A Tale As Old As Time
Apologies in advance to this young lad, but I turned to ChatGPT to explain what's happening here:
TITLE: Urban Wild: The Teenage Courtship Display
NARRATOR: Sir David Attenborough
SETTING: Horse race, Ireland – late afternoon
[EXT. PUBLIC EVENT SPACE – LATE AFTERNOON]
Golden sunlight bathes the racecourse grounds. Throngs of people mill about, enjoying their refreshments, laughing, placing bets on the next race, scheduled within a few minutes. A distant voice on the PA system can be heard, announcing the results of the previous competition…
NARRATOR (V.O.)
Here, in the temperate wilds of rural Ireland, we encounter a remarkable display — a rarely observed ritual that echoes the great mating dances of the animal kingdom.
From behind a row of wheelie bins, a pale, thin teenage male emerges. His movements are stiff, calculated, like a young gazelle on unfamiliar terrain.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
Emerging from concealment, Homo adolescentis irlandicus — a pale, slender young male — makes his tentative approach. Clad in a striking cyan shirt and low-hanging trousers that reveal the waistband of his boxer shorts, he is resplendent in the plumage of his kind.
Two similarly aged females stand near the beer tent, scrolling casually on their phones. Their expressions are unreadable.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
His targets: two females of his cohort, radiant in their teenage regalia. Their hair perfectly straightened, their stance poised — passive, but alert.
The boy suddenly stops, takes a deep breath, and raises both arms to flex. His shirt lifts, exposing sweat-darkened underarms. A faint breeze carries the scent.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
And now... the display begins.
The camera zooms in dramatically on the flexed arms and the sweat stains beneath them.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
With a flourish, he reveals his upper limbs — a demonstration of vitality and, perhaps, a mild dehydration. The underarm stains, dark and circular, act as visual and olfactory signals, not unlike the scent glands of a lemur.
The girls glance at each other. One smirks. The other raises an eyebrow. Their response is subtle, but definitive.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
Like the inflating throat sac of a tree frog or the puffed chest of a manakin, this is a bold attempt at attraction. But the outcome remains uncertain.
A long pause. The boy lowers his arms. He scratches his head and begins to back away slowly, dignity mostly intact.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
In the endlessly complex dynamics of human courtship, success is elusive. Yet for this young male, the performance itself is a rite of passage — a moment of growth, vulnerability, and, most of all… sweat.
[FADE OUT. MUSIC SWELLS GENTLY.]
TITLE CARD: Urban Wild: The Teenage Courtship Display
PRODUCED BY: BBC Natural World Unit
NARRATED BY: Sir David Attenborough
A Tale As Old As Time
Apologies in advance to this young lad, but I turned to ChatGPT to explain what's happening here:
TITLE: Urban Wild: The Teenage Courtship Display
NARRATOR: Sir David Attenborough
SETTING: Horse race, Ireland – late afternoon
[EXT. PUBLIC EVENT SPACE – LATE AFTERNOON]
Golden sunlight bathes the racecourse grounds. Throngs of people mill about, enjoying their refreshments, laughing, placing bets on the next race, scheduled within a few minutes. A distant voice on the PA system can be heard, announcing the results of the previous competition…
NARRATOR (V.O.)
Here, in the temperate wilds of rural Ireland, we encounter a remarkable display — a rarely observed ritual that echoes the great mating dances of the animal kingdom.
From behind a row of wheelie bins, a pale, thin teenage male emerges. His movements are stiff, calculated, like a young gazelle on unfamiliar terrain.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
Emerging from concealment, Homo adolescentis irlandicus — a pale, slender young male — makes his tentative approach. Clad in a striking cyan shirt and low-hanging trousers that reveal the waistband of his boxer shorts, he is resplendent in the plumage of his kind.
Two similarly aged females stand near the beer tent, scrolling casually on their phones. Their expressions are unreadable.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
His targets: two females of his cohort, radiant in their teenage regalia. Their hair perfectly straightened, their stance poised — passive, but alert.
The boy suddenly stops, takes a deep breath, and raises both arms to flex. His shirt lifts, exposing sweat-darkened underarms. A faint breeze carries the scent.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
And now... the display begins.
The camera zooms in dramatically on the flexed arms and the sweat stains beneath them.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
With a flourish, he reveals his upper limbs — a demonstration of vitality and, perhaps, a mild dehydration. The underarm stains, dark and circular, act as visual and olfactory signals, not unlike the scent glands of a lemur.
The girls glance at each other. One smirks. The other raises an eyebrow. Their response is subtle, but definitive.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
Like the inflating throat sac of a tree frog or the puffed chest of a manakin, this is a bold attempt at attraction. But the outcome remains uncertain.
A long pause. The boy lowers his arms. He scratches his head and begins to back away slowly, dignity mostly intact.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
In the endlessly complex dynamics of human courtship, success is elusive. Yet for this young male, the performance itself is a rite of passage — a moment of growth, vulnerability, and, most of all… sweat.
[FADE OUT. MUSIC SWELLS GENTLY.]
TITLE CARD: Urban Wild: The Teenage Courtship Display
PRODUCED BY: BBC Natural World Unit
NARRATED BY: Sir David Attenborough