THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE CHICKEN
Mark Lewis, USA, 2000 Saturday 16 June 2007 9pm-9.55pm
The chicken, generally regarded as dinner, is offered a chance to proudly strut its stuff in this unusual documentary about the birds and the people who love them. Watch Mark Lewis introduce a clip
STORYVILLE
What's on this week and features on previous films
British Poultry Council
Trade association for poultry producers, with farming facts and links
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Nick Fraser
Storyville Series Editor
For many years, Mark Lewis has developed his own style of filmmaking about animal subjects. He seems to insist that there is no such thing as nature any more - only what human beings make of their (personally owned) animal kingdom.
One of his masterpieces traced the story of the Australian cane toad. In The Natural History of the Chicken he turns his attention to the appalling circumstances in which chickens live - and the insults piled on those feathered friends of ours by the kitsch that surrounds the image of the chicken in popular culture.
I hope Mark Lewis lives forever, and I hope he goes on making films to confound the clichés we hold about animals. Even as we eat them.
