Bigfoot and the media

Although the media was using Patterson and Gimlin’s discovery to launch new movies and TV shows, Bigfoot’s credibility became less and less believable. After the media released so many movies, mocking and dramatizing the creature, every time “Bigfoot” was mentioned, people laughed. Soon enough, Bigfoot was being less represented by the credible Patterson-Gimlin film and more represented by the inaccurate media image being portrayed in many movies and shows. For years after the release of the two movies, Bigfoot maintained a comedic image. It wasn’t until recently, that the public began to see the creature as a real animal. On May 11, 2011, the animal planet show, “Finding Bigfoot” premiered. The show follows a small team of Bigfoot researchers as they gather eye witness reports, physical evidence, and vocal recordings of the creature’s howls. Because of the seemingly credible eye witness reports, the show became the most popular on animal planet. It seemed that people started to believe in Bigfoot again. After several seasons, one of the most credible episodes premiered. The team of researches traveled to Northern China, where they visited a temple that housed the scalp and hand of a “Yeren”, the Chinese version of a Bigfoot. This new evidence was a breakthrough for the Bigfoot community, and soon after scientists began examining evidence again.
                Several theories started to arise as to what the creature was. Some scientists believe it to be a decedent of the once existing giant ape, “Gigantopithecus.” Most believe that Bigfoot is an early species of human because of bones found in Russia of a ten foot tall, broad, hairy, early human named “Homo-Heidleberguensis.” As for the public, the theories are split. Because of the numerous cheesy TV shows that have copied off of “Finding Bigfoot”, as well as the lack of physical evidence found, you can say that the public’s views are split very evenly. Half are scared by the idea of a ten foot tall, early human, wandering around their backyard. Accounts of unexplained mutilated cows and dogs along with the terrifying representation of the creature in, “The legend of Boggy Creek” has given some people an image of a “monster”. Those are the people who tend to block out the possibility of such a thing existing. As for some, including myself, the idea of Bigfoot being a prehistoric human is captivating. To think that a part of history, something we thought went extinct millions of years ago, is still roaming the earth today. A giant human, covered in hair, that could possibly have a language, or skills to make fire could be hunting the same deer that I do. Until we find DNA evidence, we will never convince the disbelievers. For now, it doesn’t have a scientific name. Let’s call it, Bigfoot. Ian McTaggert-Cowen, a leading zoologist once said, “The more a thing deviates from the known, the better the proof of its existence must be.”

Bigfoot!: The True Story of Apes in America. New York: Paraview Pocket, 2003. Print.
​Meldrum, Jeff. Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science. New York: Forge, 2006. Print.
•Coleman, Loren. Bigfoot!: The True Story of Apes in America. New York: Paraview Pocket, 2003. Print.
•Meldrum, Jeff. Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science. New York: Forge, 2006. Print.
•National Geographic Animals 2014 Bigfoot The Definitive Guide Full Documentary. Youtube, n.d. 5 Aug. 2014. Web. 16 Dec. 2014. <http://youtu.be/UyBGsTDMRHw>.
•Roger Patterson Bigfoot Footage. YouTube, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2014. <http://youtu.be/lOxuRIfFs0w>.