Analyzing The Film 'Blackfish'

Blackfish Analysis Draft
‘Blackfish’ directed/produced by Gabriela Cowperthwaite and Manuel Oteyza, initially released in 2013, is a contentious documentary regarding Orca’s held at SeaWorld. The documentary gives a history of this topic especially focussing on the notorious killer whale Tilikum. Using filming techniques regarding language, audio, visuals and structure, Cowperthwaite positions the audience to accept that the whales are victims of society and have reasoning behind their killings, former trainers oppose the idea of whales in captivity and support doing something about the issue and SeaWorld is a criminal organisation who complete inhumane and dastardly deeds for profit.
Throughout the documentary, Cowperthwaite positions

The language used in this scene also emphasises the directors point (the whales have reasoning behind their behaviour) - ‘But the orcas had been caught before and they knew what was going on and they knew their young ones would be taken from them.’ Stated Howard Garret – whale researcher. The director utilises this quote to inform the audience that the whales have been taken from their families and positioning them to accept that the whales have been treated just as harshly as they have treated SeaWorld trainers. Another important scene by Cowperthwaite involves visual film techniques where multiple pieces of archival news footage are shown foregrounding a singular piece of footage (where the audio is played) regarding the death of former SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau. This scene has been used to enhance the audience’s focus on the shown footage making their understanding of the topic more substantial and therefore giving them a

The structure of interviews in the film is the trainer’s voices describing the visual scenes combined with close-ups of their faces showing their emotions. A significant scene exemplifying this structural technique shows four of the previous SeaWorld trainers watching footage of themselves in the past. The scene then shows Dawn Brancheau, the trainer whom was killed by Tilikum, and the emotions on the faces of the trainers who knew her. The emotions shown by the trainers are gloomy, creating a gloomy and unhappy mood in the audience. It seems the director’s aim in enabling the audience to relate to such emotions, is to affect their perception and promote the audiences compassion and trust for the trainer’s perspective. Another significant scene, shot in SeaLand where Tilikum was held before being taken to SeaWorld, involves the combination of visuals with an interview of a former trainer. ‘Closing that door on him and knowing that he’s locked in there for the whole night is like – it’s a stab, it’s a whoa’. This quote is accompanied by the visual of the former trainer whom is on the verge of crying. The trainer’s emotions associated with the treatment of the whales promotes to the audience remorse and humanity. The use of this scene by Cowperthwaite makes the audience accept that the former trainers