The Amazon is on fire. As we mourn the loss of these unique habitats and attempt to understand the complicated legal and economic ramifications of this devastation, it’s important to acknowledge the importance of this ecosystem, both ecologically and culturally. The Amazon has inspired a wave of pop culture moments that illuminate why it’s important.
A Big Snake and A Little Fish
Of the Amazon’s many fascinating creatures, few seem to have gripped the popular imagination as much as two of its allegedly ferocious denizens: the anaconda and the piranha. Both have inspired B movies that took liberties with the zoological facts.
Anaconda (1997) depicts the misadventures of a film crew who encounter an absurdly large anaconda with a taste for people. Although incidents in which boas have eaten humans have occurred, real-life anacondas are not the extremely aggressive monster shown in the movie. To be fair, the creature is supposed to be a Giant Anaconda, a cryptid whose existence has yet to be proven. Even so, in local mythology, the Giant Anaconda is a guardian of the Amazon, and so this cinematic representation could be interpreted as either…
