Animal Underworld

I spent the last couple of hours watching the 3 episodes of Nat Geo Wild’s ‘Animal Underworld’ hosted by Henry Rollins. I will watch of listen to pretty much anything Henry does. I have a great respect for him as a person and as a worker in the film and television and music industries. Not to say I always like or agree with everything he has to say, but I generally do.

This series deals with some of the out of the ordinary ways we, as humans interact with animals. Some positive, some negative, some disturbing. The topics range from alligator wrestling, people who keep dangerous/venomous pets, worship of animals, eating of animals that aren’t considered normal, and the use of animals as medicine.

I enjoyed the series, although I was a little disturbed by a few of the segments and I have heard of others that are unhappy with Rollins for taking part in a wild hog hunt and some of the other things he did on the show. I tend to defend Henry and say that he is always looking to learn more about the world we live and the people that inhabit it and as he says ‘knowledge without mileage is bullshit’.

These things do happen in our world and just because it doesn’t fit with your lifestyle or world view doesn’t necessarily mean if doesn’t have some value in trying to figure it out or understand it better and sometimes the way to do that is to experience it.

Give the series a look if it sounds like something you might like, I found it On Demand on Comcast.