Monólogo Colectivo

In his essay Why do we look at animals?, John Berger states that zoos are "monuments to the impossibility of encounter" between human and non-human species: the epitaph of a relationship. After centuries during which their very existence was disputed, they were transformed into conservation and rescue centers. Monólogo colectivo is an up-close portrait of a community of caregivers who entangle their lives with those of the animals, a secret union guided by devotion. Caring means opening up the senses, abandoning the primacy of sight and hearing, activating touch and smell. Animals put human stability under stress and the mystery of their gaze is not revealed by the camera trap. What bonds can we make with non-human species? Can we think like them? Perhaps it is not about understanding them, but rather of imagining other poetics (and politics) of attention. (PB)