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Recommended: Essay on environmental activism
Chloe Fleming 11D
The Cove
Hack Friday - Podcast Script
[Hack introduction music]
[…23,000 being wiped out every year, and it's not even acknowledged. – Dave Rastovich in The Cove, 00:25:30 – 00:25:35]
TOM TILLEY: Good evening Australia! Welcome back to another episode of Triple J Hack. I recently received the list of Academy Award nominees and was surprised to see a documentary titled The Cove nominated for Best Documentary Feature. This is going to be one of today’s topics, with the focus being – is the way The Cove has been produced, enough to create social change? To find out the answer I have invited renowned film critique and animal rights activist Chloe Fleming. Chloe, thank you for coming on today’s segment of Hack.
CHLOE FLEMING:
…show more content…
CHLOE FLEMING: The Cove is trying to convince the readers that the slaughtering of dolphins is a social issue. But how authentic is what we are viewing? How do we know that anything in the film is truly what it is made out to be?
For those who haven't seen or heard of the documentary, The Cove focuses on a small seaside whaling town in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, called Taiji. The cast includes professional dolphin trainer Richard O’Barry, along with other activists working to expose the town’s annual ‘tradition’ of dolphin capturing. While some dolphins are sold to marine parks and dolphinariums, the majority are slaughtered and sold for meat. The Cove unpacks the origins of the trade, and Japan’s influence on the fishing industry attempting to stop the so-called inhumane events.
[“…and, they don’t have any dolphins. They have to have dolphins for their dolphin parks so they go buy ‘em in Taiji now." – Hardy Jones in The Cove, 1:02:58 – 1:03:08]
TOM TILLEY: We know that the issue in the documentary is dolphin slaughtering, but why do you think people may react to this certain issue? I’m asking this as the country’s track record is not so fabulous when it comes to taking a stance against social
The most effective piece of this documentary, however, was neither the structure of the film nor the specific questions that one is forced to answer regarding the ethical treatment of these killer whales, but the overall questions of whether or not these corporations should be allowed to continue their cycle of abuse toward the animals and whether or not we, as patrons, should encourage their behavior by giving them a monetary profit every day, every month, and every year. Ignorance is forgivable, but with the knowledge given in this documentary: the final two questions raised should be able to answer themselves.
David Kirby’s book describes the complex issues of whales in captivity. The death of a SeaWorld trainer brought up many objective reasons of the training practices of this business were not effective at keeping trainers safe in the water. Currently this debate is still being tested in a court of law. OSHA claims that even with the precautions that SeaWorld tries to use, it still cannot guarantee the safety of trainers in the water. This cultural topic has been gaining ground, and recently prompted a movie based off this book titled, Blackfish. The audience of this book includes animal activists, followers of David Kirby, and people that are interested in the topic of killer whales in captivity. Rob Grom was contracted to create a book jacket that would visually depict the context of the David Kirby’s book. The photographer uses his work to persuade people to look into the claims of the book and see another side of the animal park. Grom’s Photograph image uses the picture, the words of the title, and the subtitle to create a twist of the logos, and uses David Kirby’s ethos to create an appeal to the book.
When an intelligent animal accustomed to swimming in thousands of miles of open ocean is placed in an environment only twice its size, is separated from its species, and is forced to perform tricks, there are bound to be consequences. The captivity of these animals should be banned and National Reserves and whale tours should be used to educate the public while admiring these animals' true beauty. There are few experiences more meaningful than witnessing a killer whale enjoying the freedom of the open ocean.
The film The Searchers directed by John Ford, featured actor John Wayne. The setting of the film takes place in 1868 in the frontier of Texas. The main character, Ethan Edwards was an ex-confederate soldier, who had return home from the war. The question of “Was John Wayne’s character, Ethan, an Indian hater?” can be answered through the use of examples found throughout the movie. Ethan can be depicted as an Indian hater because of the dislike of his 1/8 Cherokee nephew Martin and other natives, his view of captured women by the Natives and his urge for the killing of the Comanche natives. During 1868 you have an expansion of the western frontier. People are going out west, to make a better future for themselves. The western frontier was a
Imagine yourself living in a bathtub for 25 years and you could do absolutely nothing about it. Wild orcas, better known as killer whales have been captured to entertain audiences world wide at aquariums. The most popular location being Sea World. Growing up in Miami, I could not control my excitement when it came time to go visit Lolita the killer whale at the Miami Seaquarium. To be able to see such an amazing creature right in front of me was mind blowing. How amazing is it that you can be face or face with an animal of that size? Well, I wish I'd known then what I know now. In the following paragraphs, I will start off with the difference between the life of a wild orca in the wild versus their life in captivity and I will end with reasons as to why families should not participate and give their time and money to these companies who commit such inhumane acts. I hope that towards the end of this essay, you will change your view on wild orcas and not look at them as just an animal that is used for entertainment purposes.
"Blackfish" might not make an airtight case against training wild animals for our enjoyment, but it very convincingly argues that those animals remain what they are, no matter how SeaWorld or any other corporation invested in presenting them as cuddly attractions tries to say otherwise.
The main goal of director Gabriela Cowperthwaite and the documentary Blackfish is to change the views of the SeaWorld as a cooperation that exploits these killer whales like Tilikum and other whales in order to turn a profit. The use of the different rhetorical devices is used to build the overall themes that are being presented in the documentary that orcas are not to be kept in captivity and that is it not only unethical to enclose these animals but poses dangers to human lives.
The Makah’s seemingly domestic issue of whaling has and is taking on a larger international problem. The United States plays a large part in policing the hunting of whales, one of the most recent examples being the U.S.’s ...
After watching Blackfish, if you could only take one thing from the film it should have been that orcas are being kept in captivity under cruel conditions for the sole purpose of their investments and profits off of them. The film starts off with a 911-phone call as the person on the phone explains what is happening. We hear two different calls, one call about a trainer being in the water when they are not supposed to and another call about a whale eating a trainer. At 00:35, the first call has a woman on the line saying, “We actually have a trainer in the water with one of our whales-the whale that they’re not supposed to be in the water
The Cove is a film of activism, a film meant to move the hearts of individuals who love and support the rights of mammalian sea-dwellers like that of whales, porpoises, and most importantly dolphins. Produced in 2009 by the Oceanic Preservation Society it offers a unique perspective, when compared with other activist documentaries. In The Cove the producer and co-founder of the Oceanic Preservation Society was actually personally involved in the filming efforts and worked directly with dolphin trainer Richard O’Barry in drawing light on the events occurring in a private cove in the city of Taiji, Japan. The documentary is, of course, very biased towards the topic, with obvious pro-animal rights leanings supported indirectly with a strong utilitarian basis. When analyzing documentaries such as this it is vitally important to take as objective a perspective as possible, though humanity tends to be innately prone to bias, and scrutinize through perspectives that have established ethical guidelines.
Millions of people visit Sea World each year (The Fate). They crowd into Shamu Stadium to be entertained by the killer whales as they perform. Their eyes widen, and they sit in awe, as these enormous creatures effortlessly propel themselves out of the water. The children in the audience squeal with delight as the orca’s giant tail sends a wave of ice water over the crowd. But these fast-paced, high-spirited shows hide a darker reality. They are designed to mask the reality of the bare, cold concrete walls that the Orcas are forced to call home. It’s time for people to realize the plight of these mammals. Keeping Orcas in captivity is both harmful and cruel.
Currently, live whale performances have become well liked for tourists to visit. When they are there, they only see what they want to see and do not care or want to know all about the complications the whales go through just to make people smile. The documentary “Blackfish” exposes the truth about the whales, their habits, and why they act the manner they do when in captivity. The inhumane treatment of whales in captivity causes negative effects on the animals which, in turn, affects the humans who care for them.
The quest to gain international agreement on ethical and legal norms for regulation of whaling has had a long and troubled history. The modern phase of global concern over whaling ethics and conservationist management originated in 1946, when the International Convention on Regulation of Whaling was signed. Thus the International Whaling Commission was created. The International Whaling Commission was designed to control and mandate the whaling industry. From it’s beginning as simply a whalers club with scientific guidance, to the current day conservationist body; the IWC has undergone many revisions and transformations since the start. In 1982 the IWC voted to implement a “pause” on commercial whaling (which is still in effect today). Which major whaling nations, Japan, Norway, Peru, and the Soviet Union (later replaced by Russia) lodged formal objections, due to the fact that the moratorium was not based on advice from the Scientific Committee. One major disappointment of this regulation was due the fact that the moratorium only applies to commercial whaling. Thus, whaling under scientific-research and aboriginal-subsistence is still allowed. Japan and other countries have continued their hunt in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary under the “scientific research” loophole. However, environmental activist groups openly dispute the claims and continue their rally to end the whaling industry for good.
Smith, Gary. " ‘The Cove’ Star Ric O'Barry On SeaWorld's Despicable Track Record." Elephant Journal. 10 Mar. 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
In an old house on a hill somewhere in Oregon, there is a little door in the wall. During the day and to the casual observer, this door leads to nowhere. But at night, if the right person opens it, the door leads to another world. A world where everything appears perfect. A world where mothers make dinner every night, where fathers create spectacular gardens and spend time with their daughters, where there are gravy trains and talking toys, and where jumping mice perform tricks and stunts for children. A world with button eyes. This is the world created in 2009 by director Henry Selick in the 3-D, clay animation film Coraline. Based off the children’s novel written by Neil Gaiman, this intricately created