Virus of appearance
No one doubts that nowadays we live in the triumph of appearance. Junk TV and social media are the ideal stages for this kind of "fame", a celebrity who has the sole merit of having been able to seize the right moment and the right place to show himself, doing something sensational and out of the ordinary, perhaps even just due to the stupidity and irrationality of the idea... which perhaps turns out to be a winner. It follows that we are full of "empty pumpkins" circulating on the web, social media and flat screens, which are admired and envied as if they were Nobel Prize winners. Not even our passion is spared from this cultural climate. The virus of appearance at any cost has in fact also infected some of the hunters, citizens among other citizens who, for this reason, do not escape the laws that govern our society. The difference compared to times past is that currently the exhibition of the game bag (because this is what we want to briefly discuss) is done via social media and, therefore, with an unprecedented breadth of impact. Smartphones and various devices that allow access to the web are now in the hands of everyone.
The masters of the lens
Their goodness or otherwise depends exclusively on the use we make of them. The desire that seems to permeate some hunters, to publish photographs or films with rich tableaux, is evident to everyone. However, photography, even in this historical period, in which anyone can boast of being a master of the lens thanks to electronic instruments that do (almost) everything by themselves, still remains an art. Therefore, not only do we happen to witness publications of photos of game bags that are too abundant or with little regard to the species portrayed compared to the moment in which they were hunted, but also in which the wild animals killed are treated in an unworthy manner: unworthy of themselves, sacrificed on the altar of our passion. Animals piled up indiscriminately, like poorly made piles of wood; birds stiffened in unnatural positions by rigor mortis, disheveled so much that it is not clear where the head and tail are, thrown sprawled on the living room table or on the hood of the car; wild boars piled up in trailer boxes (in spite of respect for biosecurity, which is fundamental in the PSA era) and so on.
Fierce criticism
All this is disrespectful and foolish, exposing the entire category to fierce criticism from the usual suspects, as well as alienating possible sympathies that would come from the large group of those indifferent to hunting, that is, those of our fellow citizens who are not against it but who could become so, also for these reasons. This doesn't mean that all hunters aren't respectful, far from it. The problem is that the respectful, the ethical, the ones not infected by the desire to appear, actually don't appear because they don't publish. Let's go further. The crux of the problem is not the publication of photos of game bags itself, but rather the methods of shooting with the aim of publication. The essence and ethics of the good hunter, much more than the killing of many animals, are measured by fairness towards wild animals, before and after the harvest. An attitude which, therefore, is also found in the way in which each of us treats and portrays the specimens resulting from hunting. What does it take to show care for each of them?
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Ethics and aesthetics
It is enough to arrange the individual subjects in natural positions, distinct from each other, with composed plumage if they are birds, or avoiding random clusters if they are ungulates or leporids. We shy away from large crowds. Let's choose a nice background or a nice context. Let's put together some elements that compose a picture that arouses fascination, not repugnance. Carcasses are lifeless by definition, but not of their external appearance and the symbolic value of what they represented in life, therefore they demand respect. They are not simple masses of feathers, fur and flesh to be treated carelessly because they make up the numbers: anyone who thinks this way would be better off giving up the hunt. At the end of the hunting action, if it is successful, the blood of the wild animal is shed. Which is why, when taking a photograph or shooting a video, all these elements must be sublimated in attention to an aspect that is, at the same time, ethical and aesthetic. We are only talking about photographs and videos of hunted game which, however, precisely because we live in the cult of image and appearance, take on greater relevance, since there are so many eyes watching. We prevent ourselves from going beyond certain limits. It won't be a few fewer "likes" from shooters that will diminish the genuineness and strength of our hunting passion, as well as our authentic value as hunters... on the contrary. Good luck! (source: ANUUMigratoristi)
