Fake Polar Bears

There has been a frenzy of fakery accusations flung at the BBC recently, largely from the Daily Mirror it should be added. The accusations are concerned with how the BBC’s Natural History Unit filmed an enchanting sequence of newly born polar bear cubs suckling their mother. This sequence was actually filmed in a zoo, yet it was intercut with footage of polar bears filmed in the wild.

Whilst this does take some of the legendary mystique away from the filmmakers, it does absolutely nothing to discredit the Frozen Planet series, or the BBC for than matter. Ultimately, the facts do not change; polar bears still have cubs in the wild as they do in a zoo. I challenge anyone who says that it is cheating or misleading, to film that very same scene in the wild (don’t, you’ll be eaten alive). The only reason the different footage was cut together in that sequence was to tell a nice and informative story for viewers, or for an ‘accurate narrative’ as the official line goes.

Yes, as filmmakers ourselves, we may be a bit lenient, but the accusations are quite frankly ridiculous. Us viewers do have some intelligence, and let it be known that we don’t want to have beautiful natural history programmes littered with legal clauses as we sit and view!