Dumb Animal Factor
- Dumb Animal Factor /n/ - The theory that an audience will react much more strongly to the death of an animal (especially a small, cute one) than they do to the death of a human.
Case study(ish): During a public screening of Jurassic Park II, the audience vocally expressed more dismay at the implied eating of a golden retriever than they had at countless human deaths throughout the film.
Yes, I have this whole theory as to why, which I'll get into, if people want to see it.