why does the old birdlady say: birds of the FIVE continents?
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zyggums — 13 years ago(July 18, 2012 03:03 PM)
no you both are wrong. totally. I had to research it myself because everyone here gave outlandish and unsatisfactory answers. According to my own research there were only 5 continents PRIOR TO THE PANAMA CANAL. North and South America joined as one.
This still dosnt answer why the bird expert lady thinks there are birds on only 5 continents, assuming that north and south america were 1, it would leave 6 continents for birds to exist in. so its still unanswered.
"eurasia" has never been a continent. its a term like for a region like "central america" or "middle-east".
The bird lady was an EXPERT, dishing out her knowledge. Of course she was aware of penguin habitat. -
Yorke71 — 13 years ago(July 19, 2012 07:05 AM)
no you both are wrong. totally.
Actually we are all right, or wrong, depending on your point of view. According to Wikipedia there are several systems of numbering the continents, resulting in anywhere from 4 to 7. Some people combine North and South America into one, others combine Europe and Asia, and some people go so far as to combine Europe, Asia and Africa into one!
So there are two ways to explain her statement. There is a five continent model that combines North and South America into one, and Europe and Asia into another. That leaves 5 including Antarctica. Or, she may have just combined North and South America (or Europe and Asia) and ignored the penguins in Antarctica since they are flightless. After all, she may be a bird expert but the script writers probably weren't.
Here is the article, scroll down to the "Number of Continents" section with the chart.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continent -
zyggums — 13 years ago(July 19, 2012 11:04 AM)
ok i clicked on the link you provided. this is what it says:
The seven-continent model is usually taught in China, India and most English-speaking countries
so the lady was.. NOT a bird expert and was also taught geography outside of the english speaking world. This is the explanation? -
Yorke71 — 13 years ago(July 19, 2012 03:14 PM)
ok i clicked on the link you provided. this is what it says:
The seven-continent model is usually taught in China, India and most English-speaking countries
so the lady was.. NOT a bird expert and was also taught geography outside of the english speaking world. This is the explanation?
Just because the seven-continent model is
usually
taught in English-speaking countries doesn't mean it is universally used by English-speaking people. The first reference for the five-continent model is from
The Columbia Encyclopedia. 2001. New York: Columbia University Press - Bartleby.
, obviously an English-language reference. So why is it so hard to believe that the "Bird lady" would use it? -
lexyladyjax — 13 years ago(August 12, 2012 09:08 AM)
Asia and India are more usually considered to be sub-continents. They aren't always counted separately. That's the answer to your original question without snark. It's more of a political separation to count them separately.
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Badgerman68 — 13 years ago(September 05, 2012 02:25 PM)
Until the late 1960s the standard teaching was that there were five continents: Africa, America, Asia, Australia and Europe. So there is nothing to question about a character saying it in a film made in 1963.
Most of Europe still teaches a six continent system of Africa, Antarctica, America, Asia, Australia/Oceania and Europe. A lot of geographers also use a six continent system of Africa, Antarctica, Australia/Oceania, Eurasia, North America, and South America.
Seven continents is still not universally accepted and it definitely wasn't when the film was made. -
cristola — 13 years ago(September 15, 2012 08:21 PM)
When I went to school in Europe in the 1980s for a year, they were flabbergasted that I listed 7 continents. They teach Europe, the Americas, Africa, Antarctica, and Oceania (Australia and all of the South Pacific islands). This is also the rationale for the 5 Olympic ringsone for each continent of the world.
I protested that ther are 2 Americas, that 40 miles doesn't count and they said, yes it does, they touch! Then I said how Europe and Asia touch and they said, well, that's different. -
wtl471629 — 13 years ago(September 21, 2012 12:04 PM)
Maybe she didn't count Anartica because even though it has some birds it doesn't have many like other continents. Then maybe Europe and Asia were combined as they sometimes were which made it EuroAsia which would make 5 being North America, South America, Africa, Australia and EuroAsia.
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ecarle — 13 years ago(September 24, 2012 05:32 AM)
This is a very erudite, educational, and well-reasoned thread to read!
"The Birds" isn't known for having one of the better screenplays in Hitchcock, despite its being written by respected novelist Evan Hunter.
But I would expect that Evan had to put some research into the bird lady's detailed and scientific orinthological speech and likely copied that "five continents" reference from whatever research materials he used.
I would note that Hitchcock would often call up the research department of whatever studio he was working at to inundate his writers with books and articles about technical topics taken up, however, briefly, in a Hitchcock film. Psychology, cultures(such as Muslim in "The Man Who Knew Too Much 2"'s Morocco), nuclear science(Torn Curtain), even the history of SONGS. -
ebright99 — 13 years ago(November 06, 2012 11:05 AM)
Why does the olympic flag have five rings?
"The Olympic flag has a white background, with five interlaced rings in the centre: blue, yellow, black, green and red. This design is symbolic; it represents the five continents of the world, united by Olympism." Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympics (1931)
Back in the day it was taught that there were 5 continents. Things were sometimes taught differently in the past. -
scottythefield — 13 years ago(January 04, 2013 11:18 AM)
Why is this a big deal, anyways? So the screenwriter mistakenly or consciously neglected Australia and Antarctica. The fact that Mrs. Bundy used the words "ALL five continents" and not "five of the world's continents" gets her basic message across. Birds are everywhere!