In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing.”
606. “Why Do We Love Watching Animal Videos So Much?”
It’s confusing. I don’t know why we love watching them, for many reasons? I don’t know why people upload them, to share?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J—aiyznGQ
Keyboard cat is often on my mind. Why? It’s odd, and borderline animal torture. But watching a cat possessed by the groove is too good to pass up. We watch.
The kitty doesn’t even have to be real to hypnotize us.
There is, as with most YouTube memes, a ten hour version of this.
The animals don’t even have to be cute.
Wtf, you’re probably thinking. I know. I know. It gets worse. Did anyone else watch Happy Tree Friends?
Animals have nightmares too.
Silly. Sometimes awesome.
Sad, animals can be sad.
Sometimes we watch animal videos to remember how brutal we are.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY1rxuFTmu0
Sometimes we watch animal videos to remember how gross we are, and creative.
Or how beautiful we are, can be.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTcw012d2ag
Why do we watch videos?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN3FKTlbD5w
I appreciate the dramatic variety of animal videos. All alluring, but for different reasons. Reasons that you guide the reader to notice. I also love the questions in the beginning because they highlight a sense of sophistication in humans and more primitive mindset in animals. Which is what makes a cat on a keyboard so hypnotic. But what stood out for me is the anthropomorphism; how you gradually show the animals exhibiting emotions and actions that are very real in the life of a human. Very cool. Love your writing!
your love of animals is apparent, not just from your real life actions, but through your insight here 🙂 thank you for taking the time to peruse