TOW #28 Ants: Nature's Secret Power

Driver ants live in colonies with a million individuals, and have reportedly killed people. Never mess with ants.

      Humans don't like to realize or admit it, but there are other creatures on this earth that rival our success and intelligence. Beyond simple communities, ants have been organizing super-organisms that are more prevalent and powerful than any human social construct. Ants: Nature's Secret Power tries to bring this unique and humbling viewpoint into vivid perspective. Incorporating Burt Hölldobler, colleague of world-renowned myrmecologist Edward Owens and one of the founders of Sociobiology, the film draws on the laboratory experiments and field observations of a world leading evolutionary biologist. In addition to the knowledge he provides, award-winning cameraman Wolfgang Thaler uses stunning macro cinematography to descend to the perspective of Earth's miniature world power. Recently, research on ants has become more popular, because understanding the hive mentality they use can help develop artificially intelligent software and understand animal eusociality. Ants, while comprising only 3% of Earth's diversity, make up 50% of all the biomass on the planet. They are fantastically successful and can live in tremendously large and organized colonies (the largest of which housed 306 million individuals, 1 million queens, and stretched over several hectares). They consume more meat than lions, tigers, and wolves combined, and have designed air conditioning, learned to garden, and tend farms of symbiotic insects. Created by the BBC, Ants: Nature's Secret Power is intended for all audiences with an interest in nature and without a broad biological knowledge. It has won critical acclaim and winner of "Best TV-Program and "Best Educational Value" at the International Wildlife Film Festival Missoula (USA).
     The film introduces an alien motif in order to show how foreign the lives of ants appear to be to us, and how different the world they rule is from our own. The purpose of the film is to show how complex and significant that unique world is, and to inform people about the ants societies that thrive unbeknownst to us. The first way that the documentary does this is with its narration style. The speaker is very slow and dramatic, which appeals to pathos and engenders feelings of awe and respect towards the ants busying themselves on the screen. Additionally, the music contributes heavily to the audio effects of the documentary. By using plucky, fast paced music, the documentary mimics the rapid movement and activity of the ants. Enhanced sound effects of scrabbling, cutting, and communicating ants enhances the tiny world far beyond what we can observe normally. The documentary makes the recurring point that ants live a scent and sound based existence.
     Additionally, the macro filming and pans down from our normal view of a forest into the massive world of ants further immerses us in the perspective of these insects. Unique views inside of dug up colonies and clear ant farms also engage and envelope the audience. The purpose of all of this is to give a dramatic view of the ants' world that is far different from the one we recognize. This creates respect and interest in the compelling information presented. Additionally, the contrast and colors in each scene are very attractive and make the scenes beautiful to watch. It is clear that it is filmed by an award-winning cameraman. Many of the scenes also take place in Hölldobler's laboratory and show various experiments. These are always shot with a clean, glowing white background to showcase the ants and give the impression of a sophisticated lab (perhaps like those envisioned on alien spacecraft to continue the motif).
     The information presented by the documentary is also selected and presented in order to intrigue and educate. Statistics such as the meat consumption figure stated above challenge our perspective of the animal kingdom and their superlative nature grabs the audience so that they listen to the ensuing explanation. They also force us to question what was said. I frequently thought to myself "Really? I don't believe that," and replaying sections to fully understand what the documentary had presented. Additionally, the documentary makes several comparisons and analogies comparing ants to a variety of human things. As they protect and eat food produced by aphids, the ants are described as farmers. When they forage for prey or attack bees, they become a vast war machine. Their burrows are described as metropolises. The documentary makes the point that ants are very intelligent and just as complex as people, and drives the point home by describing them with distinctly human terms.
     Overall, the documentary was phenomenal and very informative. I marveled the whole time at the vast world right under my nose, and will never again squash an ant for fear of a violent uprising.