I often think that this little Academy Award-winning documentary may be the best example of how you can create an outright lie and have it embedded permanently in the popular psyche:
There may be better examples but I can’t think of one.
This film is where the idea came from that lemmings periodically throw themselves into the sea and drown. It was, it turns out, completely manufactured. Lemmings simply do not do this.
What you’re witnessing here is footage of lemmings being pushed and thrown off a cliff and into the sea by a Disney documentary crew. That is footage of dozens (hundreds?) of lemmings being rather cruelly killed.
Yet it’s ironic, even when you know it’s a lie it’s hard to deny the power of the lemming myth. I still use the metaphor, even knowing it’s bull poop.
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I think “The Hockey Stick” might give the lemmings a run for the money.
Best comment so far, from my friend Paul Fallon:
“One day one of those furry little bastards WILL fly and I hope you’re around to apologize.”
Ha!
But you know, flying squirrels had to evolve from SOMETHING…..
Not sure I buy that, Dean. I don’t think you could quite fake that. I saw one jump of his own free lemming will at 1:45 of the video.
What I don’t get is what possible motive they would have to create such a myth. Unless they were there to film an already established myth and when the lemmings wouldn’t cooperate, they helped them. But if that were the case, what was the basis for the original myth ?
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