Facility president shares her love for apes in anthropology lecture

David Schub/Roundup dschub.roundupnews@gmail.com

Speaking to a packed classroom at Pierce College Nov. 19, Lauren Arenson, Ph.D., passionately shared her experiences of what it is like to work with gibbons–small bodied apes–at the Gibbon Conservation Center in Saugus, Calif. and how important it is to protect them from extinction.

Organized by anthropology professor Bruce M. Rowe and sponsored by the Anthropology and Geographical Sciences Departments, Pierce hosted its second Anthropology Lecture of the 2012-13 academic year.

“With a gibbon’s loud voice echoing throughout the center during the early morning and night hours, it is anything but quiet here but this is my moment of Zen,” Arenson said. “I feel at peace here.”

Gibbons are extremely vocal, especially if they feel threatened, and their sounds can be heard up to two miles, according to Arenson.

When one starts up, it creates a domino effect within the rest of the group.

Arenson continued the presentation about Goliath, a gibbon who was born this year, his mom, Chloe and dad, Medina.

Goliath was born premature and underweight; if the volunteers had not taken him to a veterinarian, he would have died within a couple hours.

Chloe sensed what was happening and reluctantly gave up her baby to let the humans do what was needed to give him the necessary care.

After returning to the center, Goliath was not allowed to see Chloe yet for several months, but held onto a blue teddy bear for a sense of security and took it wherever he went.

He was recently introduced back to his mother and weened off a milk bottle that volunteers were using to feed him with the nutrients he was not getting from Chloe.

He finally gave up his blue teddy bear and is getting stronger as he has a variety of ropes to jump from inside his enclosure.

With approximately 17 species of gibbons in the wild, the population is declining due to the destruction of rain forests.

Thirty-two acres of rain forest are being destroyed every minute by loggers and miners, according to Arenson.

Their natural habitats are being ripped out and being replaced by high income crops such as the palm oil trees.

With the bare land providing little cover, they are either being eaten by predators or shot by farmers.

“This destruction has to be stopped,” Arenson said. “We are the ambassadors to these animals and need to be educated on how to stop the destruction.” in our culture? The point the Philosophy Club was trying to make during this event is that censorship skews the perceptions that our society has of right and wrong.

There are approximately 40 gibbons and only four paid employees at the Conservation Center.

As a nonprofit organization, the center relies highly on volunteers to donate their time to take care of these animals and keep the center prosperous.

To visit Goliath, Chloe, Medina, Ivan (Goliath’s grandfather) and other gibbons at the center or to learn about volunteering find the center on Facebook or call them at (661) 296-2737.

The documentary goes deep undercover to expose the MPAA as the extension of an entertainment industry, in cahoots with major conglomerations, that propagates sexism and inequality in a misogynistic society.

Awards and Nominations

Best Documentary (2007)

According to the film, 6 major corporations control 90 percent of media. Predominantly patriarchal, these corporations mold their ideology into forms of movies, music, and television. In effect, women are rarely shown as having any value unless they express forms of erotic prowess and conformity to a male dominated culture.

Austin Film Critics Award - Won

Best Documentary Feature (2007)

Critics Choice Award - Nominated

Best Documentary (2007)

Chlotrudis Award - Won Outstanding Documentary (2007)

GLAAD Media Award - Nominated

The general consensus among people is that censorship is a useful service. Most parents won’t disagree with restricting their kids from watching obscene material. But when examining the MPAA a front stage performance contradicts what happens behind the curtains.

Best Documentary (2007)

Golden Trailer - Won Source: http://imdb.com

Is it right that movies with blood-letting violence, decapitations and degrading feminine promiscuity get rated R but if a woman orgasms too long during genuine lovemaking it is deemed NS-17?

Such is the rating system of the MPAA when they reviewed Sin City and The Cooler.

Why is violence glorified and sex demonized

“Violence against women should be at the top of the list of egregious offenses,” said sociology professor Robert Wosner.

In the opinion of director Kevin Smith, scenes were women are raped and demeaned should rank above violence which isn’t the case with current industry standards.

“Onscreen sex is violent and male dominated. I haven’t seen a female orgasm until I saw a French film”, said Tista Morgan, philosophy major and co-president of the club that sponsored the screening,

In an industry focused on consumerism morality and ethical conduct fall by the wayside.

Violence and promiscuity sells. How about genuine pleasure and realistic emotion?

“By portraying women in a misogynistic way we are creating a society of women who are willing to be victimized, who almost think it is the norm,” Morgan