One of academia’s most prominent accounts of ‘Pigness’ in motion pictures was authored in 2010 by Dr. Mark von Schlemmer (University of Central Missouri, Department of Communication and Sociology) in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, With reference not only to leading examples of cinematic pigs (like Babe and Hamm) but also TV pigs (Piggley Winks and Professor Strangepork).
The paper :
“… explores how these works invite spectators to construct nonhuman beings as persons and how they present nonhuman perspectives, and then it interrogates the accuracy of the pigness of the characters depicted.”
And goes on to show :
“The emotional connection which these fictive depictions generate in the discourse surrounding motion picture pigs is accessible and relatable, and, as this study has shown, often consists of elements of authentic pigness that can engender understanding and compassion on the part of humans who have not had the privilege to encounter pigs in their own actual lives.”
The 239 page thesis can be read in full here : ‘Cinematic “Pigness”: A Discourse Analysis of Pigs in Motion Pictures.’
BONUS (video cited in the paper, as is the commercial above.) ‘Pig Pens & Tiaras’ featuring the Ohio Pork Queen, 2008