatherwax interpreting the role and devising the appropriate behaviors to best communicate the character and produce a realistic performance. 90 While actual training techniques were based in part on the positive conditioning system (rewards for desired actions), the underlying philosophy that Weatherwax espoused in multiple training manuals was founded on concepts of mutual respect and the responsibility that the trainer has to their canine charge in terms of providing for their health and education. Displaying a prescient understanding that canine psychology and phenomenology are distinct from humans, Weatherwax argued that trainers needed to learn to recognize the personality traits of their canines and maintain realistic expectations. Discipline, consistency, and patience are all necessary for becoming a successful animal handler, with special care required in situations where young children and canine trainees are cohabitating. 91 Weatherwax would often habituate young Lassie trainees to both being on set 145 and being handled by the young costars, enabling them to form bonds and become comfortable in front of the cameras together. Although the acting talents of any given Lassie performer are the result of extensive work and effort, the popular press and personal accounts of human costars and producers habitually etherealized the connection between Weatherwax and the canine star as well as promoted Lassie as a naturally intuitive performer. 92 Fan reception also seemed to generate positive associations between Lassie and talented, intuitive performance skills. Fifty percent of the survey respondents identified not only Lassie’s high level of intelligence as a defining characteristic but also discussed the quality of her performance and seemingly natural ability to facilitate interspecies connection and communication. According to fans, Lassie was “almost human” and demonstrated an “empathetic” connection to the other characters in a way that “you can feel what lassie is thinking”. 93 The ability to exert control over daily operations and training resulted from the affordances of individual trademark ownership and independent production. The collaboration between Robert Maxwell and Rudd Weatherwax not only provided the necessary capital investment and access to image rights that the development of the program required but also reflected the nature of the television industry’s growing reliance on independent telefilm production companies in the mid 1950s. William Boddy discusses the complicated relationships and debates that characterized the early management of television as an aesthetic and industrial medium from the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s. While the networks usually assigned sponsors and advertising agencies the task of producing early television programs, by 1952 the networks maintained their own in-house production facilities and were packaging the majority of the programs distributed in 1954. 94 Generally a prohibitively expensive endeavor, a much smaller contingent of independent producers were developing telefilm programs that often 146 capitalized on the action-adventure aspects of the western and science fiction. In contrast to the critical and popular success of network owned live drama and variety broadcasts, these telefilm shows were often denigrated as cheap, generic, and low-brow forms of entertainment. This aversion, fueled in part by the network’s attempts to market themselves as purveyors of quality media in the early years of television, was largely provoked by more economically motivated anxieties over controlling affiliates and advertisers. 95 The fears were short lived, however, as the networks realized that they could exert power over the market and potential sponsors by directly licensing independently packaged telefilm programs. Implemented as a standard practice that “could re-invigorate programming while minimizing risk and exploiting the established rewards of distribution”, telefilm production enabled the networks to assert their dominance over sponsors. 96 Boddy argues that these changes in program sourcing were also part of a larger shift in the way in which the networks, as commercially funded entities, would exploit a changing postwar consumer marketplace. Much of the marketing strategies attempted to capture the emerging postwar family and their purchasing habits, of which the domestic housewife and her assumed household were of primary concern. The emphasis on larger consumer items and corporate image advertising gave way to commercials for “small-ticket” consumer goods like food, toiletries, and tobacco products. Attempting to simultaneously capitalize on these changes in consumer purchasing habits and protect themselves from the possible instability of single sponsorship, the networks began instituting a “magazine style” format for advertisers starting in 1952. Companies were encouraged to move away from the strategy of cultivating “corporate goodwill” through association with a single program to dispersing smaller advertising spots across multiple programs. 97 Paradoxically, despite the networks’ wresting of program control 147 from sponsors through this shift to a multiple advertisement format by the late 1950s, Lassie managed to sustain single corporate sponsorship from the Campbell Soup Company throughout the duration of the series run. Their continued association speaks to the larger civic functions that television and single corporate sponsorship were intended to serve during the postwar period. Dominant conceptions of citizenship at this time were transitioning from their purely political roots to incorporate cultural and historical understandings of how civic engagement was evolving. Television’s structure as a form of mass communication entertainment enabled it to construct an indeterminably large imagined community for whom the medium’s pedagogical purpose was promoting this new form of cultural citizenship. 98 Forms of broadcasting have been historically linked to national belonging through the intimacy brought about by their primarily domestic nature, radio and television worked as a unified voices promoting security and stability by translating singularly local experiences into mass participatory involvement. 99 Anna McCarthy investigates television’s emergence at a moment in postwar U.S. history when the nature of citizenship and the strategies of governance were increasingly reflective of a neoliberal paradigm of self-regulation and unrestricted enterprise that institutions of private enterprise and public service wanted to promote. For business leaders, philanthropists, academics, and social reformers working within a Cold War culture of consensus, television held immense promise as a vehicle of benevolent influence free from the invasive bureaucratic state. McCarthy argues that despite the manner in which historical inquiry separates these groups into exclusive spheres of action, television created a space in which their joint desires for “benign, voluntarist self-rule” could be actualized through the figure of the “sponsor-citizen”. 100 A hybrid entity comprised of an informal coalition between media producers and corporate sponsors, the sponsor-citizen 148 understood television viewership as the means through which sponsorship could introduce the public to ideas with the hopes that they would formulate opinions on their own. The corporate sponsor generated enough goodwill via their early association with liberal radio broadcasters, seen as protectors of the public trust that was the airwaves, to weather most of the criticisms lobbied by the new television reformers of the early 1950s. Public service and private interest became entwined in the project of sponsorship, as corporations and media outlets attempted to create an equivalency between their own interests and those of the viewers. 101 While McCarthy’s analysis focuses primarily on the public relations strategies of large corporations like DuPont, her insights can be extended to an investigation of Lassie in light of the overwhelming continuity that existed between the aspirations of the program’s production executives, the corporate needs of Campbell’s Soup and the larger economy, and the target audience for the show. From the start, Maxwell conceived of the program as a vehicle for promoting good family values via structures of plot development and resolution that emphasized moral instruction, he thought television bore a responsibility to lead by positive example. This philosophy would coincide with Weatherwax’s demand that Lassie’s character be indicative of realistically accessible virtues and forms of heroism, the program was intended to be less about a “superdog” and more about the connection between the young boy and his reliable canine friend. In designing the program’s overarching premise and character types, Maxwell and Weatherwax crafted a vision of rural America saturated with nostalgia and the possibilities of youthful adventure. 102 Young fans of the program seemed to especially appreciate the special interspecies connections seen on the show and the manner in which Lassie was crafted as a source of faithfulness and unconditional love for her young charges. Over sixty percent of survey respondents associated Lassie with loyalty and over forty percent discussed her lovingly devoted 149 and protective nature. Some even cited Lassie’s importance in giving stability to their childhood and a sense of friendship when human connections disappointed them, Lassie became a figure of safety and acceptance. 103 Later seasons, produced by Jack Wrather and Bonita Granville, would emphasize Lassie’s role as a teacher of social and environmental values such as tolerance, civic pride, and conservation, successfully connecting Lassie’s past associations with humane legislation with the emerging green movement of the 1960s. Appointed as a special consultant to the White House’s “Keep America Beautiful” campaign in 1967 and official representative of the U.S. Forestry Service, Lassie was easily assimilated into the projects of environmental protection. 104 Lassie was touted as an icon of moral fortitude and wholesome sincerity, the canine image bearing the weight of the needs of multiple figures. Arguing that “Lassie represents goodness and decency, and shows the necessity for going back to nature”, production executives were carefully utilizing the canine performer’s image to reinforce what were thought to be appropriate values for America’s youth. 105 Despite multiple alterations to the composition of the cast and the format for the show over the seventeen year run, Lassie remained the center of the narrative universe as a stable lynch pin connecting the idealism of the production company with the commercial needs of the sponsor. As purveyors of nourishing all-American canned goods that had sustained the country through both world wars, this wholesome picture coincided well with the postwar corporate image that Campbell’s Soup wanted to promote. While Lassie would go on to win several prestigious industry awards, including two Emmy Awards for Best Children’s Program, a Peabody Award, and three awards from the National Association for Better Radio and Television, the program would also be praised by several parenting and educational associations, 150 governmental agencies, and humane societies, solidifying Lassie as an institution of quality. 106 As a sponsor-citizen, Campbell’s carefully cultivated its close association with the Lassie image not only through regular commercial exposure but also through ancillary promotions and even contractual management of the talent’s outside media commitments. Television performers were often thought of as the property of the sponsors and were utilized as malleable instruments for the promotion of the corporate image. 107 The Lassie cast members, in addition to shooting commercial spots for the company, were forced to refrain from appearing in any other media that might somehow tarnish the Lassie, and by extension Campbell’s, brand image. In commercials Jon Provost (as Timmy) could be heard repeating the company’s tagline “Have you had your soup today?” along with June Lockhart’s (as Ruth Martin) reassuring promise that “good things begin to happen” when she serves her family Campbell’s Soup. Using the characters, rather than the actors, to market Campbell’s products further solidified the connection between the wholesome qualities of the program and the soup “that just makes you feel good all over”. 108 Cast members were also required to appear in public service commercials for savings stamps, carefully associating the national soup company with American values of civic pride and fiscal responsibility. 109 Immortalizing Lassie: Companion Animal Programming and Early Television Stardom This section will address the larger broadcast programming trends that featured companion animals and the network’s particular utilization of performance talent as a means to simultaneously sell consumer goods and secure high program ratings. The existence of Lassie was not an isolated phenomenon as the show was part of an emergent trend in programming which attempted to harness the fascination that the public had with companion animals of many 151 varieties. While the scholarship on early television performers reveals how the construction of Lassie was indicative of the industry’s general exploitation of cinematic star power, the almost seamless transition of Lassie descendents and promotion of the brand contributed to a unique form of stardom that could seemingly transcend death. While Lassie certainly occupied an important place in the viewing schedules of young children, evidenced by the program’s high ratings, the survey responses, and successful merchandising efforts, it was also part of a larger trend in companion animal programming that had started in the early 1950s and would extend into the early 1970s. Early television’s domestic address corresponded well with the intimacy produced by companion animal media, especially in programs that encouraged an aspirational relationship with the domesticated canine. As pets seemingly occupy a position of immediacy and accessibility, their dual role as both companions and commodities made them an ideal site through which postwar human consumption patterns could channel sentimental value and help consumers project images of normalcy. As James Serpell notes, in describing the ideally behaved dog, pet owners valued most the behaviors that they felt communicated love and affection. 110 This imagined bond was replicated time and again in companion animal nonfiction and narrative programming of the era and speaks to the intimate relationship that often forms between pets and their owners within popular and consumer culture. Lassie exerted a powerful influence over the psychological wellbeing of some young viewers who watched the program for the stability and love that the characters demonstrated. Some of the survey respondents discussed the manner in which Lassie (and Lassie) and companion animal media in general enabled them to develop more engaged and trusting relationships with the world around them, even helping them to negotiate the difficulties of a dysfunctional and abusive family dynamics. 111 152 The networks would capitalize on the rise of pet culture in postwar consumer America by engaging child audiences with a host of fictionalized companion animal westerns and adventure series in the 1950s. Telefilm programs like The Roy Rogers Show (1951-57, NBC), The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin (1954-59, ABC), and Fury (1955-60, NBC) all promoted the triumph of the American heroic imaginary and the close connection between humans and their equine and canine counterparts. In an attempt to compete with the popularity of these genre programs by incorporating horses and dogs into various natural settings, CBS commissioned Champion (1955-56), Sergeant Preston of the Yukon (1955-58), and My Friend Flicka (1956-58). 112 Most of these programs featured young boys and their companion animal friends as the central protagonists and while they maintained some success, they could not command the level of interest that Lassie could in the 1950s. While sixty-nine percent of survey respondents admitted to a fondness for companion animal programming in general many cited the disproportionate level of importance that Lassie held in their television viewing habits compared to other available programs of the era. 113 The following decade witnessed both an emergent fascination with more “exotic” incarnations of companion animals and a fondness for the icons of rural agrarian living. The networks had already seen the popularity of the show and tell format for displaying wild animals, exemplified in Zoo Parade (1950, NBC). The nonfiction program successfully “domesticated” zoological creatures for the small screen by removing them from their habitats in the wild and presenting them for mass consumption as celebrity “pets”. 114 The combination of the low cost of production and high ratings on shows like Zoo Parade made the format extremely attractive to network producers and provided a unique opportunity for the cultivation of mass pet consumer culture. The presentation of animals combined with the airing of commercials advertising 153 companion animal products and further accentuated the similarities between the wildlife being shown and their domesticated counterparts. 115 This connection would be reproduced in narrative programs like Flipper (1964-67, NBC), Daktari (1966-69, CBS), and Gentle Ben (1967-69, CBS) that incorporated wild animals like dolphins, lions, and bears into the daily adventures that the human characters would engage in. While the popular press would lampoon the concept of Flipper by stating that the dolphin was really only “Lassie in a wet suit”, the actual inspiration for the program would come from the multispecies adventures that creator Ricou Browning saw on Lassie. Browning and executive producer Ivan Tors recognized that working with wild animals like dolphins can be as rewarding as it is dangerous if the training strategies are not thoroughly conceived. 116 Tors, who had already recognized the potential in the wild animal companion formula in the early 1960s, started one of the first “affection training” animal estates where wild animals would be gradually habituated to human presence via a continual stream of gentle interaction, replacing the previous “whip and chair” fear based models of training lions. After the success of Flipper, Tors would go on to produce Daktari and Gentle Ben and transform the lead performers Clarence (The Cross- eyed Lion) and Ben into lovable domesticated stars. 117 Coupled with these nontraditional companions were more quotidian varieties of farm animals, like pigs, chickens, and goats, whose connection to their fellow country residents was often the subject of comedic relief in programs like The Beverly Hillbillies (1961-71, CBS) and Green Acres (1965-71, CBS). Elly May’s animal menagerie on Hillbillies was one of the most diverse accumulations of wild and domesticated species that television production had witnessed to that point while Arnold, the porcine star of Green Acres, became so popular that he had his own fan club, received countless fan letters, and made appearances on late night television. 118 Again, however, while these programs were 154 excised from the network schedule as part of the “rural purge” that precipitated broadcast’s turn to more socially relevant programming in the early 1970s, Lassie managed to hold on to its time slot for at least a few years more. The enduring success of Lassie speaks in part to both the skilled performance and careful image management of the canine superstar at a time in which the networks were exploiting cinematic star power for televisual gain. Christine Becker investigates the industrial circumstances that allowed for the abundance of film talent on early television programs and the manner in which stardom is affected by an emerging medium that simultaneously borrows “programming formats, corporate methods, and talent from film” and attempts to create a new cultural and industrial identity. She argues that despite the stigma attached to television work, a great number of film stars still agreed to appear in the mid 1950s. The exposure provided by these appearances and the concurrent publicity surrounding them reconfigured the star system that the film studios had created up to that point. Studio executives thought that the overexposure that regular television appearances provided would compromise the film star’s cultivated mystique and economic potential at the box office, an assumption that limited contract players from participating in much of early televisual programming. After the Paramount Decision of 1948 and the elimination of option contracts, opportunities for film roles started to decline which led to an increase in television appearances by film actors. Many television programs would offer lucrative salaries for stars that would agree to appear and the anthology dramas could attract top talent through their reputations as prestige live programming. 119 In questioning the common assumption that only failing stars participated in television work, Becker draws attention to the commonalities between how film and television production both utilized performers as insurance mechanisms. Television producers and sponsors relied on 155 the name brand function of many film stars in order to justify spending, differentiate their product, and ultimately reduce the financial risk involved in making media for the mercurial television industry. Part of protecting their investment included the careful management of the manner in which a star was presented to audiences. The mass-mediated, primarily domestic characteristics of early television viewership meant that performers needed to simultaneously provide distinction for a program without distracting too much from the narrative and other actors. Becker argues that as a result of this, the ordinariness of a film star can be seen as a calculated strategy based on industrial, cultural, and programming concerns, television stars needed to be perceived as trustworthy and sincere in order to establish a connection with the audience that would fuel the success of the show and commercial product placements. 120 While Lassie was not considered under contract as a film performer at the time in which the program debuted, her ongoing popularity and cinematic heritage afforded her brand name the pre-sold status often required of early television production financing. The premise for the show, coupled with the approachable qualities of the human actors hired for the initial season (Tommy Rettig, Jan Clayton, and George Cleveland), would supply the necessary quotidian domestic charm to mitigate any possible vestiges of Hollywood glamour by making the canine an accessible member of the family. As Lassie became established as a popular children’s program, the canine performer would transform from a Hollywood star to a television superstar in her own right with the same intense publicity, merchandising deals, and public appearances that characterized other television star’s careers. Susan Murray has argued that the importance that industry executives placed on stardom acted as a structuring force during television’s early years, often determining the economic and aesthetic dimensions of the medium and its programming formats. Popular network performers were the key piece in a mass mediated project of promoting 156 consumerist fantasies, carefully constructed personas that were intended to serve the commercial needs of television and the larger corporate sponsors. She points out that the networks and advertising agencies utilized a host of promotional tools borrowed from other media forms to create campaigns that linked star persona and product together via thorough exploitation, advertising, and merchandising tie-ins. 121 Campbell’s promotional contests, often integrated into episode plotlines, encouraged children to “name Lassie’s puppies” and collect Campbell’s Soup and Swanson’s labels in exchange for a Lassie bifold wallet or Lassie friendship ring. 122 These successful marketing tie-ins would reveal that the program could not only demonstrate viability in the larger consumer market but also become an extremely lucrative source of branded merchandise with products ranging from comic books to Viewmaster slides and costumes. 123 The nature of some of these promotions bear a striking resemblance to the studio tactics utilized to publicize the films that Lassie appeared in, however, the uniquely commercial structure of television and its emphasis on utilizing stars as sales agents positioned Lassie within an even more intense web of commodification. After purchasing the program, Wrather marketed an expanded line of Lassie branded consumer goods that would include everything from shampoos and cosmetics to t-shirts, toys, and records, making Lassie merchandise a ten million dollar enterprise. 124 Television’s domestic setting and the weekly program broadcasts habituated young viewers to having some form of Lassie in their actual day to day lives and the popularity of the contests and mail-in offers that Campbell’s consistently ran suggest that Lassie (and Lassie) fandom was particularly intense. 125 The program naturalized the desire for canine companionship while the contests and merchandise provided consumption-based outlets for the expression of that longing, Lassie even became a commodity one could actually own. Advertisements that promoted the naming contest also promised children that one of the prizes 157 they could win was an actual Lassie puppy while commercials with Lassie and Timmy promised opportunities for children to procure replicas of items seen on the show. In a postwar consumer culture that continually promised access to ideal forms of space, technology, and material goods, it becomes easy to see how a television program built around the perfect embodiment of canine loyalty could feed into the kind of explosion in purebred dog ownership that the 1950s and 1960s experienced. Of the survey respondents, sixty-one percent admitted that Lassie and the program had a determining influence over their desire for and eventual procurement of a collie. Many fans “wanted a dog just like Lassie” and explain that they have collies today because they “fell in love with Lassie as a child”. 126 In addition to the careful crafting of the Lassie image via branded promotional stunts and programming, the popular press would not only confirm Lassie’s overwhelming stardom but also reinforce the notion that the canine performer would always be around, at least in one form or another. Daily Variety Telepix reviews of the program consistently singled out the collie performer as the star over the majority of the cast, often praising the show’s ability to teach “good manners with a sense of charity” to the young ones while keeping them entertained. 127 Many articles emphasize the Lassie lineage with references to the dynastic qualities of the name or clarifications about which generation the current performer belonged to, consistent statements were made about the passing on of the role from father to son and grandfather to grandson. 128 With continued reassurance from Weatherwax that that there “will always be a Lassie”, articles reinforced this idea via discussions of the training regimes that assured a new Lassie was always being prepared. 129 Coupled with this was a seeming aversion to ever mention the Lassie name in connection with death, only carefully phrased allusions to “retirement” and “taking over” for a previous performer. 130 Often brief news blurbs that promoted a current Lassie’s appearance at a 158 hospital or amusement fair simply constructed an unbroken narrative in which a reader could possibly surmise that only one collie played Lassie the entire period comprising multiple decades. 131 While a host of the program’s human costars, producers, trainers, and handlers had obituaries posted in the major newspapers after their deaths, often with headlines identifying their connection to Lassie in some way, none of the collies of the Lassie lineage was ever allowed that acknowledgement. 132 The idea of Lassie needed to live on, and by all accounts would, through the continual reproduction of the collie’s line. This tendency seems less conspiratorial in light of the culture of disavowal that the sponsors and networks cultivated in relation to the discussion of delicate subjects within the program’s narratives. Robert Maxwell, writer and producer for the program’s first four seasons, was barred from explicitly using the words “death” and “die” in a script that dealt with the passing of one of the characters. After being forced to alter the cast and possibly revamp the program in 1957, the sponsors were invested in keeping the farm in its anachronistically outdated state rather than update it with more modern farming technologies. Lassie needed to remain firmly attached to a “quaint” setting that would evoke “nostalgia” and, more importantly, never change. 133 Complicating the notions that there would always be a Lassie and that the lineage would continue on were the Weatherwax family’s assertions that during the active filming of the program, there was “only one Lassie”. 134 This promotion of seemingly contradictory information simultaneously constructs the canine as a unique star and a branded institution comprised of multiple figures, a phenomenon that speaks directly to the nature of multispecies stardom. Lassie, like many stars, was always a composite of several material entities ranging from his trainers, agents, and breeders to his costars, humane representatives, and fans. The model of multispecies stardom that this dissertation constructs is precisely interested in the manner in 159 which media production relies on a multiplicity of interrelated figures that depend on forms of mutual communication, both linguistic and embodied, to create the material effects necessary for performance and thus media creation. The construction of an immortalized Lassie brand was a collaborative industrial and institutional effort that was further enabled by breeding and training strategies that attempted to ensure the continual availability of collies that could perpetuate the role. Lassie became an enduringly malleable symbol of American values whose meaning changed according to the variable needs of the media text, executive producers, governmental agencies, and fans. Considered the “most influential pet of the millennium”, Lassie remains an indelible icon alongside human figures like Albert Einstein, Elvis Presley, and John F. Kennedy. 135 While the Lassie brand persists to this day through the production of new films and television programs, the postwar years from the late 1940s to the 1970s were the canine’s most profitable and popular. The unique confluence of housing changes, economic development, governmental influence, technological innovation, and media saturation made a collie dog into a global multispecies superstar. Lassie’s film stardom was contingent on a host of discursive practices and a history of regulatory and cultural changes that supported the protection of domesticated animals. While the studio system fostered Lassie’s initial reception as an all-American hero during wartime, the postwar period transformed the performer into a moral agent of wholesome, clean living. Economic prosperity and federal policy would substantially alter the living conditions of countless citizens as an emergent consumer culture encouraged pet ownership and televisual media consumption. The television industry’s investment in maintaining star power and longevity clearly manifested itself through the Lassie image, as the shrewd publicity efforts and 160 corresponding cultural reception associated the canine with stability and reassurance, a timeless figure within the memories of multiple generations of viewers. 161 Chapter Four From Pet Stars to Star’s Pets: The Transitional Multispecies Stardom of Benji Figure 4.1 Benji’s small size, scruffy appearance, and expressive brown eyes A scruffy mixed-breed armful, the appearance of Benji (Higgins) is quite distinct from the well-groomed, impressively built, pedigreed icons of early and classical Hollywood cinema (See Figure 4.1). 1 In a career that would span from the early 1960s to the late 1980s, this sandy- colored cockapoo (cocker spaniel and poodle mix) and his descendents would star in four films, two television series and four specials, and become the second animal performer inducted into the American Humane Association’s Hall of Fame. 2 While the distinguishing physical features of this canine star are indicative of his ambiguous heritage, that they were continually invoked as part of his adorably charming appeal speaks to both the changing nature of pet ownership as well as talent acquisition from the 1970s onward. While purebred pets were still popular, American families and industry professionals had grown to appreciate the value of rescuing abandoned 162 mutts as both a moral and fiscally responsible practice. An analysis of Benji’s career reveals not only the manner in which the canine star is a compelling manifestation of multispecies stardom but also the ways in which companion animal media was shifting in response to the new technologies, marketing tactics, and industrial frameworks that arose between the post-studio and post-network eras of American media history. The decline of studio dominance, a factor connected to both negligent investment and a highly competitive television industry, facilitated an increase in targeted marketing and independent production houses specializing in niche products. The waning popularity of narrative pet programming after the 1960s would contribute to both its reduction and reformulation, seen clearly in Benji’s television specials, from the late 1970s onward into the more thoroughly nonfictional mode seen in contemporary forms of pet training programs. Benji’s career extends across multiple industrial contexts in a way that highlights the manner in which the interdependence of each medium was facilitated by modes of independent production and multispecies talent management that predominated during the post-studio era. Television broadcasting during the 1960s relied on a host of independently contracted production companies like Filmways Inc. that exercised a great deal of influence over programming trends. The company’s executive producer Paul Henning was responsible for generating the majority of rural themed sitcoms that were sustained by ongoing multispecies relations, both on-set and off. 3 Networks, studios, and small production companies alike had historically been reliant on a host of animal trainers, like Frank Inn, working as independent contractors with privately managed cohorts of performers. His large group of companion species was utilized in a host of television and film productions from the 1950s onward and was managed by an ancillary contingent of handlers that Inn relied on to facilitate the ongoing training of each performer. The decline of the 163 Hollywood studios during the 1970s encouraged the growth of smaller independent film companies that maintained a competitive edge by specializing in particular niche markets. After being rejected by a majority of Hollywood studios, producer Joe Camp formed his own company Mulberry Square Productions to facilitate the creation of family-friendly animal media like Benji (Joe Camp, 1974). Eventually spun off into a variety of ancillary television specials and series, the Benji franchise was a prescient indicator of the early Broadcast network attempts to compete within the advent of cable niche programming and consumer technologies in the 1980s. While the historical developments in animal welfare seen throughout the nineteenth century exercised a more diffuse form of influence over Rin-Tin-Tin and Lassie’s careers, Benji’s star image was directly defined by his rescue status and crafted in relation to the complex form of institutional welfare provided by municipally-run animal shelter systems. The canine star’s discovery narrative and immense popularity was used to promote particular forms of pet adoption that were influenced by his own history as well as an emergent animal rights movement that politicized animal welfare activism. The use of individualized animal figures and media exposure to promote particular social causes was a historically common tactic of the animal movement that realized the powerful connection between public sentiment, pets, and visual imagery that had arose after the postwar period. 4 None of the puppies from the numerous litters required to sustain the Benji line were sold and the promotional work done in conjunction with the film releases encouraged shelter adoption over the pedigreed dog-giveaways characteristic of past multispecies star publicity. Benji’s status as a rescue highlights the interdependence of forms of social activism and multispecies performance that is precisely indicative of multispecies stardom’s larger connection to the treatment of actual material animals. Benji’s branding as an approachable figure of cuddly affection, reinforced by his diminutive size and tousled 164 appearance, also acted as a catalyst for the successful marketing of future media targeted at niche audiences looking for cute companion animal programming. The narrative emphases and formal strategies of Benji’s media texts reveals the importance of animal perspectives as well as the multiplicities of meaning inherent in interspecies relations and companion animal media. While the films and television programs of previous multispecies stars were heavily reliant on both the visual presence of the performer and the structuring influence they exercised on the narrative scenarios, the formal properties of many of these media texts nevertheless belied relatively anthropocentric cinematographic and editing strategies. The Benji series of films are fairly unique for the innovative manner in which visual cues like zooms and point-of-view shots facilitate multispecies modes of interaction and demonstrate character interiority. This unconventional approach, fostered by the New Hollywood ethos of experimentation, influenced the branded publicity stunts and nonfictional modes of address utilized to produce Benji’s later television specials. While the careers of Lassie and Rin- Tin-Tin were characterized by their appearances in mutually exclusive media forms, Benji’s popularity can be attributed in part to the dynamic interplay between his films and television specials, as many of them coexisted as self-reflexive reinforcements of the canine performer’s persona and advertisements for Benji branded media. An analysis of Benji’s multispecies star text is appropriate for the ways in which it is indicative of the major shifts seen in the period between the post-studio and post network eras. While Benji and Frank Inn were an integral part of the postwar trend in multispecies televisual texts produced in 1960s, their partnership with Joe Camp inducted them into the post-studio era of independent production in 1970s. The broadcast network specials made between 1977-1983 were blend of narrative quotidian naturalism and non-fiction stunt spectacular in a way that 165 makes Benji and Inn ideal transitional figures of the move from narrative to nonfiction pet training programs seen between the advent of cable in the 1980s and the post-network era of the 2000s. Benji and his handler Frank Inn are both a product of this transitional period but also act as the foundation for the changes in multispecies media production and the marketing of pet programming that are seen after the canine star’s peak popularity from the late 1970s to the late 1980s. Cable niche networks, in their zeal to market animal programming, capitalized on the explosion of pet consumer culture that had already begun in the postwar era. The pet culture industry is valued in the billions as pet owners are continually encouraged to invest in a multitude of pet products, specialty dog food, expensive veterinary services, media products, training tools, and of course actual companion animals. The emergence of these niche networks is as much a characteristic of changing industrial and technological modes as it is fueled by contemporary society’s affective investment in relating to their furry friends. This chapter will maintain a dual focus on both this multispecies star’s comparatively shorter career trajectory and the major industrial reconfigurations that have brought about distinct alterations in the mode of companion animal media. Benji’s career spans at least two highly mercurial periods in American media history that each witnessed massive transformations in content creation, audience composition, and marketing tactics. From the late 1960s through the late 1970s, the Hollywood film industry was fundamentally altering the manner in which it produced and distributed media product while the television industry from the late 1970s through the late 1980s instituted major changes in marketing, visual style, and number of available channels. The Benji media franchise was forced to contend with these changes and it invariably had an impact on the overall visibility and endurance of the brand. The longevity of Lassie and 166 Rinty’s careers can be attributed in part to the relatively stable industrial configurations of the studio and network system, and the eventual collaboration between the two in the 1950s. The chapter will provide an initial explanation of Benji’s discovery narrative and the manner in which his status as a rescue mutt and the persona of his trainer/handler Frank Inn contributed to the increased visibility and viability of shelter adoption as a specific form of companion animal welfare. An investigation into independently produced broadcast network programming dynasties and their contested position within the larger cultural landscape of the 1960s will provide the context for the ethos, and later success, of the Benji franchise. The trend for rural-themed television shows, inaugurated by the blockbuster success of The Beverly Hillbillies, would foster not only the commercial marketability of multispecies performers in general but also encourage the popular connection between animals, nostalgic pastoralism, and “universal” American values that dominate the multispecies star’s films. Following this will be an investigation into post-studio era production practices, strategies of financing, and tactics of distribution that influenced the innovative multispecies formal properties of Benji and enabled its major success. The stylistic novelty of the first film coupled with its decidedly rustic setting and wistful sentimentalism make Benji an uncharacteristic amalgamation of New Hollywood experimentation and 1970s trends in nostalgic reassurance. The chapter will then discuss the self- reflexive cross-promotion of Benji’s film and television work from the late 1970s to the late 1980s that emphasized the role of the trainer and paved the way for an increase in educational pet obedience specials on public television that inadvertently afforded the animal trainer a high degree of fame. The chapter will conclude with an examination of the rise of cable niche networks from the late 1980s onward and the branded celebrity trainers that have come to dominate the nonfiction pet programming that arose in the wake of developments in cable 167 technology and viewer interest in televised pet obedience instruction. The unique promotion of Frank Inn’s relationship to Benji created the means through which future charismatic trainers could capture audience attention and admiration for their attempts at helping regular individuals turn their own pets into well-behaved, star-quality companions. Rescue Ethics: Benji’s Discovery and the Rise of the “Hollywood Mongrel” As has been demonstrated via analyses of the careers of Rin-Tin-Tin and Lassie, origin stories have the potential to exercise a great deal of influence over the nature of a multispecies star’s image as well as the forms of promotional work and public service performed by each canine star. While the star texts of Rinty and Lassie were imbued to a certain extent with welfarist fantasies and an ethics of rehabilitation, Benji’s image was clearly defined by his identity as a mixed-breed shelter dog that had been saved from government-sanctioned euthanasia. The animal welfare movement and the charters of protectionist societies, whose nascent beginnings in the nineteenth century were influenced by the rise of sentimental attitudes toward animals and bolstered by cross-species educational efforts and concerns, underwent a reformation during and after the post-war period that would impact the future of companion animal welfare and sheltering practices. From the late 1960s onward, the movement utilized society’s affective investment in their pets to fundamentally change the manner in which animal welfare issues were visualized and campaigned for. The historical practice of using multispecies stars to promote animal protection and shelter adoption was being slowly augmented, and altered, by the movement’s attempts to channel the public’s emotional connection to their own pets into support for animal protection efforts. Both multispecies stars and everyday companion animals were becoming increasingly connected in the project to promote animal welfare. 168 The nature and conditions surrounding Benji’s discovery and career inherit not only these changes in institutional welfare practices but also the economic prosperity and corresponding shifts in the consumption patterns of the postwar period. The exponential increase in pet ownership and corresponding emphasis on purebred breeding practices laid the unfortunate foundation for future pet overpopulation 5 and the abandonment of mongrels that did not fit traditional breed standards. 6 As humane societies were becoming increasingly overburdened, certain animal trainers, like Frank Inn, occupied liminal spaces as both independent Hollywood entrepreneurs and animal advocates whose multispecies caretaking practices blended industrial needs, personal sentiment, and companion animal welfare. The politicized social activism of the civil rights, feminist, and environmental movements during the 1960s and 1970s would help reinvigorate the campaigns of organizations fighting for a host of animal issues that included protection for animal performers and abandoned pets. Benji’s popularity in the mid to late 1970s inaugurated an intense campaign to increase the visibility of pet rescue that later inspired Benji- branded adoption programs and new forms of multispecies talent acquisition. Abandoned at the Burbank Animal Shelter in 1960 for unknown reasons, Higgins was a scruffy six-month old mutt with an uncertain future until Frank Inn was alerted to the young canine’s existence by one of the shelter’s attendants. In agreeing to take the feisty pup home, Inn was not only rescuing Higgins from almost certain extermination but also creating another potential source of income for his already successful animal training business. 7 Higgins was to become yet another addition to already expansive multispecies menagerie of performers and handlers being employed in both film and television work that included chimps, cats, skunks, lizards, birds, dogs, and numerous human employees. Inn was already well known not only for supplying the industry with a diversity of multispecies actors but also his humane strategies for 169 procuring talent and the charitable forms of retirement offered once his performers aged out of the business. 8 He routinely scoured local shelters looking for animals that he could train for various film roles, guest appearances on television programs, and commercials. Insisting that breeding had little bearing on an actor’s potential or aptitude, Inn rarely shied away from utilizing the unpedigreed canines and felines commonly found at animal shelters. 9 After a given performer could no longer work, whether for reasons due to typecasting or age, they were allowed to remain on Inn’s ranch and provided with proper veterinary care, food, and companionship for the remainder of their lives. Having had a long history of working with and around animals in an informal capacity, Inn started earning industry credentials as a trainer/handler for Rudd Weatherwax from the 1930s through the 1940s. The valuable experience of working alongside Weatherwax and assisting with the training of Lassie, among others, enabled Inn to branch out and start his own business Frank Inn Animals by 1954. His reputation was built initially from his unique ability to coax performances out of feline actors at a time in which few trainers would even consider working with them. With the knowledge that cats responded to motivation, distinct from canines, in the form of food-based rewards allocated for each correctly performed behavior, Inn was able condition his felines to carry out various tasks. 10 His first major star was Orangey, the somewhat fractious feline actor that was most known for appearing in Rhubarb (Arthur Rubin, 1951) and later Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Blake Edwards, 1961). 11 Shortly following was Cleo, the “talking” basset hound of the popular television series The People’s Choice (CBS, 1955-1958). The American Humane Association bestowed both Orangey and Cleo with Patsy Awards (Picture Animals Top Star of the Year) for their respective work, a commendation that was known to increase both the appearance fees a performer could command and the level of respect the 170 industry had for a given trainer. 12 By 1960 Inn had already generated a name for himself within Hollywood as one of the most experienced trainers in the industry with an impressively varied, and ever increasing, list of species he could successfully work with. In addition to a diverse company of talent, Inn employed a support staff of trainers who facilitated the conditioning and management of the numerous animal actors. Benji would be handled by at least four different trainers throughout the multigenerational history of the brand. 13 Inn’s practices and personal philosophy regarding the treatment and sheltering of animals were indicative of the changes in the animal welfare movement regarding pets that had occurred since the advent of the First World War. The legislative and cultural influence that the fervent activists of the AHA and ASPCA had exercised on the behalf of domesticated animals in the late nineteenth century had waned slightly in the face of newly globalized warfare and the rise of a more conservative strain of advocacy that emphasized humane education over more radical forms of activism. The period from the late teens through the early 1940s saw the movement focus on more “popular”, and by extension less controversial, issues like the management of stray animal populations. The humane societies and state affiliated SPCAs responsible for the funding and control of local municipal shelters were becoming increasingly overburdened, however, and the financial toll on the organizations forced an additional retreat from some of their more widespread campaigns. 14 The lobbying efforts of businesses and research firms to limit the reach of anti-cruelty statutes only further inhibited the movement’s political activism. As the public, and privatized interests, generally supported organizational efforts at curtailing the cruel treatment of singular animals, the movement focused more on promoting individualized expressions of kindness and protection rather than systemic change. 15 Pets, especially dogs, 171 would become instrumental, however, in generating the kind of public awareness that animal groups needed to enact governmental and cultural change in the future. The postwar period witnessed an enormous increase in legislative achievements in animal welfare as the connections between companion animals, shelter management, and laboratory research companies became uncomfortably clear in the public’s mind via increased media coverage. While press reports of general animal welfare efforts had been mercurial since the beginning of the movement, the mass media became an unexpected ally in the years following World War II and was crucial in generating visibility for issues related to companion animal abuse. The multiplication of ancillary animal advocacy groups after 1945 not only enabled the pursuit of a more diverse agenda but also helped the movement as a whole focus on particular issues that had been neglected, one of which was the use of companion animals for scientific research. 16 In 1948 the National Society for Medical Research (NSMR) lobbied for and successfully forced several state run shelters to relinquish any animal at the request of a medical research facility. In opposition, animal welfare organizations conducted several laboratory investigations, published the damning results, and attempted to reform failing research labs with humane educational campaigns. 17 The limited success of these efforts was compounded by a public awareness problem created by the lack of emotional connection to anonymous shelter animals and the previously limited visibility of the issue in the mainstream press. Mass media outlets would soon exercise a great deal of influence over the public and legislative denouncement of specific forms of animal cruelty. The highly publicized case of a lost Dalmatian named Pepper, the family pet of the Lackavage family, was instrumental in putting not only a name but a multispecies series of faces on the problem of relinquishing companion animals to medical research. In 1965 Pepper had been turned into the Northampton 172 Country SPCA and quickly collected by an animal dealer that would them sell her to a medical hospital for testing. 18 While Pepper unfortunately died before the Lackavages could find her, her case and the immense publicity that it created fueled enough public outrage to inspire further investigations that would eventually convince legislators to start crafting a law to regulate the dog trade. 19 The “Pepper incident” helped launch a four-part investigative series published by the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle entitled “The Dog Dealers” which was quickly followed by an in-depth exposé on the cruelties suffered at the hands of a Maryland dog dealer published in a 1966 issue of Life magazine. Likened to a “concentration camp”, the photos of the dealer’s compound inspired a spate of newspaper editorials and television specials decrying the practice and horrified readers were instructed to contact their local congressmen and demand that something be done. 20 Passed in 1966, the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act (LAWA) prohibited the use of stolen animals and regulated the number of species that could be used and their conditions of treatment. 21 The dual process of personalizing and visualizing the issue successfully constructed the practices of research firms as a threat to the safety of everyday companion animals, families across America needed to protect their beloved pets. The sentimental attachments that petkeeping fostered were extended to abandoned strays via process of calculated media exposure, a process that would undoubtedly inspire Frank Inn’s welfarist methods of talent acquisition and the future promotional campaigns of the Benji franchise that precisely relied on the collaboration between the media and animal advocacy. The period from the early 1970s through the late 1980s saw an exponential increase in the media coverage of animal issues, especially those that dealt with the ongoing controversy of companion animal experimentation. A series of highly publicized protests over the use of domesticated cats in scientific research at the Museum of Natural History would encourage not 173 only the abolition of the testing under question but also the popular perception of the movement as one fighting for “animal rights”. 22 The figure responsible for orchestrating the protests, Henry Spira, would go on to lobby for and successfully repeal the Metcalf-Hatch Act, ending the ability of medical researchers in New York to seize pets from local shelters for the purposes of experimentation. As the animal movement shifted its political focus towards a more rights-based approach, there was a corresponding increase in the number of grassroots animal advocacy groups with divergent interests and concerns. The publication of Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation in 1975 further factionalized the movement into a series of organizations split along minute ideological lines regarding larger purpose and practical applications. Newly formed advocacy groups like the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), initiated in 1976, and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), created in 1980, engaged in more militant and aggressive approaches to animal protection and focused on issues like factory farming, the fur trade, and experimentation on primates. Numerous associations formed that would target an immensely diverse set of animal issues from a host of perspectives ranging from legal and legislative efforts to religious, artistic, and educational based reform. 23 Older institutions of welfare like the AHA and SPCA reaffirmed their commitment to shelter reforms and after recognizing the important role that the media played in achieving anti-pound seizure legislation these organizations welcomed the presence of a new canine star who could put yet another face on the campaign for shelter animal welfare. Produced and released at a time in which the animal movement was experiencing some of its greatest victories regarding the reform of animal research, Benji not only complimented the efforts at increasing the public’s awareness about shelter adoption it also created the means for a new method of multispecies talent acquisition and form of star-branded welfare. The correlation 174 between shelters and animal research, established by the Pepper Lackavage case and Life magazine cover stories of the late 1960s, would have been a powerful motivator for those desiring a pet to consider adopting one from a local rescue. According to the American Humane Association, the popularity of the film and the promotion of Benji’s status as a mixed-breed shelter dog contributed to the rescuing of approximately one million animals from shelters across the country. Eventually “Benji” took on a more expansive meaning, transforming from the name of canine performer into a more amorphously inclusive category of mixed-breed dog. Families who were looking to rescue a mutt entered their local shelters looking for a “Benji-type”, perused the kennels for a dog with the scruffy “Benji face” that they could take home with them. 24 As Benji continued to promote shelter adoption throughout the 1980s, he was aided in his efforts by a multispecies host of stars, including Morris the Cat and Betty White, that would appear at May Company department stores alongside adoptable animals provided by local Humane Societies. 25 By the end of the decade animal trainers had recognized the lucrative nature of procuring performers from local shelters and had coined a term for the new type of canine actor. Called “the Hollywood Mongrel” by industry trainers, this new category was defined as a moderately- sized dog with a furry appearance and a cute face. 26 As Benji had already come to embody the ideal characteristics that Americans were looking for in a pet, Hollywood trainers wanted to exploit the new popularity of mixed-breed canines while saving some money in the process. Eventually Joe Camp, producer of the Benji franchise and trademark owner, would create a non-profit corporation called the Benji’s Buddies Foundation that utilizes “cause-marketing” to not only raise awareness of responsible pet adoption but to ultimately “brand homeless shelter pets as Benji’s Buddies”. Based on their success in Mississippi during the search for the next Benji, the program argues that the combination of Benji appearances, public service 175 announcements, advertising, and branded merchandise that promotes rescuing strays will be effective at generating funds for local shelters and increasing adoption levels. 27 This independently run foundation and its star-driven welfare campaign directly inherits from the modern animal movement’s channeling of affective investments in companion animals into forms of activism via the use of multiple forms of mass media. Multispecies stars like Benji act as the locus point for public sentiment and institutional advocacy, connecting the treatment of actual animals to industrial modes of performance and talent management. Critter Country: 1960s Television and the Rural Pluriverse of Filmways Inc. Instructed to choose and begin training one of the new puppies that had been brought to Frank Inn’s animal compound, a young employee named Gerry Warshaurer decided that Higgins had the qualities necessary to be her first official trainee. After several months, a few commercials, and at least three small guest appearances on television, Higgins was building a reputation for himself as a television industry professional. 28 Inspired by what he saw as the natural comic effect of the animal performers on his flagship program The Beverly Hillbillies, producer Paul Henning hired Higgins to play “dog” in the increasingly popular CBS spin-off series Petticoat Junction (CBS 1963-1970). From then on Higgins became the “star without a stage name” and was continually praised in the press for his adorable scene stealing presence. 29 While the content and conditions surrounding Higgins’ early televisual fame are significant, the more important issues concern the manner in which the canine performer was part of the popularity of rural-based programming that dominated the 1960s. Discussed in the previous chapter as part of the larger trend in utilizing animals in a multiplicity of television shows, these specific incarnations of companion animal media enabled the presentation of thematic content 176 that corresponded with the concerns of the ecological and multispecies welfare movements of the 1960s. The inclusion of animal characters as part of their satirical interpretation of modernity enabled these programs to meld multispecies performance and political commentary. While Higgins was an integral part of this phenomenon and did indeed receive a fair amount of press coverage, however, he was not the main focus of the narrative situations on Junction and can thus be thought of more appropriately as another participant in the uniquely expansive multispecies universe that producer Paul Henning created for the independent production company Filmways Inc. Independent television production during the 1960s played both a supportive role and exercised a determining influence over the quality and character of certain network operations. Mark Alvey argues that in accepting the overly simplistic characterization of 1960s television as purely escapist and formulaic entertainment, scholars often overlook the role that independent production firms played in reconfiguring the power relations governing television production and programming trends. Formed in 1952 by Martin Ransohoff, Filmways Inc. was a major supplier of telefilm series for CBS and established a successful and highly idiosyncratic programming dynasty of rural themed sitcoms that emphasized the eccentric aspects of somewhat alternative formations of the traditional 1950s nuclear family. 30 Henning, involved in the making of radio and television sitcoms for almost twenty-five years, was a staff writer for The Burns and Allen Show (NBC) and later went on to create and produce The Bob Cummings Show (NBC 1955, CBS 1955-57, NBC 1957-59, ABC 1959-61). Although Henning had infused these earlier programs with some of the pastoral, “old-fashioned” values of his rural upbringing, they were never as omnipresent a feature as they were in his 1960s programming. 31 After the success of The Beverly 177 Hillbillies in 1962, Henning eventually created two spinoff series Petticoat Junction and Green Acres that employed similar themes, characters, and maintained a continuous narrative universe. While the early reception of Hillbillies was rather chilly as critics considered the program too absurd, unfunny, and “shamelessly corny”, later reviewers championed the program’s status as “situation-farce” and praised its consistent attack on mainstream capitalistic values. 32 Argued to be a departure from the homogenous, hierarchically structured, domestic family sitcoms of the 1950s, the humorous content of Henning’s programs stemmed from the continual confrontation between the archaic values of rural living and the technological trappings of modern society, the common object of ridicule was modernity. 33 The traditionally Americanist theme concerning the conflict between nature and civilization is reformulated through these programs as a humorous and often satirical confrontation between the principles promoting multispecies coalition and those that uphold the same hierarchical value systems that position humans above all else. Characters like Elly Mae Clampett and Lisa Oliver embraced a lifestyle in which proximity to and connections with various “critters” enriched their understanding of life, attempts at altering this dynamic often met with humorous rebuttals and affirmations that the interconnection between multiple species was appropriate and moral. In addition to satirizing modernity and its moral constructs, these programs are distinct from the previous decade for the manner in which they also question the cultural myths underpinning the belief in unimpeded economic and technological progress. Chris J. Magnoc points out that rural-based shows are especially useful for the way in which they incorporate a range of environmental themes that can then potentially be accepted into wider cultural debates. The setting of these programs afforded the characters, and by extension viewers, access to a host of issues regarding interspecies relations and ecological protection. Pointing out that during the 178 latter half of the 1960s, the percentage of the population concerned with environmental issues like air and water pollution tripled in size, Magnoc argues that “rural-based television— particularly its subgenre of countrified situation comedy—carries a multiplicity of messages, reflecting the complex and vigorous societal debate on the agricultural and environmental issues with which they often deal”. The generic composition of these programs also provides the means through which they can present various issues and provide potential commentary. While the situation comedy of the Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres allowed the program content to satirize contemporary American civilization, the melodramatic conceits of Lassie encouraged a more romanticized vision of the connection between modern and agrarian values. 34 The practicality of maintaining the seemingly harmonious, and often comical, interspecies relations on Henning’s programs fell to Frank Inn and his team of trainers. Inn was responsible for providing the hundreds of animals required for shooting certain episodes and overseeing the training of the iconic multispecies stars of the Henning pluriverse. Facilitating the continuity in the appearance and abilities of some of the performers in Henning’s multispecies universe necessitated a detailed attention to talent acquisition and behavioral conditioning. A combination of intuitive skill and perseverance on the part of handler and performer, Higgins was required to learn a new behavior for every week in which Junction was filming and often had to combine actions into a complicated series in order to complete certain scenes. 35 Higgins was but one performer, however, amidst a bevy of popular characters that included Jed Clampett’s faithful bloodhound Duke and Arnold Ziffel’s television watching pig Arnold. As the writers for Green Acres wanted the character of Arnold to be a cute little pig that weighed no more than thirty pounds, Inn and two of his other trainers needed to procure and train several pigs for the duration of the show. Adult hogs commonly weigh a few hundred pounds and 179 become quite large before a year is over so the handlers needed to continually train two new pigs every year. Citing the pig’s level of intelligence and malleability, the trainers were able to minimize the potential inconvenience of such a task because of the ease with which they were able to condition each new performer. 36 Both the porcine star and Higgins would go on to win PATSY awards between 1966 to 1971 for their performances, a feat that speaks to the quality of the multispecies collaboration. Distinct from the careers and methodologies of Lee Duncan and Rudd Weatherwax, Inn was well known in the industry as one of the first versatile trainers who was adept at working with multiple species and utilizing varied conditioning regimes. 37 He employed a support staff of approximately thirty different trainers that could work interchangeably on any of the programs for which Inn supplied an animal performer and these apprentices would often develop their own successful companies and client lists. 38 While Inn would eventually become the main handler for the Benji franchise, his collaboration with Henning during the 1960s would enable the trainer’s company to house the largest and most diverse multispecies animal performance troupe. Over time, as Inn focused more exclusively on training Benji, the management in charge of Inn’s company would scale back their efforts and significantly decrease the number of animals they worked with by the end of the 1980s. This was just one symptom of the overall decline in companion animal programming’s prevalence that occurred prior to its rebirth on the cable marketplace of the 1990s. After spending years among an expansive array of multispecies talent, the decade following the generic popularity of the rural sitcom would see Higgins develop into a full-fledged superstar in a series of independent films that would recreate a similar moral landscape. 180 New Hollywood’s Family Values: 1970s Independent Filmmaking The period from the late 1960s to the late 1970s, the era of New Hollywood, witnessed the restructuring of a Hollywood studio system in financial decline, the emergence of issue-based social movements, an increase in independent production that encouraged radical changes in media marketing and distribution, and the rise of an innovative trend in filmmaking that utilized experimental techniques to question dominant ideological and stylistic conventions. Geoff King argues that rather than an isolated moment of artistic experimentation, the New Hollywood era was brought about precisely by a convergence of numerous forces. Socio-cultural changes in audience composition and industrial shifts in production practices laid the foundation for the increasing use of expressive stylistic devices and topical thematic material. The industrial circumstances allowed for the infiltration of content that was reflective of the hyper-politicized era and delivered via a new generation of filmmakers utilizing a more experimental style. The profitability of the films produced during the late 1960s also contributed to the industrial viability of their experimental style and enabled the further development of similar films. 39 While Benji certainly lacks the visibility and overtly revolutionary ethos associated with the iconic texts of the 1970s, it is nevertheless indicative of an era in which shifting production practices, marketing tactics, modes of industrial financing, and social forces would coalesce into the seemingly contradictory confluence of ingenuity and profitability that marks New Hollywood filmmaking. In 1969 Joe Camp was a fledgling producer, specializing in low-budget advertising, working for the Jamieson Film Company in Dallas. Having spent several unsuccessful years attempting to break into the television industry as a writer for one of Paul Henning’s programs, Camp decided that his entry into narrative storytelling would have to come through alternate 181 means. With minimal experience in media production, Camp and a few of his associates decide to form their own company in 1971 with the help of a private investment group led by Tom Norsworthy. Barely one year into operations, despite positive projections the newly created Mulberry Square Productions was almost bankrupt and in desperate need to a new investment partner to initiate a buy out for the remaining company shares that the Norsworthy Group was attempting to divest. Seeing a potential bargain, businessman Ed Vanston agreed to provide the necessary funds and takes majority ownership of Mulberry Square Productions with the intention of reviving the company with a renewed focus on commercial production. In an attempt to escape the stress of the potential failure of his company, during the transition Camp turned his attention and efforts towards generating the story and outline for a live-action feature film about the adventures of a lovable stray dog named Benji told and experienced from the canine lead’s own perspective. After circulating the story treatment among the major studios and independent production companies, Camp’s agent notified him that none were interested in what was seen as an impossible project. 40 The summary rejection that Joe Camp faced when he attempted to find studio investment for a new canine-centric film aimed at children was based on a few factors that included the project’s low-concept premise, less lucrative target demographic, and an industry wide acceptance that films about dogs were no longer popular. 41 The new emphasis on targeting the 18-34 year old male demographic, combined with this recent industry recession, made most studio executives more than reticent to finance any project that lacked clear marketability. Since the early 1960s, the Hollywood studios had attempted to combat failing attendance by both targeting niche markets and funding extravagant prestige pictures that could be used to lure a more massive audience. 42 The overproduction of expensive films with ill-defined marketing and 182 poor box-office returns fueled the ensuing financial crisis that extended from 1969-1971 and led to a period of restructuring. As a result, many studios were forced to constrain their spending, close unnecessary facilities and reduce production costs until they regained financial stability in the mid-1970s. 43 Recognizing that in order to make Benji a reality he would have to independently produce the film himself, Camp enlisted the help of Mulberry Square’s new majority owner in securing a host of private investors who could supply the 300,000 dollars necessary to start developing the project. The financial crisis inadvertently left many of the Hollywood studios vulnerable to more powerful corporations interested in diversifying their holdings. Timothy Corrigan points out that after this transitional late 1960s period, the industry eventually entered an “age of inflation and conglomeration” when many Hollywood studios were acquired by multinational corporations like MCA, Gulf & Western, and the Transamerica Corporation. The ensuing massive increase in production budgets necessitated an alteration of previous film marketing tactics and a move towards targeting a mass audience over more niche demographics like teenagers. Semi- independent production companies, what Corrigan calls “mini-majors”, arose in response to the more corporatized structure of the conglomerate studios and the over-emphasis on profit margins. The smaller budgeted projects of these companies required less returns on investment and allowed them to take slightly greater risks in terms of content. 44 Justin Wyatt echoes this claim when he discusses the rise of smaller independent film companies that would specialize in particular markets in order to compete. While some production houses focused on art house imports and exploitation films, other companies branded themselves as purveyors of family entertainment. 45 183 While the post-classical era was defined in part by stylistic innovation and politicized topical material, it has been recognized that there was undercurrent of reassurance that characterized some of the films of the New Hollywood period. Nostalgic representations of bygone eras and the recreation of child-like wonder enabled some filmmakers to retreat from the social unrest and political tensions of the time and produce popular and easily marketable texts. 46 Camp had modeled the mission and ethos of Mulberry Square Productions on what he saw as the Disney ideal, a media company that specialized in family friendly content that was simultaneously financially profitable. 47 The canine-centered premise coupled with Camp’s assurance that the film would focus on the emotional interconnection between Benji and the world around him would enable Camp to inadvertently promote the film to conservative investors as a politically evacuated text. While other independent production houses sought financial recourse via exploitation content, the budget constraints of Mulberry Square would actually help fuel the Benji’s adoption of nostalgically rural settings and folksy characterizations. The entire film was shot in McKinney Texas, a small town just north of Mulberry Square’s Dallas location and would utilize the house they were renting for the shoot as production offices as well as employ locally sourced, but untrained, child performers to enact some of the lead roles. 48 While Camp’s intentions were to produce family-friendly content that would appeal to both children and adults, his decisions to structure the film’s narrative and formal properties around the canine lead’s perspective makes Benji a uniquely less anthropocentric multispecies text whose stylistic experimentation is tempered with traditional sentimentalism. King discusses the manner in which New Hollywood was marked by the use of certain stylistic devices that departed from the Classical Hollywood system of continuity enough to momentarily disrupt 184 coherence while still maintaining relatively stable spatial and temporal relations. The use of jump cuts, violations of the 180-degree rule, abrupt flashback sequences, zooms, and subjective camera work became tools for communicating character interiority and potentially generating socio-political commentary. While many of the films made in period of New Hollywood borrowed from the innovative camera work and editing tactics of foreign art cinema, King argues that the experimental formal strategies of the era were also more carefully contained within the dominant structures of genre and narrative conventions than their European counterparts. 49 Camp was told that it was foolhardy to make a film in which the dog’s point of view would restrict the exposition without providing some form of narration that would enable viewers to interpret the action. While Disney dominated the animal themed media market, both live-action and animated, throughout the 1950s and 1960s, even the films that featured companion animals as the central protagonists required the use of formal devices that made the characters more accessible to human viewers. The use of voice-over, both as omnipotent narration and actual character dialogue in animated films, was a predominantly used tactic to explain character psychology and motivation in many of Disney’s films. 50 In order to facilitate the creation of a truly canine-centered perspective, Camp was forced to use a host of experimental production tactics, modes of on-set talent management, and cinematographic strategies. As one of Camp’s mandatory rules was that the camera should rarely be in a position to look down on Benji, the crew devised a series of innovative devices that would maintain a low camera height while ensuring mobility and a diversity of angles. 51 They repurposed lazy susans for camera swiveling, welded camera rigs onto the lower portions of pickup trucks, and constructed an apparatus similar to a skateboard to capture Benji’s lateral movements. Production crews working on the later films learned that working without kneepads 185 was impossible. The use of long lenses on close-ups was forbidden because they decreased the dimensionality of Benji’s face and created a distancing effect that disrupted the illusion of proximity to not only the little canine hero but also his point of view. By necessitating the camera operator utilize a wide lens and be as close to Benji as possible, Camp inadvertently introduced more complications to the filming process. Because they could not construct pits inside the rented house in which they were shooting, the figures responsible for eliciting and capturing the canine performance had to not only lay on the ground but often in extraordinarily close proximity to one another. Often Camp, trainer Frank Inn, cameraman Don Reddy, and a lighting technician would have to pile almost on top on one another, as close to Benji as possible without interfering with the camera movement or performance, casting shadows, or disrupting the frame. 52 Prompting a series of “natural” movements from the canine star required shooting around his sleeping schedule and providing him with a three-ton air conditioning apparatus that would be able to cool the furry actor enough to curtail any panting and excessive salivation that might interfere with his performance. 53 The narrative of the film centers on the life of an adorable mutt named Benji as he falls in love, rescues a pair of children from kidnappers, and eventually gets adopted into their family by proving that stray dogs have immeasurable worth. Camp refused to employ voice-over narration and instead structured the film around Benji’s daily routine of traveling across town to visit one particular human family, punctuated by a series of short interspecies interactions in which the audience derives information about Benji based on his habitual activities. The majority of character psychology and interiority was communicated via several formal cues that included point of view shots, zooming, intercutting, and leitmotifs. As the film’s narrative and premise are structured around Benji’s life, point of view shots predominate the film giving the viewer access 186 to the manner in which the canine hero perceives the world around him and makes decisions (see Figures 4.2 and 4.3). Often the use of a zoom signifies Benji’s recognition of and interest in a given object or person and are often used in conjunction with POV shots, effectively communicating Benji’s internal aspirations. When the kidnapped children are forcibly brought into the abandoned house in which Benji is hiding and he catches sight of them, the camera zooms into a close up of Benji’s face, holds for a few seconds and then follows that shot with a medium close up point of view shot of the children. The audience is meant to understand that not only is this moment significant for the plot but also meaningful for Benji. Figure 4.2 Benji’s POV as he is looking up at Figure 4.3 Benji’s POV as he is watching the one of the kidnappers group trying to locate the kidnapped children Point of view shots, zooming, and intercutting are strategically combined into extended montage sequences throughout the film. These sequences are effective at conveying Benji’s cognitive process, emotional motivation and memory retention in ways distinct from previous companion animal films. The scene shortly following the kidnapping of the children shows one of the villains brandishing a gun in order to elicit cooperation from his cohort. A flashback montage sequence follows that intercuts shots of a police officer with whom Benji is shown interacting with in a friendly manner, a criminal repeatedly firing a gun at that officer, and close ups of Benji’s face as he is currently watching the villain that has kidnapped the children (see 187 Figures 4.4 to 4.20). In sharp contradistinction to the long takes that predominate the film, these shots are extremely short in length and almost erratically assembled. The rapidity of the editing is somewhat jarring and acts both as a visual approximation of the fleeting and often barely coherent nature of memory recall as well as a representation of Benji’s cognitive processing. The montage ends with Benji retreating under the side table and hiding from the object he knows can cause harm while the next shot is a point of view shot that zooms in on the children and conveys Benji’s understanding that they must be in danger. The intellect and problem solving skills of the canine hero, while certainly a present feature of the film, are not taken for granted within the narrative universe as Benji’s comprehension is revealed via these montage sequences. 54 Figure 4.4 Long shot of Benji seeing kidnaper with gun Figure 4.5 Medium shot of Benji watching kidnapper 188 Figure 4.6 Close up of kidnapper’s gun Figure 4.7 Close up of Benji watching kidnapper Figure 4.8 Flashback of Benji thinking of Police officer 189 Figure 4.9 Close up of Benji watching kidnapper Figure 4.10 Flashback of Benji with Police Officer Figure 4.11 Close up of Benji watching kidnapper 190 Figure 4.12 Flashback of Benji seeing a criminal Figure 4.13 Close up of Benji watching kidnapper Figure 4.14 Benji’s flashback memory of police officer encountering criminal 191 Figure 4.15 Close up of Benji watching kidnapper Figure 4.16 Medium shot of Benji’s flashback memory of criminal firing gun at police officer Figure 4.17 Close up of criminal firing gun at police officer 192 Figure 4.18 Extreme close up of criminal firing gun at police officer Figure 4.19 Close up of Benji watching kidnapper 4.20 Close up of kidnapper’s gun, reinforcing connection between the two guns 193 Close ups of Benji’s face are employed throughout the film, most importantly to act as an emotional surrogate for one of the more intense moments of the film in which his canine companion Tiffany is injured by the villains in her attempt to help Benji. We see a point of view shot of Tiffany being viciously kicked followed by a close up of Benji’s face as we hear the cries of the children and Tiffany’s squeal. One more close up of Tiffany’s limp body combined with a close up of Benji’s face ably conveys the pathos of the situation as well as the canine hero’s silent acknowledgement of it. The subsequent slow motion sequence of Benji running for help utilizes more intercutting and the audience is allowed to witness his interior state of mind as shots of Tiffany’s seemingly lifeless body are interspersed with images of the crying children and close ups of the villain’s gun. Notable cross-species equivalencies are drawn here between canine and human companions as violence against either is constructed as the true mark of evil. The continued lack of interest on the part of Hollywood studios when it came time to distribute the film left Mulberry Square with the task of devising a more guerilla distribution schedule and marketing scheme that would utilize a heavily saturated multi-media campaign that included ads and live appearances to generate localized interest that could then be translated into wider popularity. Mulberry Square would release Benji for limited engagements at top theatres located in Dallas and then follow up those strong showings with calculated publicity tours in which Camp would champion the premise of the film and the phenomenon of canine acting. Camp, Inn, and Benji would all travel to each new city in which the film would be released and spend the week meeting with the press, airing targeted television spots, making talk show appearances, conducting radio interviews, and holding meetings with the newspaper reviewers. The key to generating the positive responses they wanted was Camp’s explanation of the film’s premise as Benji’s adorable presence reinforced the message. 55 194 The marketing strategies of the film would highlight the unique abilities of its canine star over, and often in contra-distinction to, the human performers. As a careful circumvention of negative publicity coming from reviews that criticized the two-dimensionality of the human actors and the insufficient plot, Camp would assert that in order to accentuate the depth of canine character Benji would have to be presented as more intelligent and dynamic than his human counterparts in the film. 56 In essence, the wooden acting of the humans and the lackluster characterizations were intentional ploys to demonstrate Benji’s superiority. Whether or not Camp was purposefully engaging in this level of formalism, he was ultimately focused on sensationalizing Benji through any means necessary. Distinct from the previous marketing campaigns of the Rin-Tin-Tin films and Lassie series, Benji (and Benji) was being sold not only on the possibility, but also the merits of, canine acting talent. While reviews of the 1920s and 1940s certainly acknowledged that the era’s canine stars were delivering convincing performances and were conveying various emotions, the studio publicity and promotions never attempted to explore that concept further. Exceptional canine stars like Rinty and Lassie were sold as surrogate humans, performers whose intellect and perceptive abilities made their behavior in the film understandable and realistic to a certain degree. Benji was promoted as the “Laurence Olivier of the dog world”, a statement intended to draw cross-species comparisons between each respective performer’s remarkable acting abilities. 57 In newspaper interviews Camp would continually assert that he had wanted a dog whose skills went beyond simple tricks to expressing more emotions with their face than humans could communicate with actual words. 58 In addition to the newspaper interviews promoting their canine star, Camp and Mulberry Square needed to engage multiple media forms if their film was going to be successful. Thomas 195 Shatz points out the New Hollywood era was marked by the development of a close relationship between cinematic production and televisual exploitation that ultimately fueled an exponential increase in television advertising as crucial portion of film marketing. 59 It was common in the mid 1970s for independent production houses specializing in family films to utilize innovative distribution and marketing tactics to target working class families with children. These distributors would rent out a theatre for the duration of a film’s release and engage in a short term, highly saturated marketing campaign that relied on television advertising. This practice would prove financially viable and studios would later employ similar advertising strategies in the mid 1970s for their wide releases. 60 As Mulberry Square continued with the limited releases, the team would continually rework their television and newspaper advertising to cater to different demographic markets and even started including filmed testimonials of adult viewers who had just seen the film. After three months of this limited engagement summer release pattern and carefully targeted marketing approach, Camp decided to shelve the film until the following June when the film could best benefit from the increase in family film attendance. In the interim, Mulberry Square premiered the film in Los Angeles at the end of 1974 to generate enough visibility for the upcoming award season in which they would campaign for Benji’s nomination as Best Actor. While they were unsuccessful in their attempt to earn Benji an award, Benji would eventually win a Golden Globe for “Best Original Song” with Benji’s Theme: I Feel Love. The publicity generated from Benji’s debut in Los Angeles and appearance at the Golden Globes helped to prime the rest of the country for the film’s much wider re-release in the summer of 1975 in which it would earn enough box-office revenue that reviewers started calling it “Paws”. 61 196 The industrial reconfiguration that encouraged the formation of production houses like Mulberry Square also facilitated the use of more expressive stylistic techniques and clever marketing tactics that independent producers like Joe Camp would exploit to great results. The success of Benji would enable the not only the emergence of a new global multispecies star but also the production of at least two more films in the branded franchise in addition to four television specials and a network series throughout the 1980s. As the canine star transitioned into the new decade armed with impressive market recognition, Benji’s stardom would take a more self-reflexive turn that would simultaneously focus on the canine’s real life persona while also paving the way for the rise in popularity of nonfiction companion animal programming. Benji Network Specials, Self-Reflexive Stardom and the Rise of the Celebrity Trainer The narrative surrounding Benji’s rise to stardom is unique for the way in which it accounts for the multiplicity of discoveries that have not only guided the development of his career but have also contributed to “Benji’s” shifting performance identity. The canine performer who enacted the role of “Benji” sustained a long, albeit less well-known, career in television prior to his transformation into a film star as a result of the Benji series. Higgins was “discovered” for the role of “dog” on Petticoat Junction and later press materials emphasized how Benji (rather than Higgins) was discovered again in the Burbank animal shelter prior to his role in the Benji films. After the completion of the first film, Benji II (Benjean) took over the performance responsibilities from Higgins and the senior canine retired. When Higgins passed away shortly after the production of the second film in 1978, it was decided that the event would not be publicized because it might confuse viewers and potentially damage the brand. While Benjean was referred to as Benji during promotional appearances, in press interviews with her 197 trainers it was revealed that it was actually Benjean performing the role and that the original Benji had indeed passed away. Image management and publicity was a less centralized task taken on by multiple individuals connected to the Benji brand, a characteristic indicative of the changing nature of celebrity press coverage and persona management from the 1960s onward. Paul McDonald argues that the production and maintenance of stardom in post-studio era Hollywood has shifted from the major studios to a contingent of independently contracted agents, publicists, managers, and entertainment lawyers that exercise control over the development and character of a star’s career as well as the quality of media exposure. He points out that as a result of the concentration of agencies and talent management firms that represent a diversity of clientele from several entertainment sectors, the creation of contemporary Hollywood stardom has become a more expansive and inclusive phenomenon that stretches across multiple media industries. 62 Thomas Shatz echoes these claims when he points out that in the New Hollywood era, stars maintain an even greater level of commercial value as a result of the ancillary marketing possibilities inherent in extending a star’s character across multiple media forms. 63 By the end of the 1970s, market research revealed that the Benji brand was enjoying a high degree of consumer recognition due to the global success of his two films and the extensive publicity tours connected to both. 64 Attempting to capitalize off of the popularity of “the world’s most huggable hero”, ABC would air four primetime specials produced by Mulberry Square Productions between 1977 and 1981. 65 The trend for larger budget network miniseries was on the rise since the mid 1970s and ABC’s first place ranking encouraged them to continue to pursue special event programming that would enable them to secure even more viewership with star- driven vehicles. Earlier multispecies stars extended their careers into television as characters 198 within narrative programming that situated them within a larger fictional universe. Lassie and Rinty were enacting roles that, while necessitating stunts and complex acting, were wholly divorced not only from their previous work but also their star status and the larger industrial context in which they were a part of. Benji’s television work is distinct for the manner in which it not only highlights the canine’s charmingly impressive repertoire of skills but also acts as a clever publicity tool for the self-reflexive promotion of Benji’s persona, his media texts, and his training regimes. The new ethos of multi-media exposure that distinguished post-studio star management contributed to the simultaneity that characterizes the manner in which the Benji brand was marketed across industrial contexts. As a result, the period from the late 1970s to the late 1980s was marked by the hyper visibility of and market saturation by Benji media and the rise of the celebrity trainer as a mediated figure who commanded their own level of fame. In addition to the continued popularization of the little canine star was the increasingly conspicuous presence of his trainer Frank Inn as he appeared in at least two of the network specials and was actively involved in the publicity tours and award-show appearances. While the broadcast networks were confident in their position by the start of the 1980s, the growth of cable programming throughout the decade was threatening the network’s industrial dominance in a way that would encourage executives to develop new forms of programming that would emphasize style and spectacle. Incorporating aspects of a stunt spectacular, the lure of popular star figures, and a reflexive style, Benji’s specials and later narrative series can be considered early prototypes of the network’s increasing employment of what John Caldwell calls “televisuality”. Explaining that as a response to the crisis in financing and ratings that the rise of cable presented, the broadcast networks shifted their primary focus towards increasing the formal sophistication and presentational qualities of their programming product. Caldwell points out that 199 rather than a distinct and easily identifiable set of traits, televisuality was presentational mode that assumed a variety of forms while consciously foregrounding the look and style of a given program. Both a factor of increasing audience sophistication and the emergence of digital video technologies, televisuality enabled networks to increasingly market programs as special events that often were linked to higher profile creative teams. 66 From 1977 onward, the significance that the specials placed on Benji’s star status, his uniquely expressive face and performing talents became increasingly augmented with a new emphasis on presentation and special effects in the Saturday morning series that aired in 1983. The first primetime network special was entitled The Phenomenon of Benji (ABC, 1977) and reveals the history behind the canine performer’s unique career path and star qualities as Benji is joined by trainer Frank Inn and various other stars from the canine’s other films and television shows. Presented to audiences as a “family special by Joe Camp”, the status of the program as exceptional event is solidified via a combination of titles and credits that highlight both the star and creator. Filmed before a live audience and incorporating musical performances, celebrity appearances, live stunting, and taped footage, Phenomenon incorporates multiple formats for demonstrating that Benji is a unique and adorable star figure. Even in the specials that create a more traditional narrative structure, Benji is always playing himself and is recognized by the voice over narration as a film star. Benji’s Very Own Christmas Story (ABC 1978) utilizes the premise of Benji’s global superstardom to explain his invitation to grand marshal a Christmas parade in Switzerland, a location where he and his human costars are magically able to meet St. Nicholas and help him prepare for his Christmas Eve voyage. While the special was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Children’s Program in 1979 it lost out to Sesame Street’s Christmas special aired on PBS. 67 This would not be the first evidence of 200 ABC’s attempt to counter-program with Benji material as both the network and Mulberry Square would be competing with the children’s programming found on PBS and CBS. Benji At Work (ABC 1980) integrates a self-reflexive behind-the-scenes style with an excessive promotional ethos to create a special that details Benji’s training process and the work involved in producing and promoting his films. Viewers are allowed to witness varied “backstage” areas with their filmmaking apparatuses and crew as the technical operations that facilitate the production of a film are revealed. In an attempt to demystify multispecies stardom, numerous scenes focus on explaining the visual and aural cues that Frank Inn utilizes to elicit behaviors from Benji. Voice over narration describes the stunts that Benji is required to learn and how those will be incorporated into his next film. The Benji franchise and star image are marketed via a combination of human star testimonials, footage of adoring fans and press conferences, and general media cross-promotion. Interviews with Benji’s “friends” Jane Seymour and Omar Shariff both testify to the canine’s skill and amazing intuition while a press conference with Chevy Chase highlights Benji’s ability to charm reporters and command attention. Mimi White discusses the manner in which this kind of “promotional self- referentiality” has become a commonplace feature of commercial broadcast television as networks attempt to generate a continuity of viewership across multiple programs via cross- referencing characters and narrative locations. 68 Benji’s multispecies stardom was expansive and as a result encouraged a form of inter-medium referentiality in which film and television coexisted in a continuous universe. 69 Benji at Work can be seen as a successful marketing tool for both Mulberry Square’s past and upcoming releases as its premise centers around the production of Oh Heavenly Dog (Camp, 1980) as well as Benji’s final primetime special but also incorporates footage from For the Love of Benji. Benji’s name provides the continuity needed to 201 cross-promote across multiple media forms. Benji at Work would eventually win an Emmy award for Outstanding Children’s Program in 1980, successfully defeating the Children’s Television Workshop’s Sesame Street special that year. Benji (takes a dive) at Marineland (ABC 1981) and the Saturday morning series Benji, Zax, and the Alien Prince (CBS 1983) demonstrate more clearly the amalgamation of star vehicle and televisual style through their employment of stunt spectacle and digital special effects to target a niche demographic. The premise of Benji’s last special is centered around his completion of the world’s first successful canine scuba dive at Marineland, Florida. The short utilizes a host of puppets, including singing fruit and a trio of talking canines that interact with Benji throughout the special, as well as musical interludes that help build the tension prior to the spectacular stunt. Worth 10,000 dollars, Benji’s canine scuba suit was created by Richard Vaughan and designed with a special breathing apparatus that would enable the star to safely stay underwater (see Figure 4.21). 70 Figure 4.21 Benji’s Scuba Suit (Associated Press. Digital Image. The Augusta Chronicle. Web http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2008/04/10/uhl_194300.shtml 202 Shot on location at Marineland, the special operates as a successful publicity tool for the tourist destination as information is provided about the facility while the sensational nature of the filmed event helps to generate visibility for the park. Designed with tongue in cheek humor, a sense of pageantry, and use of puppet characters, ABC’s airing of Marineland could compete in a programming landscape in which The Muppet Show (CBS 1976-1981) and Sesame Street (PBS, 1969-) were popular children’s television. Co-produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and Mulberry Square, Benji, Zax, and the Alien Prince would only air for thirteen episodes on CBS. The only live-action program on the Saturday morning lineup, the science fiction star-vehicle features the adventures of Benji as he helps an alien prince and his robot sidekick who have been stranded on Earth. While the series utilizes digital technology, animatronics, and character voice over to create the special effects seen on the show, they are kept to a more cost-effective minimum because of the rural location shooting. 71 The show’s lack of popularity in a competitive morning lineup forced it off the network schedule by the end of the 1983-1984 season. While children’s programming continued to persist on the networks throughout the 1980s, the presence of other companion animals as integral protagonists or central agents was limited to the occasional nonfiction series on public television or the short-lived network narrative series. Programs like Here’s Boomer (NBC 1980-1982) and Cats & Dogs (PBS 1986) highlighted interspecies connection and the transformative power of those relationships via a variety of strategies, however, their popularity was brief. 72 Boomer, labeled “tv’s answer to Benji”, was another lovably scruffy mutt that had been rescued from a shelter and trained by Ray Berwick. Hoping, in a manner similar to Inn and Camp, that Boomer would inspire shelter adoption, Berwick promoted the canine actor’s heritage in connection with the program but 203 could only generate enough interest for two seasons. 73 The networks attempted to capitalize off the variety/reality format with the show Those Amazing Animals (ABC 1980-1981) that simultaneously utilized celebrity naturalists and animal performers, filmed and live segments, to create a multi-faceted program that they hoped would appeal to younger audiences. 74 The form of companion animal media that garnered the highest degree of public fascination in the 1980s relied on the unique power of the celebrity trainer as seen in Training Dogs the Woodhouse Way (PBS 1983), a hugely successful show produced originally by the BBC and later released in the U.S. Popularly described as an “odd, wonderfully original cross between a marine drill sergeant and a British schoolmistress”, superstar dog trainer Barbara Woodhouse charmed critics and viewers alike with her non-nonsense approach to obedience training. 75 Viewers in the UK voted her “television personality of the year” in 1980 and after her specials aired on PBS she was an instant hit with American audiences, encouraging PBS to rebroadcast the specials a year after they originally aired. 76 Her techniques of instructing both the human and companion animal towards a more harmonious cohabitation garnered amused respect and popularity as participants were not accustomed to either subjecting their behavior to critical review or questioning their naturalized relationship to their pets. She followed the PBS series with a special entitled Barbara Woodhouse Goes to Beverly Hills (PBS 1983) that featured the intersection of Hollywood glamour and obedience training as Woodhouse interviewed famous stars about their canine companions and visited local animal hospitals and pet hotels. 77 Woodhouse inherited the public’s fascination with the world of star animals that Frank Inn cultivated in the Benji specials just a few years prior and channeled it away from the production of famous canine performers and towards the everyday world of consumer education and pet training. 204 The trend of employing a professional in order to explicate the intricate “mysteries” of the pet psyche would be reproduced in future incarnations of companion animal media of the 1990s. PBS, after witnessing the massive success of the Woodhouse specials, would invest again in another celebrity trainer with a different educational ethos and persona. Matthew Margolis, known to viewers as “Uncle Matty” and promoted as “dog trainer to the stars”, was a well- known trainer since the early 1970s that espoused a more affectionate positive-conditioning regime that never used force or intimidation. After the publication of his first book and appearance on the Tonight Show in 1974, Margolis’ career developed exponentially as he became the favorite of numerous star clients. 78 After hosting two PBS specials entitled Woof! A Guide to Dog Training (1995) and Woof! Uncle Matty’s Guide to Dog Training (1996) he was given his own program Woof! It’s A Dog’s Life (1998) two years later. As with the majority of companion animal media after the mid 1970s, the duration of the series was brief but Margolis continued to pursue his work at his Monterrey Park canine rehabilitation center and is still associated with training the pets of celebrities. 79 While Benji’s career weathered some of the most turbulent alterations to both the Hollywood studio system and mode of production as well as the television industry’s network configuration and marketing ethos, it was not without a price. The era of the multispecies superstar had passed since its height from the 1940s through the 1960s, a fact evident in not only the declining box office returns for each successive Benji film but also, in some part, the necessity of the self-promotional network specials. 80 The demand for trained canine performers had waned in the shift to narrowcasted, niche marketed media as the increasingly convergent marketplace discovered that a more lucrative relationship with pet-owning consumers could be cultivated via celebrity dog trainers and the compelling address of reality television. The 205 visibility of Frank Inn contributed to a public understanding of not only the existence but overwhelming value of the professional dog trainer. His appearances on the Phenomenon of Benji and Benji at Work network specials reinforced Inn’s integral role in Benji’s acting process and the kind intuitive interspecies connection that can be cultivated through dog training. The industry would witness further confirmation of this as educational public television inadvertently constructed the canine expert into a celebrity. As publically funded television channels like PBS had already been operating as purveyors of quality niche programming targeted at particular consumer groups, the choice to air the Woodhouse and Margolis special corresponded well with the channel’s curious mix of high and popular culture. The training specials meshed educational rigor with the commercial qualities of the pet culture industry and successfully constructed the training professional as a profitable figure of public interest, admiration, and emulation. The expansion of the television industry after the advent of cable technologies would encourage the development of new channels filled with forms of cleverly marketed programming that could be simultaneously entertaining, affordable to produce, and endlessly generative. The rise of the branded cable networks from the mid-1980s onward would have a chance to reformulate the multispecies star relationship from the duality of the well- behaved canine star and their handler into a more expansive configuration of intuitive trainer, confused everyday pets and under-educated owners. Rather than attempt to reproduce the multispecies performance of Benji and Frank Inn, the television industry was offering viewers the chance to create their own interspecies connections via help from famous trainers on contemporary pet programming. 206 Multispecies Performance in the Contemporary Branded Cable Universe Discussion about the potential of cable television in the late 1960s and early 1970s took on an increasingly optimistic and hopeful tone as government policymakers, media activists, and cable operators participated in what Thomas Streeter calls the “discourse of the new technologies”. Numerous articles, studies, and hearings fostered a mode of discussion about cable that avoided an engagement with actual issues and instead blindly championed the new technology. 81 Promoted as a distinct alternative to the over-commercialized, low-brow programming offered by the Broadcast networks, cable technologies could offer viewers a wider array of possible entertainment customized to elicit greater consumer interactivity and control. 82 This permissive regulatory environment enabled the growth of cable and satellite technologies in the late 1970s and paved the way for an explosion in niche cable networks targeting specific demographics thought to be underserved by network programming. New technologies, a need for a more diversified media landscape with which to advertise, and increased capital expenditures made possible by huge entertainment conglomerates have contributed to cable television’s increased success from the early 1980’s onward. The growth of branded television networks and their narrowcasted media has fractured the television audience into a series of discrete markets with distinct consumer habits. Newly created niche markets like the Discovery Channel and its later “family of television networks”, including Animal Planet, combined with other networks like the National Geographic Channel (NatGeo) to create a viable repository for the majority of documentary wildlife, nature, and nonfiction companion animal programming. Discovery, NatGeo, and Animal Planet have, in their thematic construction, decidedly popularized generically hybridized animal productions that engage a myriad of conventions and styles. The format that has managed to generate a great deal 207 of popular fascination has been the pet training program featuring a charismatic professional who enables regular pet owners, and by extension viewers, to reconfigure their interspecies relations. The branded cable universe has created the means through which multispecies performance can be reconfigured yet again via the deliberate industrial promotion of the celebrity trainer within reality/nonfiction programming. Despite industry skepticism about the ability of science, animals and nature to command a large enough audience to substantiate an entire network, Discovery Communications International launched the Discovery Channel in 1985. Cynthia Chris discusses that with the launch of the Discovery Channel, audiences bore witness to the industry’s salvaging of documentary animal media from the marginalized recesses of public broadcasting. The diversification opportunities offered by the newly deployed cable technologies of the decade made possible the network’s entrance into the milieu of competitive broadcasting. Chris demystifies, however, the network’s seemingly unfettered rise to prominence by highlighting the intricate industrial practices and corporate investment deals that were engaged in to secure the financial stability with which the network was able to successfully justify its niche marketing. Wildlife documentary programming was sold as a cost-effective format for generating a modest but consistent audience with endlessly regenerative content possibilities. Within a decade the network, despite its weak initial success, had gone on to procure enough financial stability to foster a media conglomerate with a multitude of subsidiary cable channels, including one of its most successful basic-cable entities, Animal Planet. 83 Started in 1996 with miniscule carriage by domestic households, Animal Planet’s popularity grew to 85 million domestic sites and 126 million international, a feat that would legitimate the network’s purely nonfiction animal thematic. With the initial financial backing of 208 its parent affiliate enabling the channel to procure an entire line-up of animal media, the Animal Planet was able to make good on its eponymous advertising slogan “All Animals, All the Time”. The National Geographic Channel, launched in the U.S. in 2001, hoped to capitalize off the success that the media conglomerate Discovery Communications Incorporated had achieved with its myriad of subsidiary networks. 84 NatGeo diversifies its programming more, however, with productions that range from generalized documentaries on technology and science, to sensational programs on natural disasters and animals. 85 The thematic platforms of these cable networks would enable them to diversify the animal content to a high degree, both as a necessity of filling their primetime schedules and as a method of capturing the maximum amount of viewers for every daypart. While both Animal Planet’s and the NatGeo’s production line-ups have featured a host of daytime and primetime domestic pet programming that focuses on animal training and the connection between human handlers and their companion animals, only the later would reproduce the kind of popularity enjoyed by Woodhouse and Margolis in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2004 NatGeo debuted a new domestic pet program that would operate through a transgeneric approach, employing conventions of documentary/nature series, reality television, daytime talk shows, melodrama, instructional programming, and of course domestic pet shows. The network was hoping to capture the imagination of a wide target audience with their manifold marketing tactics, especially when they called the program The Dog Whisperer. The show follows celebrity dog trainer Cesar Millan as he is called in to deal with a multitude of “problem” dogs and their owners within a domestic situation. Touted as the “Dr. Phil for dogs” one can see the influence of daytime talk show conventions within how The Dog Whisperer is produced. The program is often organized into two or three segments, each focusing on an individual canine and the problems that their family is experiencing with them. These segments routinely employ 209 documentary tactics as they interview the owners and Millan, including hand-held shots of the canine in question and all humans involved. The program utilizes a short narrative driven structure throughout the course of each segment, with the introduction of the problematic with an ensuing arc of development towards the resolution found within the dog’s final transformation. Each larger segment is broken into smaller segments in order to accommodate the commercial breaks as well as to provide a viable edit for the time elapsed during particular portions of the show that require more time than is possible to depict. The “show-and-tell” formatting enabled the productions to easily incorporate a multitude of animal participants while their utilization of celebrity hosts and professionals was hoped to garner credibility. The instructive nature of these programs was dually purposive, as audiences and participants were encouraged to not only restructure their interspecies behavior but also their consumer practices. The inexpensive nature of the production formatting, the common lure of reality television, combined with the lucrative sponsorship deals and highly competitive advertising rates contribute to the program’s overall success. 86 In addition to its commercial viability, The Dog Whisperer participates in consumer pedagogy as part of its instructional format. Not only is the spectator consuming Millan’s methodology for proper pet/human relations but they are also warned against self-implementation. Audiences are presented with disclaimer, typically reserved for children’s programming, which instructs them to avoid trying any of the training techniques viewed on the show at home. This tactic enables the network to promote its wide variety of Cesar Millan products including DVD boxed sets, a host of Millan authored books, the magazine Cesar’s Way, and several branded pet products that a viewer can utilize. NatGeo has successfully employed a branding technique that will ensure the financial viability of the series. In 2006 National Geographic Global decided to create a new international 210 television channel NatGeoWild as a means of shifting their flagship network’s branding away from animals while still maintaining access to market that wildlife and animal programming provides on the global market. 87 Launched in the U.S. in 2010, NatGeo Wild became the new home for The Dog Whisperer’s final seasons and its new spin-off Cesar Millan’s Leader of the Pack (2013-current), demonstrating NatGeo’s continued investment in maintaining the visibility of the popular brand. In an attempt to counterprogram and generate their own pet training celebrity, Animal Planet has been continually developing a series of nonfiction training programs since 2007 that could potentially maintain the kind of ratings and public fascination that The Dog Whisperer commanded. While Divine Canine (2007), SuperFetch (2009), and In the Dog House (2009) all had minimal success despite their use of a talented trainer, Housecat Housecall (2008-2010) and From Underdog to Wonderdog (2009-2010) seemed to generate more, albeit still limited, interest. While these programs generated minimal traction with viewers, they demonstrate the extent to which Animal Planet believes the celebrity trainer format itself is a viable source of ratings. The cable network’s current lineup features a host of companion animal themed programs and at least three that utilize a celebrity trainer to rehabilitate the problem pets seen on each episode. While It’s Me or the Dog (2008-current) attempts to capitalize off of the popularity of “world renowned” British dog trainer Victoria Stillwell, My Cat From Hell (2011-current) employs cat behaviorist Jackson Galaxy to mediate between frustrated cat owners and their feline companions. The premise for Pit Bulls and Parolees (2009-current) utilizes a slightly different approach to “training” in which Tia Torres, founder of Villalobos Pit Bull Rescue, places rescued pit bulls with recently released ex-convicts looking to rehabilitate their lives. Whether the current series of training programs on Animal Planet will survive in the mercurial 211 world of television ratings is undecided, however, the cable universe will be on the lookout for the next popular trend in companion animal media. The structure and operation of the media industries have been subject to major alterations since the late 1960s, a process that has influenced the expression of companion animal media forms and the figure of the multispecies star. Benji’s career, affected by these changes, was more compressed and maintained less cultural currency than the multispecies stars that came before, making him an ideal case study for this transitional period. The stability of the Network and Studio Eras, and the mechanisms of control that contributed to Rinty and Lassie’s superstardom, have given way to more mercurial and diffuse forms of media promotion and financing, image management, and content delivery in the post-network period of media conglomeration and market saturation. The responsibilities of retaining a mass audience were abandoned in favor of targeting smaller, but more profitable “quality” consumer demographics in the 1970s, a project that was intensified and expanded after the formation of the cable marketplace. While the creation of companion animal media has always been a commercial enterprise to some extent, the contemporary media industry’s emphasis on brand identities, target marketing and consumer segmentation has reworked the genre into profitable and accessible texts that can effectively participate in the competitive matrix of the pet culture industry. Narrative incarnations of companion animal media are still being created for both film and television, however, the predominance of nonfiction mode of address utilized by contemporary pet training programs has become a more suitable model for interpolating the modern consumer. 212 Epilogue Celebrity Memes and Social Petworking: Convergent Companion Animal Media The South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) conference and festival, held annually in Austin Texas, has grown into one of the country’s more dynamic sites for the celebration of convergent media culture and emergent technologies. Constructing a temporary party lounge for the duration of the 2013 festival, technology news website Mashable made headlines for sponsoring the IRL (in real life) appearances of some of the internet’s most visible celebrities. 1 The figure that generated the greatest amount of interest among conference attendees and news outlets was an eleven month-old irascible looking feline known to millions of fans as “Grumpy Cat” (see Figure 5.1). Figure 5.1 Tardar Sauce aka “Grumpy Cat” (Elizabeth Renstrom. Grumpy Cat. Digital Image. Time News Feed. Time Inc., March 22, 2013. Web. June 25, 2013. <http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/03/22/grumpy- cat-is-not-impressed-by-times-photoshoot/ 213 Grumpy Cat’s fans not only traveled long distances but also waited for hours in line to see her and even brought gifts, as it was her first official appearance since gaining massive online traction in late 2012. 2 As word spread about her popularity at the festival, Grumpy Cat’s celebrity persona took on even greater proportions via media outlets looking to capitalize on the trending material. Pop culture news sites generated parodic backstage riders that the famous feline “issued” for her appearance at SXSWi, which included incredibly specific and humorously outlandish demands about the content of her dressing room and the manner in which attendants could interact with her. 3 While a rather tongue-in-cheek mode of engagement with Grumpy Cat’s fame, the fake rider nevertheless demonstrates an acceptance of, and willingness to comment on, not only the feline’s persona but also the larger realm of multispecies celebrity. Clearly commanding a disproportionate amount of attention, Grumpy Cat’s widely discussed presence at SXSWi represents the power of the contemporary convergent mediasphere to not only alter the conditions of multispecies stardom but also to expand celebrity culture in general. The current media marketplace enables a confluence of digital technologies and participatory culture to transform companion animal media into a grassroots phenomenon with commercial marketability and global circulation in which untrained pets become massive celebrities for their seemingly naturalized behavior. The most prevalent forms of contemporary companion animal media can be found in the online world of the “cybercute”, a digital universe of user-generated memes in which multispecies performance is circulated through videos and images of actual pets that often possess cute features and engage in forms of charming behavior. Distinguished as a “soft power”, cuteness is commonly characterized by neotenous features seen in the retention of juvenile physical proportions like large eyes and small body size, cuddly textures, bright colors, movements that mirror the behavior of non-predatory small animals in 214 nature, and an overall ebullient temperament that comforts and reassures consumers by inspiring a nurturing response. 4 A trend emanating from Japanese “Kawaii” (cute) youth culture 5 , market research firms have recognized that the cute aesthetic has rapidly become a highly profitable style with global appeal and many manufacturers have adopted the trend with the hopes of exploiting the phenomenon worldwide. 6 Cute culture has elicited a number of responses that highlight both the phenomenon’s positive ability to inspire a more inquisitive and open-minded approach to the world and potentially harmful encouragement of feminine passivity and irresponsible avoidance of adulthood. 7 A complex manifestation of contemporary consumer culture, researchers have recognized the cute phenomenon’s ability to foster the more productive aspects of consumption within users, especially in the hypercompetitive online world that demands more assertive and dynamic expressions of cute culture in order to command attention. 8 The cybercute universe provides the means for translating some of the passivity associated with the mainstream cute aesthetic into interactive exercises in folk media production that negotiate the emotional connectivity and commercialism encouraged by cute culture. The cybercute manifestations of companion animal media also rework the dimensions of multispecies performance by altering the production properties and encouraging new reception contexts. The previous multispecies configuration of experienced trainer and skilled performer has become reworked into a partnership, characterized by informality and spontaneity, between ordinary pets and their human companions. Enabled by a convergent media marketplace, the collaboration between online meme culture and cybercute venues has created the means by which some ordinary pets attain hyper-visibility and celebrity. Cybercute outlets range from specifically themed websites that celebrate all things cute to more general social media portals like Facebook, YouTube, and Reddit where users can manage pet celebrity profiles, post companion 215 animal videos, and circulate links to popular images and other content featuring trending multispecies celebrities. A discussion of the unique industrial, technological and cultural developments that have lead us to the present model of cross-platform companion animal media exploitation and the new incarnations of cybercute multispecies celebrity is an appropriate conclusion to this dissertation project as it demonstrates not only the ongoing currency of companion animal media forms but also a greater diversity of multispecies performance modes and meaning. As Donna Haraway has pointed out, when animals, humans, and technologies are made to coexist as part of a project to mediate animal life, a connection develops that is built on mutual adaptation in which all parties are influenced by each other and are forced to change in some way in order to accommodate the other. 9 Animals, machines, and humans have become intertwined in the process of making and interpreting meaning within the cybercute universe via the use of consumer based technology to mediate everyday interspecies relations. The remainder of the epilogue will explore the mutually reinforcing dimensions of contemporary celebrity and convergence culture and the manner in which the cybercute universe and particular multispecies celebrities are indicative of the changing marketplace as well as expressions of both inter and intra species connectivity. Convergent Celebrity Culture The study of contemporary celebrity has given voice to a number of cultural anxieties and populist optimism over the nature of fame, the status of authenticity, and the role of the individual in a mass-mediated world. Graeme Turner discusses the phenomenon of celebrity production and promotion at length, detailing its diverse forms and complex functions while explaining its industrial purpose and popular allure. The celebrity is commonly criticized for 216 being an individual that, despite lacking substantial achievements or recognizable talents, retains public fascination simply for being in the public eye and is considered a crass fabrication on the part of an increasingly artificial media industry. Turner points out that there are some that, in avoiding a reductive denunciation of current societal trends, see the celebrity functioning as a site of aspirational popular culture through which everyday identity is negotiated. Numerous explanations for the development of and rationale behind contemporary celebrity culture’s prominence have been circulating for years. The popular press has often considered the rise of the celebrity phenomenon to be indicative of an increasingly ephemeral and overly sensationalized popular culture while cultural and media studies considers the production of fame to be the result of a confluence of cultural and economic forces exercised by the celebrity industry to successfully construct, promote, and ultimately commodify prominent figures. 10 The dispersal of publicity and promotional labor throughout the industry during the decline of Hollywood studio power contributed in part to the diversification of star types, the increase in autonomous talent agencies, and the expansion of promotional discourses across multiple media forms that have all enabled the growth of celebrity culture since the late 1950s. Joshua Gamson points out that the production of celebrity in the late twentieth century was reliant on not only the increasingly sophisticated network of publicists but also a host of developing trends that included the increase in targeted marketing, the dovetailing of news reportage and entertainment, and the explosion of successful personality journalism outlets. These developments contributed to a shift in celebrity coverage that emphasized a self-conscious and ironic awareness of the artificial nature of contemporary fame in order to mitigate popular anxieties and empower consumers. 11 As was discussed in the last chapter, Benji’s career was precisely contingent on a cohort of independently contracted trainers, managers, and publicists 217 that collaborated in the production and maintenance of the canine’s self-reflexive star text through texts that exposed the mechanisms of his fame. The contemporary shift to even more self-conscious media content that ironically engages celebrity images and personas has encouraged consumers to develop a more direct connection with the famous figures in which consumers are invested. From the creation of humorous multispecies image macros 12 and pet videos that feature various felines to more general celebrity blogs and user-generated fan videos, the contemporary technosphere offers numerous opportunities for consumers to exercise a multitude of responses, both self-consciously and otherwise, to a variety of celebrity figures. In the post-network era of convergent media the number of agents involved in the processes of star and celebrity construction have multiplied while the mechanisms of producing fame have become more accessible. The celebrity industry as a whole can be broken down into a series of interconnected and mutually reinforcing sub-industries that help produce, maintain, and proliferate celebrity individuals. Figures as diverse as movie studios, television networks, market research firms, agents, stylists, acting coaches, clothing manufacturers, and lawyers all work within the complex matrix of contemporary celebrity construction. 13 The prominence of cyber culture in the cultivation of fame means that, complimenting the more traditional group of industry professionals, is more diverse and inclusive array of figures that include tech-savvy bloggers, amateur videographers, and average users of social media. Turner argues that the multiplication of media formats, discursive outlets, and audience segments involved in the construction of celebrity have reformulated fame into a more inclusive and expansive phenomenon attainable by more ordinary individuals. While this “demotic turn”, as Turner calls it, is facilitated in part by the rise in accessible consumer technologies enabling independent 218 production it is still enmeshed in a complicated matrix of corporate interests and hierarchical access to technology. 14 The increased opportunities for participation in the creation of media texts and engagement with celebrity culture across a multitude of platforms has become one of the defining features of a convergent media marketplace in which consumer agency and corporate control are consistently in flux. Henry Jenkins argues that convergence has become an apt term to describe a contemporary media marketplace in which the increasingly interconnected media industries allow for and encourage the multi-platform distribution of content in order to satisfy the needs of media-savvy consumers who are willing to pursue a diversity of mediated experiences within different contexts and across multiple devices. Convergence culture is as much about new technologies as it is about the efforts of individuals developing intricate and diverse relationships with media forms that they then utilize in their larger engagement with the social world. Jenkins points out that, in order to appeal to as many potential consumers as possible, the world of convergent media has developed an expansive and thoroughly inclusive model of media exploitation and distribution, no market can be allowed to remain untapped. It is in participation with this model that consumers help enable the circulation of content between different media environments and can facilitate its transformation into new contexts. Ultimately, the convergence paradigm is one that is facilitated via the interaction between top-down corporate interests and grassroots consumer pursuits as individuals engage in collaborative process of information consumption and redistribution, what Jenkins calls “collective intelligence”, in which the sharing of knowledge and experience enables a more empowered populace. 15 This culture of sharing and interactivity has undoubtedly influenced the emergent trends for creating and maintaining multispecies celebrity within the cybercute universe. 219 Everyday consumers create, modify, and participate in the circulation of ironic and charming images of pets, both their own and others, and have effectively created an informal economy in which ordinary companion animals become celebrities. Social media outlets have become a determining factor in both the convergent marketplace’s exploitation of, and the individual consumer’s interest in, celebrity culture. P. David Marshall points out that the internet has become one of the primary sources of information and entertainment, over and above other outlets like television, for many consumers around the world. The modes of online interaction have changed dramatically in the past decade with the emergence of social networking sites that have featured a host of communicative strategies intended to construct webs of interaction and engagement facilitated through the sharing of various content and information. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have all become popular online sources because of the manner in which they provide both access to the means of production as well as an almost guaranteed audience base with whom users can exchange content. It is for this reason that Marshall argues that these social networking sites facilitate both creation and public interaction in a way that makes them “simultaneously a media and communication form”. Individuals utilize these communication outlets as a means of presenting themselves to an online public sphere in ways that rely on the continuous engagement in interpersonal communication and mirror the performative strategies of celebrity culture. 16 Social media sites enable media-savvy consumers invested in pet culture to include their companion animals as part of the presentation of identity, pets have been long recognized as one of the direct means through which consumer identity is negotiated and expressed in varying degrees. While some individuals share photos, videos and information about their pets online, others create entire Facebook profiles and YouTube channels dedicated to the exhibition of their companion 220 animals. This practice has grown to be a phenomenon known as “social petworking” in which one out of every ten pets now possesses a social media profile and the ongoing engagement with these technologies has become a site for multispecies interaction. 17 Multispecies celebrities have become global figures precisely because of the manner in which a conglomerate industrial configuration requires the simultaneous exploitation of every market possible while contemporary media culture has fostered a cybercute universe in which social media and media exhibition sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Reddit encourage the (over)sharing of personal content and the creation of multispecies memes. Much like the previous case studies, contemporary manifestations of companion animal media and the multispecies celebrity are made possible because of a unique confluence of industrial, socio- cultural, and technological forces. Similar to what Henry Jenkins, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green call “networked culture”, in which the technological means for the spread of media forms and information is but one component of a complex matrix that also includes cultural practices of sharing and increasing proficiencies in social media, the cybercute universe functions at the center of multispecies interactivity, user engagement, and accessible technologies. 18 There is a collaboration between corporatized modes of exhibition via websites, the increasingly obtainable forms of digital technology found in digital video cameras, smartphones, and high-speed internet, independent media production carried out by regular people with cameras recording their pets and everyday lives, and an ethos of sharing in which these individuals upload photos and videos to online portals, redistributing media from one site to another. Participatory online culture has adopted the pet consumer industry and given rise to a new mode of multispecies interaction, mediated expression, and celebrity in which the images of particular companion 221 animals have become worldwide icons for their accessible, ironic, and ultimately naturalized personas. The Phenomenon of Feline Celebrity Memes While the creation and circulation of memes predates the emergence of both multispecies celebrity and internet technologies, contemporary cyber culture has become a particularly amenable system for the massive distribution of these pieces of cultural ephemera. A term that can be found in a multitude of disciplines from political theory to cultural anthropology and new media studies, “meme” can be thought of as a cultural artifact or idea that is transferred from one mind to another via communication networks or interpersonal discussion and often persists within and across communities. Digital technologies have altered both the creation and the life cycles of memes, often enabling their rapid proliferation and ability to change over time in ways that may increase their popularity and longevity. While memes can become as complex as religious doctrine or political theory, contemporary consumers are perhaps most familiar with their more recognizable digital incarnations as online content like YouTube videos and image macros. 19 While Jenkins et al. are justifiably concerned regarding the manner in which the meme has become an overly reductive model for explaining content circulation within participatory online cultures, some incarnations of meme culture found in the cybercute universe can demonstrate the dynamism characteristic of online forms of engagement. It is nevertheless important to avoid overly simplistic explanations of how and why media content is transferred and shared between users and attend to the specificities driving particular manifestations of meme culture. 20 Some scholarship on internet subcultures and their processes of networked online exchange has even argued that the meme phenomenon is an actively engaged strategy for 222 participatory interaction, a means of demonstrating cultural proficiency rather than passive mimicry. 21 It has been precisely this form of online popular culture that has enabled the growth of multispecies celebrity via the creation of accessible and humorous content that can be shared and altered according to each user’s specificities. A particular meme complex that started in 2006, a phenomenon called LOLcats, has become an iconic feature of the cybercute universe and has laid the foundation for the popular reception of future feline celebrities. LOLcats is a form of user-generated image macro in which photos of cats are given ironic and sometimes cutesy captions that act as humorous devices revealing cat interiority. Although lacking in official documentation, many online sources argue it started as a tradition called “Caturday” in which users of the image sharing cite 4chan.org would post funny photos of cats on Saturday. The practice soon adopted the grammatically imprecise, but phonetically intelligible, language of online gaming known as “leetspeak” as individuals started including captions over the images of cats that utilized infamous leetspeak phrases. 22 Eventually the mode of expression for these particular image macros became known by a few names, most commonly as either “lolspeak” (pronounced lulspeak) or “kitty pidgin”, and expanded its mode of expression to include a number of phrasings with recurring tropes (see Figures 5.2 and 5.3). 23 The trend gained official traction as a popular online in-joke with the creation of the cat macro website cheezburger.com in 2007 by programmer Eric Nakagawa and has since inspired the creation of countless new memes. Users and observers alike have attempted to explain the LOLcat phenomenon, citing its accessible humor and longevity due to its ability to inspire endless variations. 24 Despite the fact that lolspeak/kitty pidgin is becoming increasingly codified as an official dialect (of cats), these cat macros combine an unpretentious flaunting of grammatical rules with the common dual perception of felines as both adorable and 223 Figure 5.2 “I’m in ur x, Y-ing ur Z” Figure 5.3 Invisible Object LOLcat Trope LOLcat trope (alphatech. Digital Image (Digital Image. Roflcat.com. Web. Lolcats.com. Web. http://www.lolcats.com/ http://www.roflcat.com/invisible-bike) popular/697-im-in-ur-fridge-eatin-ur-foodz.html) sardonically aloof. Human captioners often engage in both cutesy and self-deprecating humor as they give voice to the inner thoughts of their feline companions, revealing the variability of interspecies relations (see Figures 5.4 and 5.5). Despite whatever rationale for its popularity, ultimately this thriving incarnation of cybercute companion animal media can be seen as an ever- evolving mode of expression that utilizes cute images of felines to foster connectivity between users around the world. The dual trends of naturalism and sarcasm would also characterize the personas of future multispecies performers. While none of the individual felines featured in the any of the LOLcat macros ever really attained substantial fame, the trend nevertheless revealed the potential that images of cat behavior had for capturing the attention of online communities and demonstrating commercial viability. While some of the most predominant and sustained forms of contemporary meme culture have found their expression via cat image macros and online videos, the phenomenon of multispecies celebrity within the cybercute universe is not restricted to felines. The trend in 224 Figure 5.4 Cutesy phrasing paired with Figure 5.5 Use of feline sarcasm to characterize image of kitten with large eyes ( Digital interspecies relations (Digital Image. Catmacros. Image. Knowyourmeme.com. Web. Wordpress.com. Web. http://catmacros.wordpress.com/ http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ 2010/01/11/i-find-your-tale-absolutely-enthralling/) is-it-can-be-hugs-tiem-now-plees) social petworking demonstrates that the images and life experiences of a variety of companion species have been circulated on a massive scale and many of these figures have become multispecies celebrities in their own right. Similar to the manner in which cats have attained fame through their ironic and cutesy representations, the canine cyber-celebrities also maintain a consistent set of physical attributes and personality traits such as compact size, neotonenous features, and charmingly natural behaviors. Two of the more popular Facebook accounts are held by Boo, a tiny Pomeranian whose haircut affords him features similar to a teddy bear, and Beast, a small Puli whose fur takes the form of thin tendrils in a way that makes him look, in accordance with the ironically “threatening” name, like an adorable mop. 25 These pets have surely captured the imagination of particular online communities and are fully indicative of the cybercute ethos, however, the kind of massive popularity that transforms multispecies celebrities into global phenomena seems to be found most acutely in particular feline figures. While some 225 studies have shown that, when asked to rate the value and usefulness of various species, pet owners and people in general have historically demonstrated slightly higher levels of regard for canines over felines, this evaluation is often the result of a longer historical connection and degree of emotional appeal. 26 Ethnographic research on pet owners, in particular those that have a fondness for cats, have often cited the humorous and mischievous actions of their feline companions as a source of pleasure and identification. 27 The playful nature of most feline prey drives, when contained within a domestic setting, can produce the characteristic behaviors that many cybercute media consumers, both cat enthusiasts and the general public, find endearing. Approximately a year after the explosion of the LOLcat meme phenomenon, a portly Scottish fold named Maru, took the cybercute universe by storm. In 2008 his human companion started a YouTube channel called Mugumogu that contained a series of short videos detailing Maru’s playful nature and propensity to climb into boxes that were far too small for him (see Figure 5.6). Figure 5.6 Maru and his love of boxes (Digital Image. Taildom.com. Web. http://taildom.com/blog/videos/maru-catnip-ball-in-a-box/) 226 Seen as an authentic figure, Maru’s charm seems to rely on the perceived naturalness of his activities and his ability to inspire happiness in his fans. The roundness of his figure, coupled with the perceived softness of his fur and gently inquisitive face, demonstrate Maru’s classically cute aesthetic. By 2010, Maru’s popularity had been acknowledged by Entertainment Weekly and the Los Angeles Times, his videos appeared on daytime television talk shows, he had been recognized by the YouTube Japan’s video awards in the pet/animal category, and was enjoying a burgeoning fan base of millions of viewers. Maru had become a recognizable brand, so much so that his owner released a Maru photobook entitled I am Maru and has licensed Maru’s likeness for the use in commercials for Uniqlo and Fresh Step cat litter. 28 His transformation into a global phenomenon via homemade videos and naturalistic behavior demonstrates the ability of the cybercute universe to balance the tensions between over-commodification and naivety inherent in cute culture. The success of Maru as a global brand clearly demonstrated the marketability of feline celebrity and would inspire the promotion of other famous cats across a multitude of media platforms willing to take the phenomenon more seriously. In 2012 two figures were competing for domination over the cybercute universe, Lil Bub and Grumpy Cat. A “perma-kitten”, Lil Bub is a tiny stray that had been born with a host of genetic mutations, including feline dwarfism and polydactylism, that afforded the multispecies celebrity a distinctively cute look and personal story (See Figure 5.7). Her unique appearance and lumbering gait seemed to spark the public’s interest as her YouTube videos became popular and pop culture news outlets dubbed her “the most famous cat on the internet”. 29 Just as Bub was gaining traction, however, a photo of a common domestic shorthair with a permanent frown was posted to Reddit in September 2012. While the cat’s name is actually Tardar Sauce (sic), in a mere forty-eight hours of feverish image 227 reposting by fans, she was christened with the celebrity persona “Grumpy Cat”. Fans, charmed by the contours of her face and the multitude of ironic meanings inherent in it, created countless image macros adorned with Tardar Sauce’s face and phrases communicating dissatisfaction with the world (see Figure 5.8). Despite her distinctively permanent frown being the unavoidable result of feline dwarfism, what her human companion calls a “genetic miracle” rather than deformity, fans took it as a sign of her innate personality. 30 Both Bub and Tardar Sauce have managed to successfully cultivate large fan bases and media exposure, the convergence of the two seen most prevalently in the latter’s appearance at SXSW this year. Figure 5.7 Lil Bub (Mike Bridavsky. Digital Figure 5.8 Common Grumpy Cat Macro Image. TheDailyBeast.com. Web. http://www. (Digital Image. Grumpycats.com. Web. thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/04/19/lil-bub- http://www.grumpycats.com/memes/i-had-fun- the-world-s-cutest-cat-stars-in-documentary- once-it-was-awful/#.UjCX2hZRabA) lil-bub-friendz-at-tribeca.html As a result of the manner in which popular interest in theses famous internet felines is rapidly being translated into commercial profit via the collaboration between the cats themselves, their agents, and corporate media outlets, 2013 has been deemed the “Year of the Power Puss”. 31 Lil Bub has been featured in a documentary entitled Lil Bub and Friendz (Capper and Eisner, 2012) that won awards at the Tribeca Film Festival, has a book scheduled for a fall release, and 228 is going be the star of her own online talk show set to run on Discovery’s internet video channel Revision3. A narrative film project utilizing Grumpy Cat’s branded likeness and characterization is being considered by Broken Road Studios, however, the decision whether the film will be live action or animated has yet to be made. Each feline celebrity has a manager to oversee appearance opportunities, merchandising deals, and media exposure so that each personality achieves the right amount of market saturation. While Bub’s owner Mike Bridavsky manages her appearances and media deals, Grumpy Cat is handled by Bryan Bundesen and a professional animal agent named Ben Lashes who exercises a great deal of discretion when it comes to revealing his client’s prospects. 32 The current popularity of Grumpy Cat has inspired the creation of diverse amounts of merchandise, both official and otherwise, that has lead Bundesen and Lashes to pursue trademark ownership over the feline’s likeness and partnerships with huge corporations like Friskies. The corporate exploitation of memes and cute culture is not a new sensation, however, as marketers have been attempting to capitalize off of the trend of virally circulated media for years by trying to create their own internet phenomena. Formulated in 2004, the “Web 2.0” paradigm refers to the manner in which companies exploit the participatory nature of online platforms to promote and distribute their media products. While Web 2.0 companies envision the relationship between producers and users as one of collaborative co-creation, the actualities driving the labor practices and economic logics of these companies are more complicated and can be somewhat tense. 33 Meme culture has itself increasingly attracted venture capitalists since 2007 that want to get in on the craze while maintaining a professional distance. Investors have targeted the digital manufacturing process behind memes by financing online startups like Quickmeme.com, a website that enables regular users to create their own content, while other companies have 229 contributed millions to already established meme outlets like the Cheezburger Network and Buzzfeed. 34 Cybercute memes like LOLcats and the recent feline celebrities, while they have demonstrated their potential for absorption within the Web 2.0 paradigm, manage to avoid some of the hostility that characterizes the relationships within the new digital moral economy by virtue of the circulated content being primarily user-generated videos and photos that eschew the use of copyrighted materials. 35 The massive popularity of Grumpy Cat and Lil Bub have certainly attracted the interest of big corporations, however, and the larger concern as these newly formed brands move forward would appear to be the manner in which the management for each feline celebrity intends to exercise their own trademark and copyright power. While Lashes has pointed out that successful memes can be as powerful as more traditional forms of celebrity and those involved in the marketing end of the phenomenon have to understand the nature of viral media and the role of fandom if they want to maintain credibility, it is unclear how he intends to maintain that legitimacy in the face of Grumpy Cat’s increasingly monetized existence. 36 While the key to establishing the integrity of the next internet sensation is still unclear, some of the distinguishing attributes of the contemporary cybercute multispecies celebrities can provide viable insight. While famous pets like Grumpy Cat, Lil Bub, and Maru certainly fulfill the common trope of celebrity by virtue of their fame being tied directly to their seemingly unaltered personality, therein lies one of the sources of their popularity. In the amateur-produced photos and videos, these felines (and other pets) are engaging in naturalistic behaviors within domestically unglamorous settings that invite viewers and fans to read the multispecies event as authentic. This enables feline celebrities to escape many of the complaints of artifice normally lobbied against modern celebrities and celebrity culture. The videos provide access to real 230 everyday activities these cats engage in and provides a window into a psyche that is perceived as slightly less approachable and more aloof than other companion species. In the case of Grumpy Cat and Lil Bub, their physical attributes helped inspire the creation of online personas for them by those who felt a connection with them. The current phenomenon behind Grumpy Cat’s fame also perhaps best demonstrates the cute aesthetic’s underlying duality in which cuteness can be characterized by both vulnerability and threatening aggression. 37 The cynical and sarcastic captions paired with the charming image of a small cat create humor in the contradictory elements and validate the feelings of a youth culture dissatisfied with contemporary society. Regardless of the reasoning behind the spread of their fame, their adoption by large online communities clearly speaks to the accessibility and translatability of the feline personas across multiple contexts. Media outlets, industry insiders, and fans alike seem to sum up the fascination by referencing the feline celebrity’s cuteness, humor inducing expressions, and the manner in which they invite cross-species identification. 38 The contemporary era of the multispecies celebrity is a distinct reformulation of previous incarnations of multispecies stardom precisely for the manner in which these performers lack formalized training and are exhibited via mass-circulated texts that offer relatively unaltered footage of the performer’s everyday activities. The cybercute universe has provided the means through which tech-savvy humans can create, repurpose, and consume media texts with companion animals in a complex environment of grassroots distribution and corporate exploitation. Rinty, Lassie and Benji abided by a carefully orchestrated system of conditioning to produce fictional content that relied on the strategic illusions afforded by continuity editing and cinematography. They worked within various industrial configurations that often exercised top- down creative power and controlled the means for constructing and disseminating star publicity. 231 Perhaps the most defining feature that distinguishes past stars from their current celebrity counterparts is the reception context and technological affordances of the twenty-first century that have enabled viewers greater access to a immense array of cultural products. As the divisions separating multispecies performers and users have become less stable the temporality of fame has been accelerated, contributing to the increasingly mercurial nature of contemporary celebrity. The production of celebrity culture and its convergence with interspecies relations within a hyper-mediated social environment has altered the dimensions of companion animal media for the foreseeable future. As the convergence paradigm envisions the continued interaction between old and new forms of media in ways that will be increasingly complex and interdependent rather than contradictory, the trend in cute pet footage is being filtered through various platforms. In an effort to compete and tap into the multispecies celebrity phenomenon, older media forms have adopted the cybercute ethos as seen in Animal Planet programming like Too Cute, America’s Cutest Pet, and Must Love Cats in which the adorable nature of kittens and puppies is put on display and actual internet videos are incorporated into the televisual aesthetic. News outlets commonly utilize cute pet videos and pet footage as media salve for the harsh contemporary environment, most commonly seen in CNN’s “distractions”. Ultimately, the trend of multispecies celebrity will continue on in various incarnations as a result of the ongoing fascination that individuals have for their own pets, the access that they have to the means of producing memes, and a welcoming participatory culture willing to share the humor. 232 Conclusion The larger purpose of this project has been to demonstrate the existence and unique dimensions of multispecies performance that persist within the changing mode of companion animal media. As star studies has generally neglected to theorize the possibility of nonhuman stardom, the case studies presented here have been an attempt to construct a more inclusive model of stardom that accounts for a greater diversity of performers and the work involved in interspecies communication and translation. The use of star theory and posthumanist animal studies has enabled the adoption of materialist methodology that both focuses on actual production practices, economics, and training methodologies but also attends to the connection between multispecies stars and the lived experiences of actual pets afforded by multispecies stardom. This dissertation has also traced the influence that specific industrial contexts, economic developments and shifts in consumer habits, and societal change have exercised on the expression of companion animal media texts and formations of multispecies stardom. Companion animal media is a dynamic mode amenable to changes in interspecies relations and cultural trends in petkeeping while still highlighting the importance of animals as cross-species figures of identification and fascination. The dissertation has constructed a trajectory that traces particular periods in the history of multispecies stardom and companion animal media. Through each case study we can see the gradual transformation of the multispecies star from a highly skilled professional acting in companion animal media texts that construct the star as a serious and unapproachable figure to an adorable pet whose media exposure promotes their lovable accessibility. Concurrent with this transformation is also the gradual rise and fall in the intensity of multispecies stardom that dovetails with industrial exposure and socio-economic conditions. The first case study 233 demonstrated the commercial viability of multispecies stars during the early cinema era as Rin- Tin-Tin became not only one of the most famous performers of the 1920s but a trans-industrial brand. While his training and star text as a war dog contributed to his reception as a working professional, the mercurial nature of his career compromised some of his staying power. The third chapter and second case study examined the postwar phenomenon of Lassie and her reception as an all-American figure of domestic prosperity and sentimental values. As both a film and television performer whose star image crafted a balance between her heroism and maternal connection with her charges Lassie can be seen as both a professional and as a pet, a successful blend that contributed to her massive popularity. The canine’s proximal film and television work enabled her star text to embody the height of multispecies stardom. The third and final case study focused on the transitional stardom of Benji and the manner in which the small canine was indicative of industrial shifts and technological changes that compromised the length of his career and overall visibility. His promotion as the “world’s most huggable hero” shifted the attention away from his status as a professional, despite his self-reflexive media texts, and constructed him as lovable canine rescue. These star texts have enabled contemporary formations of online pet video naturalism in which multispecies celebrities are understood first and foremost as pets whose cute appearance affords them intense but unstable fame. By focusing on modes of cross-species affiliation and interspecies communication seen in multispecies stardom, analyses of star texts and media histories can more productively engage a wider array of concerns and contribute to a more diverse understanding of performance as a material and symbolic exercise. Animals have always figured prominently in both the understanding and development of human identity and culture regardless of their more marginalized position in academic studies. Despite the move away from narrative companion 234 animal media and the creation of larger than life canine stars, images of animals of all kinds will continue to capture the fascination of consumers within a contemporary media marketplace saturated with content, inspiring millions to cultivate new and more dynamic relationships within a mediated multispecies world. 235 Notes Notes from Chapter One 1 Ashleigh and Pudsey, in addition to being referred to on the program as such, have since become a internationally recognized duo to the point that their first names appear together without needing further identificatory markers. 2 Richard Osley, “Pudsey waltzes away with the BGT crown,” The Independent, May 13, 2012, accessed on August 29, 2013, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/pudsey-waltzes-away- with-the-bgt-crown-7742367.html. 3 Ashleigh and Pudsey’s routines habitually utilize apparatuses like the “dogwalk”, “teeter-totter” and “tunnel” while the choreography itself replicates the actions of tire jumping and pole weaving. 4 This is my term for the most predominant form of contemporary companion animal media that can be found in the online/digital universe of user-generated memes in which multispecies performance is circulated through videos and images of actual pets that often possess cute features and engage in forms of charming behavior. Cybercute outlets range from species-specific websites like lolcats.com and global YouTube sensation Maru’s mugumogu’s channel to more general blogs about any cute animal on cuteoverload.com. 5 While much of the debates over multispecies capacity continue in the natural and biological sciences, where there is still an unfortunate tendency to work within a more limited methodological and political framework, I do not want to discount the immense contributions that many individuals working in those fields have provided. In the humanities, the debate over methodologies can be heated. The journal Critical Animal Studies even goes so far as to make a clear distinction between what they call “mainstream animal studies” (which according to them is the jargonistic, isolated theoretical work done by ivory tower professionals) and “critical animal studies” (their own self-identified category of practical advocates and activists). 6 Cary Wolfe, "Human, All Too Human: 'Animal Studies' and the Humanities," PMLA: Publications of the Modern Language Association of America 124, no.2 (2009): 565. 7 Matthew Calarco, Zoographies: The Question of the Animal from Heidegger to Derrida (New York: Columbia University Press, 2008), 10. 8 Joan Dunayer, Speciesism (Derwood: Ryce Publishing, 2004), 1. 9 Peter Singer, Animal Liberation: A New Ethics For Our Treatment of Animals (New York: Avon Books, 1975), 7-8. 10 Tom Regan, The Case for Animal Rights (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983), 155. 11 Dunayer, Speciesism, 3-5. 12 Cary Wolfe, Animal Rites: American Culture, the Discourse of Species, and Posthumanist Theory (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003), 1-2. 13 Wolfe, Animal Rites, 6-7. 14 Neel Ahuja, “Postcolonial Critique in a Multispecies World,” PMLA: Publications of the Modern Language Association of America 124, no.2 (2009): 556-564. The recent work coming from some disciplines, like postcolonial theory, has started engaging with animal studies in order to broaden its critical impact. This is also not to ignore the other important work being done in the humanities (such as queer theory, gender studies, critical race theory and much more) for whom the figure of the human holds a great deal of theoretical and material potential. 15 Wolfe, Animal Rites, 1-2. 16 Wolfe, What is Posthumanism?, (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2010), xiv. 17 Wolfe, What is Posthumanism?, xv. 18 Wolfe, What is Posthumanism?, xvii. 19 Wolfe, “Introduction,” in Zoontologies: The Question of the Animal, ed. Cary Wolfe (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2003), xii. 20 Wolfe, “Introduction,” xii. 236 21 Jacques Derrida and David Wills, “The Animal That Therefore I Am (More To Follow),” Critical Inquiry 8, no. 2 (2002): 398-400. 22 Derrida and Wills, “The Animal That Therefore I Am,” 400. 23 Derrida and Wills, “The Animal That Therefore I Am,” 415-416. 24 Rosi Braidotti, “Posthuman, All Too Human: Working Toward a New Process Ontology,” Theory, Culture & Society 23, no.7-8 (2006): 197-208. 25 Donna J. Haraway, When Species Meet (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008), 4- 15. 26 Haraway, When Species Meet, 165. 27 Donna Haraway, The Companion Species Manifesto: Dogs, People, and Significant Otherness (Chicago: Prickly Paradigm Press, 2003), 12-19. 28 Haraway, Companion Species Manifesto, 12-14. 29 Timothy J. Eddy, “What is a Pet?,” Anthrozoös 16, no. 2 (2003): 102-104. 98-105 30 Lisa A. Kemmerer, “Verbal Activism: ‘Anymal’,” Society and Animals 14, no. 1 (2006): 12. 9- 14 31 Jessica Greenebaum, “It’s a Dog’s life: Elevating Status from Pet to ‘Fur Baby’ at Yappy Hour,” Society and Animals 12, no. 2 (2004), 122-127. 117-135 32 Haraway, When Species Meet, 211. 33 Haraway, When Species Meet, 226-227. 34 Louise Green, “The language of dogs: intermediate forms in global culture,” Current Writing: Text and Reception in Southern Africa 18, no.1 (2006): 117. 35 Vicki Hearne, Adam’s Task: Calling Animals by Name (New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2007), 71. 36 Hearne, Adam’s Task, 103. 37 Hearne, Adam’s Task, 85. 38 Hearne, Adam’s Task, 108-115. 39 Paul Patton, “Language Power & Training of Horses,” in Zoontologies: The Question of the Animal, ed. Cary Wolfe (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2003), 89. 40 Richard W. Byrne, “Primate cognition: evidence for the ethical treatment of primates,” in Attitudes to Animals: Views in Animal Welfare, ed. Francine L. Dolins (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1999), 114-125; Clare Palmer, Animal Ethics in Context (New York: Columbia University Press, 2010). For work that discusses more specifically the cognitive, social, and intersubjective capacities of canines. Graham Cox and Tony Ashford, “Riddle Me This: The Craft and Concept of Animal Mind,” Science, Technology, and Human Values 23, no.4 Special Issue: Humans, Animals, and Machines (1998): 425-438; Barbara Smuts, “Between Species: Science and Subjectivity,” Configurations 14, no. 1-2 (2006): 115-126. 41 Claire Molloy, Popular Media and Animals (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), 1. 42 James Serpell, In the Company of Animals (Oxford: Basil Blackford Ltd, 1986), 73-96. 43 This dissertation certainly recognizes the long established tradition of animal literature and its role in the dynamic history of domestic interspecies relations, however, the production of written works does not involve actual interspecies contact and communication and therefore is less germane here. Mary O’Hara, My Friend Flicka (New York: Harper Collins, 1940); Anna Sewell, Black Beauty (London: Jarrold and Sons, 1877); Majorie Kinnan Rawlings, The Yearling (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1938); Fred Gipson, Old Yeller (New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1956); Eric Knight, Lassie Come Home (John C. Winston Company, 1940). 44 Examples of this include the by now infamous and widely successful Jingle Cats, the Volkswagen interpretation of the Star Wars theme using several barking dogs, the subdiscipline of biomusic, and the experimental compositions of Shinji Kanki. 45 This is in no way meant to discount the great work done in animation studies and production and to lump them into this category would disavow the unique qualities of their object of study, their 237 labor and modes of storytelling. Animated films and television programming rely on the labor of a host of talented artists and voice actors, and while sometimes they temporarily use actual animals to inform their work, humans are the primary agents involved in all areas of the production of these texts. 46 Christine Gledhill, “Introduction,” in Stardom: Industry of Desire, ed. Christine Gledhill (New York: Routledge, 1991), xiv. 47 Roger Wilkes, Scandal: A Scurrilous History of Gossip (London: Atlantic Books, 2002), 56-68. 48 There has been crucial ethnographic work conducted that has provided insight into specific modes of gendered reception, strategies of identification, and subcultural practices. Miriam Hansen, “Pleasure, Ambivalence, Identification: Valentino and Female Spectatorship,” Cinema Journal 25, no. 4 (1986): 6-32; Jackie Stacey, Star Gazing: Hollywood Cinema and Female Spectatorship (London: Routledge, 1994). 49 Francesco Alberoni, “The Powerless ‘Elite’: Theory and Sociological Research on the Phenomenon of the Stars,” in Stardom and Celebrity: A Reader, eds. Sean Redmond and Su Holmes (Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2007), 65-77. 50 Jonathan Burt, Animals in Film (London: Reaktion Books, 2002), 10. 51 Richard Dyer, Stars (London: British Film Institute, 1998), 68-72. 52 Martin Barker, “Introduction,” in Contemporary Hollywood Stardom, eds. Thomas Austin and Martin Barker (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), 10-18. 53 Richard Dyer, Heavenly Bodies: Film Stars and Society. British Film Institute Cinema Series. (London: The Macmillan Press Ltd, 1986), 10-11. 54 Dyer, Heavenly Bodies, 18. 55 Richard deCordova, “The Emergence of the Star System in America,” in Stardom: Industry of Desire, ed. Christine Gledhill (New York: Routledge, 1991), 19-28. 56 Barry King, “Stardom as an occupation,” in The Hollywood Film Industry, ed. Paul Kerr (Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1986), 168. 57 Danae Clark, Negotiating Hollywood: The Cultural Politics of Actors’ Labor (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1995), 15-20. 58 Gorham Kindem, Richard Jewell, and Cathy Klaprat each discuss the power differential between stars and the studios and the use of contracts. Gorham Kindem, “Hollywood’s Movie Star System: A Historical Overview,” in The American Movie Industry: The Business of Motion Pictures, ed. Gorham Kindem (Southern Illinois University Press, 1982); Richard B. Jewell, The Golden Age of Cinema: Hollywood, 1929-1945 (Blackwell Publishing, 2007); Cathy Klaprat, “The Star as Market Strategy: Bette Davis in Another Light,” in The American Film Industry, ed. Tino Balio (University of Wisconsin Press, 1976). 59 MGM Legal Department Records (Files 315 and 325) and Hirschberg Papers (File on Animals/Animal Trainers), Special Collections, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 60 Clark, Negotiating Hollywood, 14. 61 Cynthia Baron, “Crafting Film Performances: Acting in the Hollywood Studio Era,” in Movie Acting: The Film Reader, ed. Pamela Robertson Wojcik (New York: Routledge, 2004), 83-94. 62 Richard B. Jewell, The Golden Age of Cinema: Hollywood, 1929-1945 (Blackwell Publishing, 2007). 258. 63 Lauren Steimer, “Star-Laborers, Bodily Spectacle, and Flexible Specialization in Global Action Cinema,” (PhD Diss, NYU, 2010), 22-25. 64 Burt, Animals in Film, 151-154. 65 Columbia Pictures File #3544, Special Collections, Margaret Herrick Library, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 66 Malloy, Popular Media and Animals, 43. 67 American Humane Association, Guidelines for the Safe Use of Animals in Filmed Media (Sherman Oaks: American Humane Association, 2005), 9-14, 79-81. 238 68 Michael Peterson, “The Animal Apparatus: From a Theory of Animal Acting to an Ethics of Animal Acts,” TDR: The Drama Review 51, no.1 (New York: New York University, 2007): 34. 69 I am of course referring to Bruce, the famously documented animatronic shark whose almost complete refusal to work according to plan forced Spielberg to completely change the look and atmosphere of Jaws. The use of remote locations in the Hawaiian islands forced the restructuring of the production schedule of Lost in order to account for the natural proclivities of the area. And lastly the flashflood that contributed to the production of Terry Gilliam’s Don Quixote being shut down completely. 70 Molloy, Popular Media and Animals, 9. 71 Molloy, Popular Media and Animals, 41-46. 72 Imagine a scenario in which recent inductees to Julliard were instructed via the calculated exposure to different scents, or blindfolded and given acting commands in either a foreign language or the use of musical tones (ala Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Spielberg. 1977)). 73 Serpell, In the Company of Animals, 92-106. 74 James Serpell, “People in Disguise: Anthropomorphism and the Human-Pet Relationship,” in Thinking With Animals: New Perspectives on Anthropomorphism, eds. Lorraine Daston and Gregg Mitman (New York: Columbia University Press, 2005), 124. 75 Elizabeth C. Hirschman, “Dogs as metaphors: Meaning transfer in a complex product set,” Semiotica 139, no.1/4 (2002): 126. 76 Elizabeth C. Hirschman and Clinton R. Sanders, “Motion Pictures ad metaphoric consumption: How animal narratives teach us to be human,” Semiotica 115, no.1/2 (1997): 62-68. 77 Marla V. Anderson and Antonia J. Z. Henderson, “Pernicious Portrayals: The Impact of Children’s Attachment to Animals of Fictions on Animals of Fact,” Society and Animals 13, no.4 (2005): 305. 78 The recent media coverage during the 2012 election characterized Mitt Romney and his past treatment of the family dog Seamus as cruel and inhumane. Philip Rucker, “Mitt Romney’s dog-on-the- car-roof story still proves to be his critics’ best friend,” The Washington Post, March 14, 2012; Ana Marie Cox, “Romney’s Cruel Canine Vacation,” TIME, June 27, 2007. 79 Lucinda E. Woodward and Amy L. Bauer, “People and Their Pets: A Relational Perspective on Interpersonal Complementarity and Attachment in Companion Animal Owners,” Society and Animals 15 (2007): 173-174. 80 Hearne, Adam’s Task, 238-240. Vicki Hearne describes cats as embodying a certain metaphysics that makes their relationships with humans wholly distinct from canines. Cats deny what she calls “the grammars of approval and disapproval” that humans are so accustomed to in their dealings with dogs, they refuse to respond to the types of “emotional bribery” of humans. This has an impact on the training methods as cats, less driven by the need to please, will need to be conditioned via other incentives. 81 The Air Bud (Charles Martin Smith, 1997) and direct to video spinoff Buddies series is extremely successful, totaling 14 films and over 250 million in revenue: Air Bud: World Pup (Bannerman, 2000); Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch (Vince, 2002); Air Bud: Spikes Back (Southon, 2003); Air Buddies (Vince, 2006); Snow Buddies (Vince, 2008); Space Buddies (Vince, 2009); Santa Buddies (Vince, 2009); Spooky Buddies (Vince, 2011); Treasure Buddies (Vince, 2012); Super Buddies (2013); The Search for Santa Paws (Vince, 2010); Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups (Vince, 2012). 82 Burt, Animals in Film, 30. 83 Lorraine Daston and Gregg Mitman. “Introduction: The How and Why of Thinking with Animals,” in Thinking With Animals: New Perspectives on Anthropomorphism, eds. Lorraine Daston and Gregg Mitman (New York: Columbia University Press, 2005), 9. 84 Erica Fudge, “A Left-Handed Blow: Writing the History of Animals,” in Representing Animals, ed. Nigel Rothfels (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002), 10. 239 Notes from Chapter Two 1 Films and Serials: The Man From Hell’s River (1922); My Dad (1922); Where the North Begins (1923); Shadows of the North (1923); Find Your Man (1924); The Lighthouse by the Sea (1924); Tracked in the Snow Country (1925); Below the Line (1925); Clash of the Wolves (1925); The Night Cry (1926); A Hero of the Big Snows (1926); While London Sleeps (1926); Hills of Kentucky (1927); Tracked by the Police (1927); Jaws of Steel (1927); A Dog of the Regiment (1927); A Race for Life (1928); Rinty of the Desert (1928); Land of the Silver Fox (1928); The Million Dollar Collar (1929); Frozen River (1929); Tiger Rose (1929); The Lone Defender (1930); On the Border (1930); The Man Hunter (1930); Rough Waters (1930); The Lightening Warrior (1931); The Big Payoff (1933); The Wolf Dog (1933); The Law of the Wild (1934); The Adventures of Rex and Rinty (1935); Tough Guy (1936); Skull and Crown (1938). Radio: The Wonder Dog (1930-1932). Television: The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin (ABC 1954-59). 2 By “working dog” I mean a category of canines that are most associated with task completion and job-oriented existences like sheepherding, police work, tracking and detection. This is not to suggest that the other multispecies stars I discuss do not engage in work, however, their star texts and actual lifestyles characterize them more closely as pets and figures of affectionate companionship rather than employees who are required to fulfill a specific role. 3 Lee Duncan, “Personal Notes: June 23, 1933” (unpublished manuscript, 1933), 19-20, Rin-Tin- Tin Collection, Metropolitan Museum, Riverside California. 4 A young French couple, Rin-Tin-Tin and Nanette were the only two who managed to survive a massive German bombing of a Parisian railway station during the early part of WWI. The story became popular mythology as people made dolls and charms out of them that circulated throughout France and became symbols of good luck. 5 Duncan, “Personal Notes”, 25-30. Soldiers were only allowed to bring animals, and only certain kinds, if they had special paperwork and clearance extended by the military. Duncan had to call in a few favors to get the paperwork processed in a short period of time. 6 John M. Kistler, Animals in the Military: From Hannibal’s Elephants to the Dolphins of the U.S. Navy (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2011), 4-5. 7 Michael G. Lemish, War Dogs: A History of Loyalty and Heroism (Washington D.C.: Potomoc Books, 1996), 4-9. 8 Susan Orlean, Rin-Tin-Tin: The Life and the Legend (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2011), 21-22. 9 Lemish, War Dogs, 12-15. 10 Ann Elwood, Rin-Tin-Tin The Movie Star, (Self Published, 2011), 79. 11 Katherine C. Grier, Pets in America: A History (Orlando: Harcourt Books Inc., 2007), 284-285. 12 Kistler, Animals in the Military, 22-23. 13 Elizabeth A. Lawrence, “Animals in War: History and Implications for the Future,” Anthrozoös IV, no. 3 (1991): 147-148. 14 War Dogs, War Department Technical Manual 10-396, (July 1, 1943), 21-22. 15 Theo F. Jager, Scout, Red Cross, and Army Dogs (New York: Arrow Printing Company, 1917), 45-49. 16 Elwood, Rin-Tin-Tin, 79-80. 17 Aaron Skabelund, “Breeding Racism: The Imperial Battlefields of the ‘German’ Shepherd Dog,” Society and Animals 16, (2008): 358. 354-378 18 Duncan, “Personal Notes”, 21-22. While some historians like Susan Orlean have talked about the dubious quality of this encounter, and one can be justifiably suspicious of its overwhelmingly coincidental nature, the more pressing issue pertains less to plausibility and more to the fact that military dogs were often seen as somewhat interchangeable combatants that were often retrained once captured. Sharing information about the breed would not have betrayed any sensitive intelligence and is more indicative of either a general enthusiasm for the breed or an attempt to curry favor with his captors. 19 Elwood, Rin-Tin-Tin, 133. 240 20 Jager, Scout, Red Cross, and Army Dogs, 69-79. 21 Elwood, Rin-Tin-Tin, 142. 22 “Rin-Tin-Tin Adds His Paw-Print To Plea for Stray Chicago Dogs,” Christian Science Monitor, May 19, 1931; Mayme Peake, “I Never Trained Rin Tin Tin,: I Educated Him,” Daily Boston Globe, August 14, 1932, B2; Article written by Quinn Martin for the New York World, quoted in Duncan, “Personal Notes”, 62-66. 23 Grier, Pets in America, 161-165. 24 Grier, Pets in America, 178, 213-214. 25 Ann Hulbert, Raising America: Experts, Parents, and a Century of Advice About Children (New York: Vintage Books, 2004), 37-39. 26 Grier, Pets in America, 95-100. 27 ED. F. Haberlein, The Amateur Trainer: Force System Without the Whip (Leavenworth: Ketcheson and Reeves, 1895), 9-12. 28 Duncan, “Personal Notes”, 54-92. 29 “Rin-Tin-Tin Training a Dog for the Screen,” The Times of India, October 18, 1929, 12; Joel Sayre, “The Four Lives of Rin Tin Tin,” McCall’s, July 1955, 63; Lee Duncan, “Your Dog Can Be a Rin Tin Tin”, The American, July 1956, 30-31, 74-77. 30 Duncan, “Personal Notes”, 29-30. 31 Orlean, Rin Tin Tin, 48. 32 A “snow” was a subgenre of the western where the films often featured northern/northwestern wintery locations and a lot of snow, often necessitating the use of sled dogs, trading posts, and hunting gear but still often dealt with the themes of the western such as the frontier justice, wilderness vs. civilization, and individuality. 33 Orlean, Rin Tin Tin, 69; Jeanine Basinger, Silent Stars (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999), 451-455. 34 Elwood, Rin-Tin-Tin, 63. 35 Phillip Prodger, Time Stands Still: Muybridge and the Instantaneous Photography Movement (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), 134. 36 Nicole Shukin, Animal Capital: Rendering Life in Biopolitical Times (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2009), 92-114. Gelatin, or “animal glue”, is a protein extracted from the liquefied connective tissues, skin and bones of livestock that are left over from the slaughtering process. The spectacularization of mechanized animal slaughter seen in nineteenth century abattoir tours also simultaneously fueled the flexible film manufacturing industry as well as the public desire for different forms of mediated animal life. 37 Kelly Oliver, “See Topsy ‘Ride the Lightning’: The Scopic Machinery of Death,” The Southern Journal of Philosophy 50, (2012): 83. 74-94 38 Orlean, Rin Tin Tin, 54-58; Ann C. Paietta and Jean L. Kauppila, Animals on Screen and Radio: An Annotated Sourcebook (Metuchen: The Scarecrow Press Inc., 1994), 152. 39 Jean Goes Foraging (1910); Jean the Match Maker (1910); Jean’s Evidence (Trimble, 1913); The Shepherd Lassie of Argyle (Trimble, 1914). 40 Elwood, Rin-Tin-Tin, 65. 41 Jordan Taylor, Wonder Dogs: 101 German Shepherd Dog Films (Bainbridge Island: Reel Dogs Press, 2009), 5. The Silent Call grossed approximately one million dollars and would have provided Associated First National, the small studio that produced it, with a sizable profit no matter what the initial investment was. 42 H. Mark Glancy, “Warner Bros Film Grosses, 1921-51: The William Schaefer Ledger”, Historical Journal of Film Radio and Television, Volume 15, Number 1, (1995), 57. 55-73 Where the North Begins cost Warners 73,000 dollars to produce and grossed 441,000 dollars, the largest profit that the studio earned from the Rinty series. 241 43 The Silent Accuser (Chester M. Franklin, 1924), starring Peter the Great; The Thirteenth Hour (Chester Franklin, 1927) starring Napoleon; Under the Black Eagle (W.E. Van Norn, 1928); Shadows of the Night (Ross Lederman, 1928); Honeymoon (Robert A. Golden, 1928), all starring Flash. 44 Gerben Bakker, “Stars and Stories: How Films Became Branded Products,” Enterprise and Society 2 (September 2001): 466-473. 45 Glancy, “Warner Bros Film Grosses”, 56-57. 46 Whenever the studio was in need of funds to cover overhead and production costs they could rely on the income from a Rin-Tin-Tin film to help pay the bills. 47 Orlean, Rin Tin Tin, 52, 58. 48 The Lighthouse by the Sea (1924); Clash of the Wolves (1925); The Night Cry (1926). 49 “Call Rin-Tin-Tin Perfect Film Dog: Canine Prodigy Intelligent to Remarkable Degree in Film Scenes,” The Hartford Courant, December 28, 1924, A5; “Rin-Tin-Tin is Marvelous Actor: Dog Star Reaches Pinnacle of Acting in Melodrama Now Showing at Forum,” Los Angeles Times, December 7, 1925, A9; “The Screen: Review of Tracked by the Police,” New York Times, April 27, 1927, 22. 50 Basinger, Silent Stars, 451-455. 51 Elwood, Rin-Tin-Tin, 84-92. 52 Elwood, Rin-Tin-Tin, 14-17, 30-35. 53 Elwood, Rin-Tin-Tin, 20-21. 54 “Rin-Tin-Tin Speaks Anent a Dog’s Life,” Los Angeles Times, January 20, 1924, F11; “Rin- Tin-Tin One Of Best Known Dogs In The World,” Daily Boston Globe, July 7, 1929, B23; John Fink, “Here is Story of Rin Tin Tin a War Orphan,” Chicago Daily Tribune, August 24, 1958. 55 “Rin-Tin-Tin Delights Kiddies,” Los Angeles Times, February 20, 1928; “Rin-Tin-Tin Training a Dog for the Screen,” The Times of India, October 18, 1929, 12. 56 Janine Basinger, World War II Combat Film: Anatomy of a Genre (Wesleyen University Press, 2003), 82. 57 Robert Eberwein, The Hollywood War Film (Malden: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010), 52. 58 Bakker, “Stars and Stories”, 472. 59 Elwood, Rin-Tin-Tin, 89-92. 60 Press Clipping, Rin Tin Tin and Nanette File, Rin Tin Tin Collection, Metropolitan Museum, Riverside California; “Rin-Tin-Tin on Lengthy Tour: Nanette Gives Yelp of Dog Sorrow in Bidding Mate Farewel,” Los Angeles Times, March 7, 1926, 39. 61 “Gotham Blue Bloods To Bow To Royal Stars of the Movies: Strongheart and Bride on Blasé Honeymoon,” The Atlanta Constitution, February 10, 1924, B7; “Strongheart and Lady Jule Are To Be Boston Visitors,” Boston Daily Globe, March 2, 1924, 50; “Strongheart and Bride, Lady Jule, Cinema Stars, on Visit to Boston,” The Christian Science Monitor, March 3, 1924, 3. 62 Glancy, “Warner Bros Film Grosses”, 59-60. 63 Orlean, Rin Tin Tin, 105-106. 64 Duncan, “Personal Notes”, 97-112. 65 Jon Tuska, The Vanishing Legion: A History of Mascot Pictures 1927-1935 (Jefferson: McFarland and Company, Inc. Publishers, 1982), 11, 16. 66 Tuska, The Vanishing Legion, 32, 41, 188. 67 Tuska, The Vanishing Legion, 47, 50, 96, 105. 68 Lee Duncan and Rin-Tin-Tin’s Mascot Pictures Corporation Artist Contract, Rin-Tin-Tin Collection, Metropolitan Museum, Riverside California. 69 Pride of the Legion (Ford Beebe, 1932); The Wolf Dog (Colbert Clark and Harry Frazer, 1933); Law of the Wild (Armand Schaefer, 1934); The Test (Bernard B. Ray, 1935); Skull and Crown (Elmer Clifton, 1935); Caryl of the Mountains (Bernard B. Ray, 1936); The Adventures of Rex and Rinty (1935); Vengeance of Rannah (Franklin Shamroy, 1936); Tough Guy (Chester M. Franklin, 1936); The Silver Trail (Raymond Samuels, 1937); Death Goes North; (Frank McDonald, 1939). 70 Tuska, The Vanishing Legion, 50. 242 71 Orlean, Rin Tin Tin, 122. 72 Dogs for Defense recruitment flyer, Rin-Tin-Tin Collection, Metropolitan Museum, Riverside California. 73 Lemish, War Dogs, 36-41. 74 War Dogs, War Department Technical Manual 10-396, (July 1, 1943), 94. 75 Captain William W. Putney, Always Faithful: A Memoir of the Marine Dogs of WWI (New York: The Free Press, 2001), 44-45. 76 Lemish, War Dogs, 44, 60, 81. 77 Orlean, Rin Tin Tin, 162-163. 78 Putney, Always Faithful, 23-26. 79 Orlean, Rin Tin Tin, 154-155. 80 Putney, Always Faithful, 80-81. 81 Alice F. Yarish, “Rin Tin Tin III—Canine Volunteer”, Press release from Field Director’s Office at Camp Haan, (May 6, 1943), 1, Rin-Tin-Tin Collection, Metropolitan Museum, Riverside California. 82 Orlean, Rin Tin Tin, 165-167. 83 Janet Staiger, “Announcing Wares, Winning Patrons, Voicing Ideals: Thinking about the History and Theory of Film Advertising,” Cinema Journal 29, no.3 (Spring 1990): 17-19. 84 Rin-Tin-Tin and Duncan had maintained a relationship with the Chappel Brothers’ Ken-L- Ration brand dog food since the 1920s, however, Rinty’s increased visibility must have encouraged other dog food brands to exploit the canine star’s new popularity. Rinty was appearing in ads for both Gaines Dog Food and Ken-L-Ration in the late 1940s. 85 Orlean, Rin Tin Tin, 167-168. 86 Letter from Nancy and Alfred Seale Agency to Lee Duncan, March 11 1948, Rin-Tin-Tin Collection, Metropolitan Museum, Riverside California. 87 Letter from Lee Duncan to Frank R. Wharton, Vice President of the Quaker Oats Company, November 12, 1950; Letter from Michael Curtiz to Lee Duncan, April 21, 1952, Rin-Tin-Tin Collection, Metropolitan Museum, Riverside California. 88 Orlean, Rin Tin Tin, 183-187. 89 Michelle Hilmes, Hollywood and Broadcasting: From Radio to Cable (Urbana: University of Illinois press, 1990), 3. 90 Michelle Hilmes, Only Connect: A Cultural History of Broadcasting in the United States (Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011), 173. 91 Christopher Anderson, Hollywood TV: The Studio System in the Fifties (University of Texas Press, 1994), 2-7. 92 Orlean, Rin Tin Tin, 191. 93 Ken Beck and Jim Clark, The Encyclopedia of TV Pets: A Complete History of Television’s Greatest Animal Stars (Nashville: Rutledge Hill Press, 2002), 4-7. 94 Orlean, Rin Tin Tin, 193. 95 Larry Wolters, “Rin Tin Tin Tells All!,” Chicago Daily Tribune, April 8, 1956, E35; “Reigning Prince of Dogdom, Rin Tin Tin IV, Celebrates an Anniversary,” TV Life, September 6, 1958, Rin Tin Tin Collection, Metropolitan Museum, Riverside California. 96 John Maynard, ‘Two Dogs are TV’s Snootiest Stars,” Los Angeles Examiner, October 24, 1954, 2-6. 97 Joel Sayre, “The Four Lives of Rin Tin Tin,” McCall’s, July 1955, 63; Lee Duncan, “Your dog can be a Rin Tin Tin”, The American, July 1956, 30-31,74-77. 98 Lewis K. Hill, “Grandpa’s Boy,” The Sun, April 13, 1947, WM 14; “Rin Tin Tin Nears 40 th Year as Top Attraction,” News Article from Tampa Florida, August 10, 1958, 9, Rin Tin Tin Collection, Metropolitan Museum; Laurence Laurent “Cherry Blossom Festival Will Be a Doggy Do,” The Washington Post, April 5, 1959, G3. 243 99 They were already employing a canine performer with a long Hollywood history as Flame Jr. was the son of Flame, the star of the Rusty series of films that Columbia produced in the late 1940s: The Return of Rusty (William Castle, 1946); For The Love of Rusty (John Sturges, 1947); The Son of Rusty (Lew Landers, 1947); My Dog Rusty (Lew Landers, 1948); Rusty Leads the Way (Will Jason, 1948); Rusty Saves a Life (Seymour Friedman, 1949); Rusty’s Birthday (Seymour Friedman, 1949). Despite Columbia already owning the rights to the Rusty trademark, they must have figured that the Rin-Tin-Tin brand was more popular and could secure higher ratings. 100 Fan Mail File, August 1923-July 1961; Litter Registration File, Rin-Tin-Tin Collection, Metropolitan Museum, Riverside California. 101 Letter from Cappy Ricks of Cappy Ricks and Associates Inc. Advertising to Lee Duncan, August 6, 1956; “Son of Rintie is Outdoor Show Prize,” Glendora Press; “Boy Wins RinTinTin Grandson,” Silver Springs Newspaper clipping, April 14, 1959, Rin-Tin-Tin Collection, Metropolitan Museum, Riverside California. 102 Orlean, Rin Tin Tin, 188, 200-206, 232. 103 Val Adams, “News of Television and Radio—Dog Days,” New York Times, August 30, 1959, X11. 104 Letter from Lee Duncan to Carl Brodsgaard, July 2, 1957, Litter Registration File, Rin-Tin-Tin Collection, Metropolitan Museum, Riverside California. 105 Daphne Hereford, Rin Tin Tin: The Lineage and the Legacy (Crockett Texas: Daphne Hereford and Rin Tin Tin Incorporated, 2012), 32-54. 106 Hereford, Rin Tin Tin, 55. This settlement was perplexing due to the fact that Leonard never really expressed an interest in the fan club nor did he ever register his ownership of the trademark with the USPTO. Hereford eventually filed a new application for a Rin Tin Tin Fan Club and was assigned the trademark in 2001. 107 Orlean, Rin Rin Tin, 294-298. 108 Hereford, Rin Tin Tin, 13, 62. 109 Hereford, Rin Tin Tin, 65-67. 110 Classic Media, the entertainment conglomerate that now owns the rights to the name Lassie, is not required to utilize Collies from the established Lassie lineage and maintains no investment in the breeding and cultivation of the bloodline. Lassie is a character, a trademark, and an idea that no longer relies on the continued production of collies related to the original performer. Notes from Chapter Three 1 Films: Lassie Come Home (Wilcox, 1943), Son of Lassie (Simon, 1945), Courage of Lassie (Wilcox, 1946), Hills of Home (Wilcox, 1948), The Sun Comes Up (Thorpe, 1949), Challenge to Lassie (Thorpe, 1950), The Painted Hills (Kress, 1951), Lassie’s Great Adventure (1963), The Magic of Lassie (Chaffey, 1978), Lassie (Petrie, 1994), Lassie (Sturridge, 2005). Television series: Lassie (1954-1973, CBS), Lassie’s Rescue Rangers (animated) (1973-1975, ABC), The New Lassie (1989-1991, Syndicated), Lassie (1997-1998, Animal Planet), Lassie’s Pet Vet (2007, Animal Planet). Radio: The Lassie Show (1947-1950). 2 While the character was called Lassie and the canine performer that enacted the role in the films was a male collie named Pal, as will be discussed, the two became synonymous to the point (through promotions, advertising, and merchandize) that Weatherwax himself would refer to Pal as a “she” and would name his direct descendent Lassie Jr. Pal became Lassie for the film series. When I discuss the star text or constructed images and ideas associated with Lassie I will refer to Lassie as a “she” because that is how MGM and CBS/Sponsors envisioned her. When I am discussing Lassie as an actual material animal I will refer to Lassie as “he”. 3 Thomas Ryan, Animals and Social Work: A Moral Introduction (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), 14-17. 244 4 Douglas Gomery, The Hollywood Studio System: A History (London: British Film Institute, 2005), 175-178. 5 Anna McCarthy, The Citizen Machine: Governing By Television in 1950s America (New York: The New Press, 2010), 3-8. 6 Rudd B. Weatherwax and John H. Rothwell, The Story of Lassie: His Discovery and Training from Puppyhood to Stardom (New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1950), 12. 7 David Rothel, The Great Show Business Animals (San Diego: A.S. Barnes and Company Inc., 1980), 91. 8 Ace Collins, Lassie: A Dog’s Life, The First Fifty Years (New York: Cader books and Penguin Books, 1993), 18-20. 9 Weatherwax and Rothwell, The Story of Lassie, 13-17. 10 Robert Weatherwax, quoted in Ace Collins, Lassie: A Dog’s Life, 22. 11 Collins, Lassie: A Dog’s Life, 40, 76. 12 Kathleen Kete, The Beast in the Boudoir: Petkeeping in Nineteenth-Century Paris (University of California Press, 1994), 40-42. 13 Kete, The Beast in the Boudoir, 54. 14 Kete, The Beast in the Boudoir, 22-28 15 Kete, The Beast in the Boudoir, 46. 16 Henry Jenkins, “Her Suffering Aristocratic Majesty: The Sentimental Value of Lassie,” in The WOW Climax Tracing the Emotional Impact of Popular Culture, (New York: New York University Press, 2007), 219-222. 17 Ryan, Animals and Social Work, 14-17. 18 Jonathan Burt, Animals in Film, (London: Reaktion Books Ltd, 2002), 35. 19 Burt, Animals in Film, 80. 20 Burt, Animals in Film, 149 21 Burt, Animals in Film, 153. 22 Burt, Animals in Film, 153 23 American Humane Association, Guidelines for the Safe Use of Animals in Filmed Media (Sherman Oaks: American Humane Association, 2005), 9. 24 Weatherwax and Rothwell, The Story of Lassie, 30-31. 25 Pressbook for The Painted Hills, 1951, Cinema Television Library Archive, University of Southern California. 26 Weatherwax and Rothwell, The Story of Lassie, 32 27 Erica Fudge, “A Left-Handed Blow: Writing the History of Animals,” in Representing Animals, ed. Nigel Rothfels (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002), 7. 28 Fudge, “A Left-Handed Blow”, 10-11. 29 Lion’s Roar, September 1943, Cinema Television Library Archive, University of Southern California. 30 Thomas Harris, “The Building of Popular Images: Grace Kelly and Marilyn Monroe,” in Stardom: Industry of Desire, ed. Christine Gledhill (New York: Routledge, 1991), 41. 31 Lion’s Roar, May 1946, Cinema Television Library Archive, University of Southern California. 32 Barry King, “Stardom as an occupation,” in The Hollywood Film Industry, ed. Paul Kerr (Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1986), 168. 33 Richard Dyer, Stars (London: BFI Publishing, 1998), 20. 34 Richard Dyer, Heavenly Bodies: Film Stars and Society, British Film Institute Cinema Series (London: The Macmillan Press Ltd, 1986), 10-11. 35 New York Times, 28 February 1943; New York Times, 27 February 1949. 36 Washington Post, 18 July 1948. 245 37 Richard Dyer, “Heavenly Bodies: Film Stars and Society,” in Film and Theory, eds. Robert Stam and Toby Miller (Oxford: Blackwell, 2000), 615. 38 Rudd Weatherwax interview by Hedda Hopper, Special Collections, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 39 Pressbook for The Sun Comes Up, 1949, Cinema Television Library Archive, University of Southern California. 40 Pressbook The Painted Hills, 1951, Cinema Television Library Archive, University of Southern California. 41 Pressbook, Son of Lassie, 1944, Cinema Television Library Archive, University of Southern California. 42 Pressbook, Son of Lassie, 1944, Cinema Television Library Archive, University of Southern California. 43 Martin Halliwell, American Culture in the 1950s (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007), 4. 44 Robert A. Beauregard, When America Became Suburban (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2006), 10-14. 45 Mary Corbin Sies, “Toward a Performance Theory of the Suburban Ideal, 19877-1917,” Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture 4, (1991): 201-206. 46 Sies, “North American Suburbs”, 330. 47 Beauregard, When America Became Suburban, 76-77. 48 John Kimble, “Insuring Inequality: The Role of the Federal Housing Administration in the Urban Ghettoization of African Americans,” Law and Social Inquiry 32, Issue 2 (Spring 2007), 402-403. 49 Louis Lee Woods II, “The Federal Home Loan Bank Board, Redlining, and the National Proliferation of Racial Lending Discrimination, 1921-1950,” Journal of Urban History 38, no.6 (2012): 1040-1048. 50 Andrew H. Whittemore, “How the Federal Government Zoned America: The Federal Housing Administration and Zoning,” Journal of Urban History (December 26, 2012): 3-6. 51 Thomas J. Vicino, Transforming Race and Class in Suburbia: Decline in Metropolitan Baltimore (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2008), 22-25. 52 Beauregard, When America Became Suburban, 83-85. 53 Lizabeth Cohen, “A Consumer’s Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America,” Journal of Consumer Research 31, no.1 (June 2004): 236. 54 Karal Ann Marling, As Seen on TV: The Visual Culture of Everyday Life in the 1950s (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994), 255-265. 55 Lynn Spigel, Welcome to the Dreamhouse: Popular Media and Postwar Suburbs (Duke University Press, 2001), 18. 56 Lynn Spigel. Make Room for TV: Television and the Family Ideal in Postwar America (University of Chicago Press, 1992), 4. 57 Spigel, Make Room for TV, 46-50. 58 Pressbook for Challenge to Lassie, 1949, Cinema Television Library Archive, University of Southern California. 59 Pressbook for Son of Lassie, 1944, Cinema Television Library Archive, University of Southern California. 60 Hal Herzog, “Forty-two Thousand and One Dalmatians: Fads, Social Contagion, and Dog Breed Popularity,” Society & Animals 14, no.4 (2006): 384-385. 61 Adrian Franklin, Animals and Modern Cultures: A Sociology of Human-Animal Relations in Modernity (Sage Publications, 1999), 88. 62 Susan M. Brown, “Forward: A Charismatic Collie and Her Fifty-Year Influence,” in Lassie, A Collie and Her Influence, ed. Susan M. Brown (St. Louis: Dog Museum, 1993), 4. 63 Helen Colton, “Top Dog in Hollywood,” New York Times, 27 February 1949. 246 64 Kendall utilized the visage of Ch. Silver Ho Parader, a two time winner of Best in Show, for their 1951 ads. Hadley Cashmeres used the images of Great Dane Ch. Dion of Kent and English Setter Ch. Silvermine Whipeard, among others for their 1954 campaign. 65 Margaret Walsh, “Top Dog: Pedigree Marketing and Its Value,” History Today (May 2006), 36-39. 66 Harriet Ritvo, “Pride and Pedigree: The Evolution of the Victorian Dog Fancy,” Victorian Studies 29, no. 2 (1986): 229-240. 67 Ritvo, “Pride and Pedigree”, 243. 68 Peter Haining, Lassie: The Extraordinary Story of Eric Knight and the World’s Favourite Dog (London: Peter Owen Publishers, 2005), 25-29. 69 Collins, Lassie, 23. 70 Herzog, “Forty-two Thousand and One Dalmatians”, 391-392. 71 The most notable cases include: Collies after the release of the Lassie series; Old English Sheep Dogs after the release of Disney’s The Shaggy Dog (Barton, 1959); the Dalmatian after Disney’s re- release of 101 Dalmatians; and (I would argue) the Great Dane after the popularity of the Marmaduke comic strip after 1954 and the release of Disney’s The Ugly Dachshund (Tokar, 1966). 72 Collins, Lassie, 76-81. 73 “Robert Maxwell of ‘Lassie’ Series,” New York Times, Feb. 5, 1971. 74 Pauline Bartel, “Lassie”, St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, eds. Tom Pendergast and Sara Pendergast (Detroit: St. James Press, 2000), 95-95. 75 The changes in casting: Tommy Rettig, Jan Clayton, and George Cleveland (Jeff Years) were replaced by Jon Provost, Cloris Leachman, and Jon Sheppod. Leachman and Sheppod were replaced with June Lockhart and Hugh Reilly. Eventually Provost, Lockhart, and Reilly would be replaced with Robert Bray. Bray would be succeeded by Jed Allen and Jack DeMave who in turn were succeeded by Ron Hayes, Robert Burton, Larry Pennell, and Pamelyn Ferdin. 76 The human centered periods are roughly as follows: the Jeff Years (1954-57), the Timmy Years (1957-1964), the Ranger Years (1964-71), the Syndication Years (1971-74). 77 The plot for the first three seasons centered on a boy named Jeff Miller (Tommy Rettig) whose widowed mother (Jan Clayton) and elderly grandfather (George Cleveland) were the caretakers of an old farm in Calverton on which Jeff participated in any number of escapades with his dog Lassie and his best friend Porky. Facing a host of issues with the actors, most notably Rettig’s advancing age, producers Maxwell and Wrather decided to redesign the show and hire a new cast for the 1957 season, including a young actor named Jon Provost who would take over the lead role from Rettig. The new narrative premise would have the Miller family selling the farm to a young couple named Ruth and Paul Martin whose adoptive son Timmy (Provost) inherits Lassie from Jeff. While Provost proved to be a popular addition to the show, the actors hired to play Ruth and Paul (Cloris Leachman and Jon Sheppod) were not popular with the audience and in 1958 Wrather decided to hire June Lockhart and Hugh Reilly to take over as Timmy’s parents. Ace Collins, Lassie, 102-112. 78 Jerry Franken, “TPA, Maxwell, Sell ‘Lassie’ to Jack Wrather,” Press Release from Television Produces of America Inc, September 26, 1956. 79 Ken Beck and Jim Clark, The Encyclopedia of TV Pets: A Complete History of Television’s Greatest Animal Stars (Nashville: Rutledge Hill Press, 2002), 162-163. 80 Rothel, The Great Show Business Animals, 118. 81 “Lassie”, The Complete Dictionary to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, eds. Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh (New York: Ballantine Books, 2007), 761. 82 If a scene required Lassie to get dirty, wet, or otherwise disheveled in between closeups, a stunt double or stand-in was used so that the crew would not have waste time waiting for the canine’s fur to dry in between shots. 83 Hal Humphrey, “Lassie: fickle or just friendly?,” Los Angles Times, May 16, 1965, M2; “Robert Bray, 65, Star in TV’s ‘Lassie’ Show, Dies,” Los Angeles Times, March 9, 1983, B18. 247 84 Collins, Lassie, 158. 85 Collins, Lassie, 89-90. 86 Beck and Clark, The Encyclopedia of TV Pets, 162. 87 Frank Leeming Joyce, “Breeding, training assure line of Lassies,” Chicago Tribune, Jan. 1, 1979, D7. 88 Collins, Lassie, 124 89 Breeds like Labradors and Golden Retrievers, while they certainly can have some inconsistency in head conformation, are not subject to wild variations in color patterning which often makes them suitable for film and television performance. 90 Beck and Clark, The Encyclopedia of TV Pets, 164. 91 Weatherwax and Rothwell, The Story of Lassie, 54-64. 92 Richard Dyer MacCann, “Lassie comes to Television,” Christian Science Monitor, August 31, 1954, 11; “Lassie Heads Holiday Events at Riverside,” The Hartford Courant, July 4, 1971, 6F; Jack Hively quoted in Ace Collins, Lassie, 160. 93 Kelly Wolf, “Lassie Survey”, Survey, June 25, 2013. 94 William Boddy, Fifties Television (Urbana: University of Illinois press, 1990), 168-170. 95 Boddy, Fifties Television, 72-73. 96 Mark Alvey “The independents: rethinking the television studio system,” in The Revolution Wasn’t Televised: Sixties Television and Social Conflict, eds. Lynn Spigel and Michael Curtin (New York: Routledge, 1997), 140. 97 Boddy, Fifties Television, 155-162. 98 John Hartley, “Citizen Readers in an era of broadcast television,” in Television after TV: Essays on a Medium in Transition, eds. Lynn Spigel and Jan Olsen (Duke University Press, 2004), 406-412. 99 David Morely, “At Home with Television,” in Television after TV: Essays on a Medium in Transition, eds. Lynn Spigel and Jan Olsen (Duke University Press, 2004), 312. 100 McCarthy, The Citizen Machine, 3-8. 101 McCarthy, The Citizen Machine, 23-26. 102 Collins, Lassie, 79-85 103 Kelly Wolf, “Lassie Survey”, Survey, June 25, 2013. 104 Harry Gabbet, “Lassie in New Role: Hounding Litterbugs,” The Washington Post, May 4, 1967, A1; Art Buchwald, “White House Post for Lassie,” Boston Globe, May 9, 1967, 17. 105 Norma Lee Browning, “Gogi Learns Awful Truth from Lassie,” Chicago Tribune, May 12, 1966, D1; Hal Humphrey, “Lassie Show Has the Last Laugh,” Los Angeles Times, June 13, 1966, C26. 106 “List of Awards Lassie Show has Won”, Lou Smith Organization Inc. Press Release 107 Susan Murray, Hitch Your antenna to the Stars: Early Television and Broadcast Stardom (New York: Routledge, 2005), 149-151. 108 “1960s Best Of Campbell’s”, Youtube video, posted by SJUfoodmarketing,” February 2, 2011. 109 Lawrence Laurent, “The Plush Job for Lassie,” The Washington Post, October 30, 1955, J3. 110 James Serpell, In The Company of Animals, (Cambridge University Press, 1986), 103-104. 111 Kelly Wolf, “Lassie Survey”, Survey, June 25, 2013. 112 Ann C. Paietta and Jean L. Kauppila, Animals on Screen and Radio: An Annotated Sourcebook (Metuchen: The Scarecrow Press Inc., 1994), 316. 113 Kelly Wolf, “Lassie Survey”, Survey, June 25, 2013. 114 Cynthia Chris, Watching Wildlife (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2006) 47-48. 115 Greg Mitman, Reel Nature: America’s Romance with Wildlife on Film (University of Washington Press, 2009), 139. 116 Rothel, Great Show Business Animals, 38-46. The lead performing dolphin, Suzy, would be taught a very specific set of actions that she would need to carry out with her human costars. If those 248 costars deviated from the plan, she would hit her them as a means of getting them to conform to the behaviors that she was trained to carry out. After a while, this became a problem. 117 Rothel, Great Show Business Animals, 184-188, 202-204. 118 Beck and Clark, The Encyclopedia of TV Pets, 23-25, 122-125. 119 Christine Becker, “Televising Film Stardom in the 1950s,” Framework 46, no.2 (Fall 2005): 5- 7. 120 Becker, “Televising Film Stardom in the 1950s”, 8-10. 121 Murray, Hitch Your Antenna, 145, 184-185. 122 Collins, Lassie, 93-94, 107-115, 131. 123 Henry Jenkins, “Lassie,” in Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Television, ed Horace Newcomb (Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1997), 928-930. 124 Larry Wolters, “Lassie Barks up New Tree: Gadget Sales,” Chicago Daily Tribune, October 27, 1957, N14. 125 Collins, Lassie, 131. Millions of viewers tuned in each week and the promotional contests garnered over 1.4 million responses from fans. 126 Kelly Wolf, “Lassie Survey”, Survey, June 25, 2013. 127 Daily Variety, Telepix Reviews of Lassie, 9/14/1960; 10/9/1962; 10/1/1963; 10/1/1969; 9/22/1970 128 Lawrence Laurent, “Battle of the Sexes Was Lassie’s Break,” The Washington Post, September 7, 1961, B7; Bob Thomas, “June Likes Job with Lassie,” Chicago Tribune, March 17, 1963, B9; Larry Wolters, “New Lassie Ready to Take Over on TV,” Chicago Tribune, August, 23, 1965, C10. 129 “Putting a new bark on Lassie’s family tree,” Los Angeles Times, July 31, 1966, A3; Robert Cross, “Lassie Visits Pump Room-and Poses for Picture Fans,” Chicago Tribune, December 4, 1968, C23; Lynn Lilliston, “Lassie Comes Home for Hospital Visit,” Los Angeles Times, February 6, 1970, D1; Lawrence Laurent, “People Change but ‘Lassie’ is still the same,” The Washington Post, November 14, 1971, 221. 130 “Lassie’s Third Mistress,” The Sun, August 10, 1958, T11; “Lassie To Present Paw Autographs,” Los Angeles Times, September 21, 1958, A11. 131 “Special to Recap Lassie’s Career,” Los Angeles Times, November, 23, 1974, A3; “Back home for lassie in ‘Magic of…,’” The Sun, December 27, 1978, B5. 132 Burt A. Folkart, “Actress Jan Clayton Dies at 66; Played Mother in Lassie Series,” The Hartford Courant, August, 30, 1983, B6; Burt A. Folkart, “George Chandler, Former Member of ‘Lassie’ Cast,” Los Angeles Times, June 13, 1985, B3; “Tommy Rettig, 54, Actor on ‘Lassie,’” New York Times, February 19, 1996, B5; “Hugh Reilly, 82, Played Father on ‘Lassie,’” New York Times, July 22, 1998, A17. 133 Shana Alexander, “A Big Changeover for Lassie: Star Gets New Set of Friends,” Life Magazine, November, 1957, 78, 81. 134 Walter Ames, “Lassie’s Barking Up the Right Tree,” Los Angeles Times, February 5, 1956, D1; “Lassie’s Tail Broken, but Mended Now,” Chicago Daily Tribune, April 19, 1960, 1. 135 David Smith and Trushar Barot, “Millennium Icons: Lassie, Ali, Albert Einstein,” The Times of India, January 8, 2000, 13. Notes from Chapter Four 1 Similar to Pal’s conversion into Lassie, Higgins was the name of the actual canine that performed the role of “Benji” and as a result he and his progeny became permanently associated with the role even despite the television work Higgins did prior to becoming famous for portraying the character of Benji. 2 Films: Benji (Joe Camp, 1974); For the love of Benji (Joe Camp, 1977); Benji the Hunted (Joe Camp, 1987); Benji off the Leash (Joe Camp, 2004). Television Programs: Petticoat Junction (CBS 1963-1970); Benji, Zax, and the Alien Prince (CBS Saturday Morning 1983). Television Specials: The 249 Phenomenon of Benji (ABC 1977); Benji’s Very Own Christmas Story (ABC 1978); Benji at Work (ABC 1980); Benji at Marineland (ABC 1981). Lassie was the first inductee into the AHA Hall of Fame. 3 The television programs with a rural and/or animal theme that Filmways produced and/or distributed included: The Beverly Hillbillies (1962-1970); Petticoat Junction (1963-1970); Green Acres (1975-1971), Mr. Ed (1961-1966). 4 Claire Molloy, Popular Media and Animals, (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011) 2-4. 5 Nathan J. Winograd, Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No-Kill Revolution in America, (Almaden Books, 2007), 9-10. “Pet overpopulation” has become somewhat of a controversial concept as some animal advocates have argued that it is a myth perpetuated by negligent humane organizations to justify the killing of millions of animals every year rather than revamp their lackluster efforts at generating visibility for shelter adoption and finding homes for needy animals. 6 Marie Lazzari, "American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)," in International Directory of Company Histories, ed. Tina Grant and Miranda H. Ferrara (Detroit: St. James Press, 2005), 20. 7 Ken Beck and Jim Clark, The Encyclopedia of TV Pets: A Complete History of Television’s Greatest Animal Stars, (Nashville: Rutledge Hill Press, 2002), 244. 8 Charles Witbeck, “Animals Reign Regally Under Inn Management,” The Hartford Courant, September 10, 1961, H9. 9 Ursula Vils, “No School Dropouts in Beast Generation: Animal School,” Los Angeles Times, January 28, 1966, C1. 10 “No Meat No Acting,” The Sun, April 16, 1950, MT6; Harold Hefferman, “Cats ‘Very Baffling’, Says Man Who Trains Them for Movies,” Daily Boston Globe, September 10, 1950, A11. 11 Pauline Bartel, Amazing Animal Actors, (Dallas: Taylor Publishing, 1997), 14-18. 12 Witbeck, “Animals Reign Regally Under Inn Management”; Beck and Clark, The Encyclopedia of TV Pets, 235-242. 13 The four trainers that have worked with one or more Benjis: Gerry Warshauer (later Genny Kerns), Frank Inn, Karl Lee Miller, Bryan Renfro. 14 Diane L. Beers, For The Prevention of Cruelty: The History and Legacy of Animal Rights Activism in the United States (Athens: Swallow press/Ohio University Press, 2006), 92-98. 15 Bernard Unti, "Animal Protective Societies," in Dictionary of American History, ed. Stanley I. Kutler (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003), 185-186. 16 Among the new animal welfare groups formed after 1945: Defenders of Wildlife (1947), National Humane Education Society (1948), Animal Crusaders (1950), Animal Welfare Institute (1951), Humane Society of the United States (1954), Friends of Animals (1957), Society for Animal Rights (1959), United Action for Animals (1967), Fund for Animals (1967), Animal Protection Institute (1968), United Animal Defenders (1968), United Humanitarians (1968), International Fund for Animal Welfare (1969). Diane L. Beers, For The Prevention of Cruelty, 154. 17 It was discovered that research labs were subjecting animals to not only inhumane housing conditions but also cruel methods of experimentation that included: dogs left in cages with their entrails exposed due to improper surgery, dogs with burns covering a third of their bodies left in cages without pain medication, and numerous malnourished and inhumanely confined animals with little access to space, food or water. Diane L. Beers, For The Prevention of Cruelty, 171. 18 Winograd, Redemption, 9-10. An animal dealer is usually an independent contractor that acquires animals from shelters and distributes them to local research facilities for profit. Sometimes “dog dealing” refers to the mass production of dogs in puppy mills that are then sold to local pet stores. The action of collecting strays for monetary gain has been a practice dating back to the initial formation of shelters when gangs of young boys in the 1860s would be instructed to gather up any dog they could find, sometimes even stealing pets from the private backyards of city residents, and turn them into the pound for money. This practice was severely curtailed by the ASPCA in their efforts to regulate the operation of the local pound. 250 19 Lawrence Fisen and Susan Fisen, The Animal Rights Movement in America: From Compassion to Respect (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1994), 56. 20 Dena M. Jones, “The Media and Policy Decision Affecting Animals,” Anthrozoös 10, no.2/3 (1997): 10. 8-13 21 Diane L. Beers, For The Prevention of Cruelty, 177-178. The passing of LAWA was historic but advocates quickly realized its inadequacies and set about lobbying Congress to expand the purview of the law. In 1970, amendments were made to LAWA that increased its efficacy and scope and it was renamed the Animal Welfare Act. These changes, however, still did not ban research firms from engaging in legally sanctioned pound seizures and using abandoned companion animals for experimentation. 22 Dena M. Jones, “American Media Coverage of Animal Protection,” Anthrozoös 9 no. 2/3 (1996): 75. 23 Lawrence Fisen and Susan Fisen, The Animal Rights Movement in America, 58-61. 24 Judy Ratner, “Pets: Nothin’ Like a Hound Dog,” The Washington Post, Thursday March 18, 1982, B5; Abgail Van Buren, “Common Mutt is Really a Rare Breed,” Los Angeles Times, May 7, 1982, A5. 25 Lynn Simross, “May Co. Sponsors Adopt-a-Pet Plan: Finicky Feline, E.T. Help Homeless Animals Find Families,” Los Angeles Times, December 14, 1983, I18. 26 R. Daniel Foster, “The Next Benji: Trainers Look to Animal Shelters for Talent,” Los Angeles Times, January 29, 1989, WS8. 27 “Program Details”, Benji’s Buddies, accessed May 2013, http://www.benjisbuddies.org. 28 Higgins appeared on episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Danny Thomas Show, and The Beverly Hillbillies. “That Petticoat Pooch,” Chicago Tribune, November 27, 1965, B2; Kimmis Hendrick, “A Visit with TV’s Higgins,” The Christian Science Monitor, August 26, 1966, 15. 29 While one could consider the moniker “dog” to be a sufficient name for the character, it was a recognized fact that the canine resident of the Shady Rest Hotel did not have an official name. Henning was going to hold a contest to name the dog, but never actually got around to organizing it. It is debatable as to whether the lack of character name hurt Higgins’ level of stardom, given that the canine performer received a good deal of press from his appearances on the program. 30 Mark Alvey, “The Independents: Rethinking the Television Studio System,” in Television: The Critical View, ed. Horace Newcomb (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 39-48. 34-51 31 David Marc, Demographic Vistas: Television in American Culture (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1984), 41-43. 32 Janet Staiger, Blockbuster TV: Must-See Sitcoms in the Network Era (New York: New York University Press, 2000), 54-58. 33 Marc, Demographic Vistas, 59-62. 34 Chris J. Magoc, “The Machine in the Wasteland: Progress, Pollution, and the Pastoral in Rural- Based Television, 1951-1971,” Journal of Popular Film and Television 19, no.1 (Spring 1991): 25-29. 25-34. 35 Bartel, Amazing Animal Actors, 14-18. 36 Beck and Clark, The Encyclopedia of TV Pets, 122-125. 37 Beck and Clark, The Encyclopedia of TV Pets, 250. 38 Beck and Clark, The Encyclopedia of TV Pets, 141. After working as apprentices for Inn, Karl Lewis Miller, Genny Kerns, Glen Garner, Carl Spitz Jr.Fred Dean and Cindy James had fairly successful careers as trainers. Miller went on to work on several popular television programs like The Brady Bunch (ABC, 1969-74) and The Bionic Woman (ABC/NBC, 1976-1978), eventually forming his own company Animal Action and training several famous performers like Cujo and Beethoven. Kerns worked on Little House on the Prairie (NBC, 1973-1983), The Doris Day Show (CBS, 1968-1973), and The Waltons (CBS, 1972-1981) and would eventually become Benji’s trainer for the most recent 2004 film Benji off 251 the Leash (Camp 2004). Garner, Spitz, Dean and James would eventually take over running Frank Inn Animals after Inn was in semi-retirement and was only working with Benji. 39 Geoff King, New Hollywood Cinema: An Introduction (New York: Columbia University Press, 2002), 34-35. 40 Joe Camp, Underdog (Atlanta: Longstreet Press, 1993), 104-140. 41 While it is still unclear why the “dog film” had seemingly become official box office poison, it is likely that the industry was recoiling from the massive financial failure of the recent animal-themed feature Doctor Dolittle (Fleisher, 1967) combined with the fact that since the late 1950s, network television had successfully and thoroughly exploited the market for animal/dog media. 42 Geoff King, New Hollywood Cinema, 35. 43 Richard Maltby, “‘Nobody knows everything’: Post-classical historiographies and consolidated entertainment,” in Contemporary Hollywood Cinema, eds. Steve Neale and Murray Smith (London: Routledge, 1998), 32. 44 Timothy Corrigan, “Auteurs and the New Hollywood,” in The New American Cinema, ed. Jon Lewis (Durham: Duke University press, 1998), 45-48. 45 Justin Wyatt “From Roadshowing to Saturation Release: Majors, Indpedendents, and Marketing/Distribution Innovations,” in The New American Cinema, ed. Jon Lewis (Durham: Duke University press, 1998), 67-78. 46 Both Robin Wood and John Belton discuss this reactionary trend as a phenomenon that would extend through the mid 1970s and well into the 1980s with texts like American Graffiti (Lucas, 1973), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Spielberg, 1977), and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Spielberg, 1982). Robin Wood, Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan (New York: Columba University Press, 1986), 162- 165; John Belton, American Cinema/American Culture (New York: Rutgers University, 1994), 310-311. 47 Camp, Underdog, 130-140. According to Camp, his inspiration for Benji would come from watching Disney’s Lady and the Tramp (Geronimi, Jackson, Luske, 1955) and wondering if a live-action version of the film could possibly be made with actual dogs. 48 Camp, Underdog, 170-201. 49 King, New Hollywood Cinema, 39-46. 50 Almost all of the Disney animated features utilize character voice-overs for their animal protagonists from Pinocchio (1940) to Winnie the Pooh (2011). Even the completely live action features like The Incredible Journey (1963) used extensive voice-over narration to explain the behaviors of the three main companion animal characters, a problem that was “solved” by the use of character voiceover in the remake Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (Duwayne Dunham, 1993). 51 Benji stood a grand total of thirteen inches off of the ground, less even when he was laying down. This was a sizable difference from even the previous canine stars like Lassie who was large enough to dwarf some of his child costars. The most commonly used camera mounts of the 1970s, like hi-hats and pan-heads, add an additional 8-12 inches the overall height of the camera, a problem if the camera was to maintain Benji’s eye-level. 52 Despite these precautions, technical gaffes are occasionally present throughout the film, marking the limitations of a production budget that could only accommodate a limited number of reshoots. 53 Benji responded to trainer Frank Inn’s hand movements and carried out various behaviors according to the directions he received, meaning that Inn had to be close to Benji in order to direct the canine’s actions. It was also discovered that if Benji’s face was not lit with a small spotlight, his eyes appeared dull and lifeless, thus necessitating the use of a lighting technician to lay right next to the camera and shine a small light into the dog’s face. The closeness also required that they shoot with a smaller Arriflex camera and dub any spoken dialogue later. Joe Camp, Underdog, 187-197. 54 Camp wanted to avoid that all too common scene in many of the Lassie television episodes in which Lassie approaches a human, lets out a few barks and whimpers, and the human instinctively understands and knows to follow Lassie to whatever rescue is necessary. This is not to say that 252 interspecies communication is not possible, only that there are often many steps in between communicating and comprehension in which both parties must make sense of the visual and aural information given to them before judgments can be made. Camp visualizes some of those cognitive steps in these montages. 55 Camp, Underdog, 214-217. 56 Marylin Bender, “‘Benji’, A Doghouse Hero,” New York Times, August 31, 1975, 117. 57 James Quinn, “This is the Real Life Story of Benji,” Los Angeles Times, September 6, 1979, SF3; Robert Taylor, “He’s a hot dog for a cool fee,” Boston Globe, July 23, 1975, 1. 58 R.H. Gardner, “Another Talented Higgins,” The Sun,(September 9, 1974, B1; Mary Sue Best, “New era if family films? Canine star points the way,” The Christian Science Monitor, April 2, 1975, 25. 59 Thomas Shatz, “The New Hollywood,” in Film Theory Goes to the Movies, eds. Jim Collins, Hilary Radner, and Ava Preacher Collins (New York: Routledge, 1993), 8-36. 60 Justin Wyatt, “From Roadshowing to Saturation Release”, 67-78. Mulberry Square engaged in a more straightforward distribution arrangement for their earlier limited engagements, agreeing to screen the film for three to four weeks and 61 Robert Taylor, “He’s a hot dog for a cool fee,” 1. A pun that was drawing a comparison between the most successful film of the year, Jaws (Spielberg, 1975), and the smaller canine-centered hit. 62 Paul McDonald, “The Star System: The Production of Hollywood Stardom in the Post-Studio Era,” in The Contemporary Hollywood Film Industry, eds. Paul McDonald and Janet Wasko (Malden: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2008), 167-181. 63 Thomas Shatz, “The New Hollywood”, 8-36. 64 Marketing Evaluations Inc.’s 1978 Performer Q Survey had Benji ranked as high as John Wayne and Bob Hope. David Rothel, The Great Show Business Animals, (San Diego: A.S. Barnes &Company, Inc., 1980), 140. 65 This was the catchphrase that Benji was marketed with after the release of the first Benji film. It encapsulates his small size, adorable face, and approachability. 66 John Thornton Caldwell, “Excessive Style: The Crisis of Network Telelvision,” in Television The Critical View, ed. Horace Newcomb (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 651-657. 67 “Emmy for Outstanding Children’s Program 1979”, Emmy Nominee/Winner Database, accessed May 29, 2013, http://www.emmys.com. 68 Mimi White, “Crossing Wavelengths: The Diegetic and Referential Imaginary of American Commercial Television,” Cinema Journal 25, no.2 (Winter, 1986): 52-53. 69 These kinds of synergistic, cross-promotional tactics predated much of the contemporary marketing and branding strategies of the media conglomerates that dominate the contemporary convergent post-network era. 70 Jamie Likins, “Most Huggable Hero On Location,” Palm Coast News, October 22, 1980, 24. 71 Kathryn Baker, “‘Benji’ Getting His Own TV Show,” The Hartford Courant, August 28, 1983, Y46. 72 Mary Daniels, “PBS series to explore pets and their people,” Chicago Tribune, January 26, 1986, L2; 73 Beck and Clark, The Encyclopedia of TV Pets,136-137. 74 Alex McNeil, Total Television, (New York: Penguin Books, 1991), 786. 75 Alice Steinbach, “Barbara Woodhouse: The TV dog trainer charms people as readily as animals,” The Sun, November 2, 1983, 17. 76 Robert A. Erlandson, “Woodhouse ‘walkies’: Dogs obey British TV star of year,” The Sun, September 4, 1980, B1. 77 Marilynn Preston, “Barbara Woodhouse pet special unleashes world of animal fun,” Chicago Tribune, April 27, 1983, D10. 253 78 Roy Rivenburg, “It’s a Ruff Job, but Someone’s Gotta Do it,” Los Angeles Times, September 20, 1996. 79 Tamr Brott, “Unleashed,” Los Angeles Magazine, May 1, 2009. 80 Box Office Gross of the Benji films in millions of dollars: Benji (39.5); For the Love of Benji (17.7); Oh Heavenly Dog (6.2); Benji the Hunted (22.2); Benji off the Leash (3.8). It is most likely that Disney’s powerful marketing and distribution helped Hunted achieve greater than normal returns. www.boxofficemojo.com 81 Thomas Streeter, “Blue Skies and Strange Bedfellows: The Discourse of Cable TV,” in the revolution wasn’t televised: sixties television and social conflict, eds. Lynn Spigel and Michael Curtin (New York: Routledge, 1997), 221-230. 220-242 82 Sarah Banet-Weiser, Cynthia Chris, Anthony Freitas, “Introduction,” in Cable Visions, eds. Sarah Banet-Weiser, Cynthia Chris, Anthony Freitas (New York: New York University Press, 2007), 4- 6. 83 Cynthia Chris, Watching Wildlife (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2006), 79-85. 84 Chris, Watching Wildlife, 80-91. 85 “TV Schedule”, Television Program Listings, accessed June 12, 2013, http://channel.nationalgeographic.com. 86 Jon Lafayette, “NatGeo Explores New Sponsorships; Geico, Toyota Sign major Integration Deals with Channel,” Television Week, September 22, 2008. 87 Mike Savage, “NatGeo to boost viewer numbers,” Media, August 11, 2006. Notes from Epilogue 1 Wayne Alan Brenner, “ Yes, You Could Totally Meet Grumpy Cat at SXSW,” The Austin Chronicle, March 8, 2013. 2 Brandon Griggs, “The unlikely star of SXSW: Grumpy Cat”, CNN, March 12, 2013, http://cnn.com. 3 Backstage riders are documents detailing the specific requirements for a performance space and backstage area that must be met in order for an artist to agree to appear. Riders can be notoriously complicated and sometimes outrageous depending on the artist/celebrity involved. Grumpy Cat’s rider included, but was not limited to, the following items: modern art designed cat trees, “cool raspberry flavored” catnip, DVD boxed set of My So Called Life, and a faux-garden litter box. Attendants were “required” to limit eye contact and only speak when addressed by the “client”. Jessie Gaskell, “Leaked: Grumpy Cat’s Tour Rider”, The Soup, March 11, 213, http://www.thesouptv.com 4 Adrian David Cheok and Owen Noel Newton Fernando, “Kawaii/Cute interactive media,” Universal Access in the Information Society 3, no.11 (August 2012): 295-298. 5 One of the most iconic incarnations of Kawaii culture is the Sanrio universe of characters of which Hello Kitty is perhaps the most recognizable figure. 6 Yuri Kageyama, “Cute rules in modern Japanese culture,” Charleston Gazette, June 15, 2006. 7 Chang, Yahlin, and Karen Schoemer, "The cult of cute," Newsweek, August 25, 1995. 8 Elad Granot, Thomas Brashear Alejandro, and La Toya M. Russell, “”A Socio-Marketing Analysis of the Concept of Cute and its Consumer Culture Implications,” Journal of Consumer Culture 0, no.0 (2013): 18. 1-22; Cheok and Fernando, “Kawaii/Cute interactive media,” 299. 9 Donna Haraway, When Species Meet (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008), 262- 263. 10 Graeme Turner, Understanding Celebrity (London: Sage Publications, 2004), 4-7. 11 Joshua Gamson, “The Assembly Line of Greatness: Celebrity in Twentieth-Century America,” in Stardom and Celebrity: A Reader, eds. Sean Redmond and Su Holmes, (Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2007), 149-153. 12 Image macros are photos onto which text has been superimposed for the purposes of creating a humorous and/or ironic joke. 254 13 Irving Rein, Philip Kotler, Martin Stoller, High Visibility: The Making and Marketing of Professionals into Celebrities (Chicago: NTC Business Books, 1997), 43-57. 14 Graeme Turner, Understanding Celebrity, 42, 83-84. 15 Henry Jenkins, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide (New York: New York University Press, 2006), 2-18. 16 P. David Marshall, “The promotion and presentation of the self: celebrity as marker of presentational media,” Celebrity Studies 1, no.1 (March 17, 2010): 38-41. 17 Approximately 23 million Facebook profiles are maintained for multispecies agents. A cat named Sockington commands over 1.4 million Twitter followers with feline themed phrases celebrating the short attention span while a small Pomeranian named Boo has over 5.4 million likes on his Facebook profile. Amanda Wills, “The 12 Most Popular Pets on the Web (WOOF)”, Mashable, November 7, 2012, http://Mashable.com. 18 Henry Jenkins, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green, Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture (New York: New York University Press, 2013), 11. 19 Memes can also take the form of items as diverse as songs, icons, clothing fashions, slogans, rules, traditions, and much more. Philip E.N. Howard, “Meme,” in Encyclopedia of New Media, ed. Steve Jones (Sage Publications Inc., 2003), 312-313. 20 Henry Jenkins, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green, Spreadable Media, 18-19. 21 Whitney Phillips, “In Defense of Memes”, 2010, http://spreadablemedia.org/essays/phillips. 22 Dwight Silverman, “Web photo phenomenon centers on felines, poor spelling,” Houston Chronicle, June, 5, 2007. One of the most iconic leetspeak phrases is “I’m in ur base, killin ur doodz”, utilized by gamers who have strategically captured an opponent’s stronghold and then proceed to gloat about it. This phrase became a common caption for cat image macros, assuming a variety of content but generally abiding by the syntactical formula of “I’m in ur X, Y-ing ur Z”. 23 Apart from the construct “I’m in ur X, Y-ing ur Z”, which has itself become its own meme, other captions can include any number of “incorrect” grammar and spelling mistakes (“It can be hugz tiem now plz?”, “hooman”(human) etc.) and the use of texting contractions (plz for please, ur for your). One of the most common tropes include the “invisible item” in which a cat can be seen, usually in midair, with a caption attached suggesting the reader use their imagination to complete the scene by substituting whatever invisible item is supposed to be present (invisible bike, invisible sandwich). Anil Dash “Cats Can Has Grammar”, April 23, 2007, http://dashes.com; Will Styler, “im in mai blog, postin' bout cats: The Cuteness of Grammatical errors”, February 7, 2007, http://linguisticmystic.com. 24 Aaron Rutkoff, “With ‘LOLcats’ Internet Fad, Anyone Can Get In on the Joke,” Wall Street Journal, August 25, 2007. 25 Amanda Wills, “The 12 Most Popular Pets on the Web (WOOF)”, Mashable, November 7, 2012, http://Mashable.com. 26 Janis Wiley Driscoll, “Attitudes toward Animals: Species Ratings,” Society and Animals 3, no.2, 147-148. 27 Russell W. Belk, “Metaphoric Relationships with Pets,” Society and Animals 4, no.2, 124-125. 28 “Maru”, accessed June 2013, http://Knowyourmeme.com; “Your morning adorable: YouTube star Maru the cat plays the tambourine with his tail,” L.A. Unleashed, March 30, 2010, http://latimesblogs.latimes.com. 29 Kathryn Price, “The Many Faces of Lil Bub, The Most Famous Cat on the Internet,” Bullet, October 18, 2012. 30 Brenner, “Yes, You Could Totally Meet Grumpy Cat at SXSW”. 31 Doug Barry, “Hollywood is All About the ‘Power Puss’ Right Now,” July 13, 2013, http://jezebel.com. 32 Sara Morrison, “Rise of the Hollywood Cats: Inside Grumpy Cat and Lil BUB’s Big Deals,” July 12, 2013, http://thewrap.com. 33 Henry Jenkins, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green, Spreadable Media, 48-49. 255 34 The Cheezburger Network expanded after its initial success with LOLcats to include broader content and now maintains the only online encyclopedic database of memes with Knowyourmeme.com. 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Creator Wolf, Kelly Megan (author)

Core Title Performance unleashed: multispecies stardom and companion animal media

School School of Cinematic Arts

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Cinema-Television (Critical Studies)

Publication Date 09/25/2013

Defense Date 09/13/2013

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag animal studies,celebrity,new media,OAI-PMH Harvest,stardom,television

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Lippit, Akira Mizuta (committee chair), Jenkins, Henry (committee member), McPherson, Tara (committee member)

Creator Email kellywol@usc.edu,wolfkm@mailbox.sc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-331191

Unique identifier UC11295298

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Legacy Identifier etd-WolfKellyM-2052.pdf

Dmrecord 331191

Document Type Dissertation

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Rights Wolf, Kelly Megan

Type texts

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