# Dogs are gods in the movies. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 25, 2006, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-are-gods-in-the-movies/385551 "2006-12-25T20:43:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-are-gods-in-the-movies/385551/1 "2006-12-25T20:43:17Z")
Based on one of Roger Ebert’s movie laws: > [@](#): > > Divine Dog Syndrome: In movies humans are violently killed with > impunity, but dogs are never killed. Thus an alien race studying > humans would conclude that dogs are gods.(Paul Cassel) I remember \*Independence Day \* had one of those god dogs. Usually a movie that has a dog dying does not do good at the box office (_Mars Attrac_ts) However, \*A Fish called Wanda \* managed to kill 3 doggies and still proved to be successful. Any more examples in favor or against the law? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-are-gods-in-the-movies/385551/2 "2006-12-25T20:59:40Z")
Against: _Old Yeller_. _Where the Red Fern Grows_. _Tango and Cash_. For: _Babe: Pig in the City_ ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-are-gods-in-the-movies/385551/3 "2006-12-25T21:06:10Z")
They killed a dog in Mad Max but the movie has achieved a pretty good cult following. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-are-gods-in-the-movies/385551/4 "2006-12-25T21:19:12Z")
_Old Yeller. Where the Red Fern Grows Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior_ All these movies portrayed the death of the dog in very melodramatic terms. _The 25th Hour_: the dog, left to die is rescued by the protagonist, establishing him as a saintly character. Are there any other films where the protagonist establishes himself as a saint or redeems his moral failings by rescuing a dying dog? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-are-gods-in-the-movies/385551/5 "2006-12-25T21:29:58Z")
I just remembered the interesting “against” case of the classic British WWII movie _The Damm Busters_ (1954), there is a dog that dies foreshadowing the death of several members of the team. In America all the scenes mentioning the dog’s name were dubbed into “Trigger” because the black dog was called “Nigger”! ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-are-gods-in-the-movies/385551/6 "2006-12-25T21:33:17Z")
Something else about dogs in movies - they can see into men’s souls. If any character is evil but prentending to be good, even if all the humans are fooled, the dog always “knows” and hates that person. Nothing evil person can do will change the dog’s mind either. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-are-gods-in-the-movies/385551/7 "2006-12-25T21:33:34Z")
There was exactly one good scene in _Jurassic Park II_. When the T-rex first starts stomping around a suburb somewhere, a dog chained to his dog house sees it and spazzes out, barking it’s little head off. Cut to the owner of the house, on the second story, going to the window to see what the dog is barking at, only to be met by the T-rex’s enormous head looking back at him, with a dog house dangling from its mouth by a chain. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-are-gods-in-the-movies/385551/8 "2006-12-25T21:42:33Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] There was exactly one good scene in _Jurassic Park II_. When the T-rex first starts stomping around a suburb somewhere, a dog chained to his dog house sees it and spazzes out, barking it’s little head off. Cut to the owner of the house, on the second story, going to the window to see what the dog is barking at, only to be met by the T-rex’s enormous head looking back at him, with a dog house dangling from its mouth by a chain. [/QUOTE] Funny thing is that it was a pit bull…[sarcasm]you know, the evil monster dogs that eat children[/sarcasm]. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-are-gods-in-the-movies/385551/9 "2006-12-25T22:09:28Z")
[QUOTE=GIGObuster] Based on one of Roger Ebert’s movie laws: > [@](#): > > Divine Dog Syndrome: In movies humans are violently killed with > impunity, but dogs are never killed. Thus an alien race studying > humans would conclude that dogs are gods.(Paul Cassel) I remember \*Independence Day \* had one of those god dogs. Usually a movie that has a dog dying does not do good at the box office (_Mars Attrac_ts) However, \*A Fish called Wanda \* managed to kill 3 doggies and still proved to be successful. Any more examples in favor or against the law? [/QUOTE] That’s why I worship the [Puppygod.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7509237&postcount=34)😃 ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-are-gods-in-the-movies/385551/10 "2006-12-25T22:11:02Z")
Against: _Snakes on a Plane_ ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-are-gods-in-the-movies/385551/11 "2006-12-25T22:17:52Z")
[QUOTE=JThunder] Against: _Snakes on a Plane_ [/QUOTE] Yes, but the man who fed the dog to the snake got killed. Retribution? Definitely. And of course dogs are gods. After all, all dogs go to heaven. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-are-gods-in-the-movies/385551/12 "2006-12-25T22:39:09Z")
[QUOTE=mobo85] After all, all dogs go to heaven. [/QUOTE] Wayne Campbell: Pshaw. Right. Garth: As _if_. [Earlier thread on unkillable movie babies.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=386207) ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-are-gods-in-the-movies/385551/13 "2006-12-25T22:45:11Z")
[QUOTE=Eyebrows 0f Doom] That’s why I worship the [Puppygod.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7509237&postcount=34)😃 [/QUOTE] Heh, I thought it was going to be a reference as to why planet Pupulon escaped destruction: [![](https://pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF083AD-Executive_Decision.jpg) ](https://pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF083AD-Executive_Decision.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-are-gods-in-the-movies/385551/14 "2006-12-26T01:04:06Z")
_Terminator 2_, if you count the deleted scene where it happened. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-are-gods-in-the-movies/385551/15 "2006-12-26T02:21:08Z")
> [@](#): > > Divine Dog Syndrome: In movies humans are violently killed with > impunity, but dogs are never killed. _Thus an alien race studying > humans would conclude that dogs are gods_.(Paul Cassel) As portrayed in **Battlefield Earth**. Dog avoids death, but movie flopped: **Shark Attack 3**. Dog stays out of the water while his master become chum. Dog killed, but movie successful: **Rear Window**. Did fine at the box office. **Cujo** ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-are-gods-in-the-movies/385551/16 "2006-12-26T02:53:27Z")
Turner and Hooch. The dog died in that one. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-are-gods-in-the-movies/385551/17 "2006-12-26T05:11:48Z")
I just noticed: It was not \*Mars Attracts \* but _Mars Attacks_! Ack! :smack: The scene of the dog burning was in the original card collection the movie was based on. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-are-gods-in-the-movies/385551/18 "2006-12-26T05:14:04Z")
[QUOTE=Baker] Turner and Hooch. The dog died in that one. [/QUOTE] But the dog wasn’t _just_ a dog. He was the _co-star._ ---
**Author:** ![Foldup\_Rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Foldup\_Rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foldup_Rabbit)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-are-gods-in-the-movies/385551/19 "2006-12-26T09:55:37Z")
A dog died… and then didn’t die… and then died… in _The Butterfly Effect_. Pretty violently, if I remember rightly. But it was so hard to keep track, so who knows. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-are-gods-in-the-movies/385551/20 "2006-12-26T10:16:55Z")
Uh, how couldn’t anyone have mentioned \John Carpenter’s The Thing?\ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-are-gods-in-the-movies/385551.md?page=2)