Someone on a podcast was admonishing Tiger King for being fluff and not having a real message or a thesis. Dear reader...no! 1/

Tiger King is a thesis on gender and class in America, specifically white middle America, and how patriarchy and desire for capital by white people is inherently violent towards the natural world. 2/

Take Joe, the rejection of his sexuality by his father sets him down a path of extreme toxic masculinity. He desperately and frantically seeks ownership over masculine symbols - from tigers to str8 men. If he can own it, he is master of it. 3/

Joe himself represents the trumpist coalition of the so-called white working class. His class signifiers of mullet/tattoo “trailer trash” and accompanying resentment makes him distasteful to Carole and to the audience who is likely a woke left privileged class themselves 4/

Then you have Doc Antle, who seeks less to “own” (though that is certainly present) but to dominate and control in a spiritual sense. He isn’t master, he is patriarchal God himself. Seeing himself as all knowing and a liberator of wildness and women specifically 5/

Doc Antle represents capital and its cult. He’s got a smooth operation. He subscribes to a comprehensive ideology around his work that (cheaply) spiritualizes the production and consumption of these animals. he is at once symbolically “left” of Carole , and “right” of Joe 6/

Carol, for me is a fascinating study on what happens when the feminine attempts to reach for patriarchal power. Joe and his cronies seek to punish her for trying to grasp at these masculine symbols. They see her as a great threat to their power and way of life. 7/

In her attempt to achieve patriarchal power, she must turn to violence herself. There is no way down the patriarchal power path that does not inflict harm - particularly on the natural world. 8/

But Carol is your typical performative suburban liberal. She preaches a message of peace and passivity while glossing over and even denying the violence that put her in a place of privilege to begin with. She’s the
petite bourgeoisie. 9/

Related: Saff (the zoo employee who had his arm bit off) is a trans man, who was misgendered throughout the entire show. 10/

There’s a whole lot more to uncover and think about here. These musings hardly scratch the surface really. This thread was a collaborative effort with @TallBeardedBaby who is actually smarter than I could ever hope to be. 11/11