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“Never work with children or animals” is an adage that has plagued the film industry long before modern film techniques began to displace real kids or pets. However, nothing ever really feels that conventional when Neil Young is involved, who seems to have a heart filled with more rustic and folklore-inspired tendencies than most western movie actors.
Musically, Young has a lot in common with the kind of solitary ruggedness often found in the themes and aesthetics of the Western genre. However, none of it is a farse; he also lives very much by the standards he set himself, enjoying his own personal space and organic musical approach. He also prefers traditional musical techniques and regards most modern technology as one sure way to kill creativity.
On top of this, Young is also one of the biggest animal lovers you could probably ever come across. In his memoir A Memoir of Life & Cars—which he allegedly almost named A Memoir of Cars and Dogs—he discusses many of his current and past dogs, a trait he also allows to bleed over into his music, proving that he loves his canine friends and often views them as human equals.
Living the way he does—mostly in solitary out in areas with quick access to fields, lakes, and other idyllic views and walks—Young appreciates being close to nature and animals, knowing that they bring a lot more peace and perspective to his life than most human counterparts ever could. Incidentally, these are themes also echoed in Dances With Wolves, particularly with the idea of understanding the rugged surrounding landscape and the animals that permeate the space, similar to the meticulous life Young has created.
One of the main messages of Dances With Wolves is respecting nature and animals and finding connections with them. The buffalo also play a crucial role in representing cultural connection and resilience, later symbolising the dichotomy between those who understand their deeper importance and others who see them merely as objects to hurt or exploit.
One of the animals belonged to Young, but getting the animal in line as quickly as the others was a difficult challenge, according to Kevin Costner, who decided it was the perfect opportunity to stir something up on set. Discussing the experience with Yahoo Entertainment, he described Young’s buffalo as “paranoid.” He said: “He didn’t like being in a herd with the other buffalo because he wasn’t raised with buffalo.”
Continuing, “So wherever I saw him in the herd, I went and chased him. Now he’s really flipped out — he’s with buffalo he doesn’t want to be with, and one guy, in particular, me, keeps chasing him. So if he wasn’t paranoid before he got there, he was paranoid after.” Young advised Costner to bring out some Oreos, which the musician said always worked, to calm the animal down and do what he was supposed to do.
While it took a while to get the buffalo to play along, the scenes in the movie featuring Young’s beloved pet ultimately captured the serene, poignant message Costner envisioned from the start.
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