Marley & Me - The movie

spoke volumes about the unique friendship between humans and dogs through the story of a impossibly mischievous labrador retriever and how it gained the unconditional love of its owner through time. The story depicts the life of the dog starting from its days as a puppy till the very last moment of its life, when it was too old and sick that it had to be put down. 

The labrador retriever, Marley was impossibly mischievous and destructive as a puppy and even as a dog, it continued to create havoc in the house. Despite so, it managed to stay in the family from one that consisted of only 2 to 5 members in the family when it breathed its last breath. The movie showed that through compromise, unconditional love and respect, one can indeed find a friend if not part of the family in a dog.

The movie is a real tear jerker for dog lovers and also teaches dog owners about the unconditional love shared between humans and dogs. Hopefully the movie had successfully communicated the idea of animal love and ownership responsibility, and not be inducing yet another bout of irresponsible and irrational labrador retriever puppy purchasing craze among the public after they watched the movie. It is observed that movies showcasing animals more often than not do indeed induce such impulsive pet purchases, resulting in irresponsible animal breeding to feed the sudden and overwhelming demand for the specific animal shown in the movie. It then lead to these pets being deserted and put to sleep, when their owners grow out of the craze or decided that the responsibility was too great for them to handle

Thus, movies makers play a big role in communicating the right values to the public. This is because the audience is more receptive to the intended message when it is transmitted through subtle cues weaved within the medium such as movie's plot as compared to a upfront and direct message flashed across saying 'love your dog no matter what' or 'dogs are friends for life'. By learning and stumbling across the message themselves through the story line of the movie, a deeper impression and impact is made. It is thus the responsibility of movie makers, especially those of animal movies, to take on a positive and morally correct point of view when depicting their stories.