Director and Producer Gabriela Cowperthwaite set her sights on unveiling the truth behind a string of violent deaths that have been associated with the confinement and captivity of killer whales in her 2013 documentary, Blackfish. Cowperthwaite presents an in depth look at the negative effects that captivity has on the naturally intelligent and social disposition of killer whales. In addition to that, she sheds light on the conflicting information that has been given to the public about the true nature and life span of these magnificent creatures. Cowperthwaite argues that the trend of aggressive attacks and brutal deaths over the past several years at Sea World and other tourist water parks is contributed specifically to the captivity of the …show more content…
And it’s clear that if something is not done soon, Tilikum will eventually die a lonely death in captivity, years before he should.
Cowperthwaite’s approach to ethos is presented with verbal statements from several reputable sources, including OSHA expert witnesses, Professional divers, former Sea World trainers, and Neuroscientists. By watching Blackfish, a guest who thought Sea World was just another tourist attraction where you can get up close and personal with the animals, is educated and informed through the eyes of professionals who have had hands on experience working with Killer whales. As OSHA expert witness and Whale Researcher Dave Duffus explains, Dawn Brancheau’s accident wasn’t just a singular event, it started several years earlier with the unethical and inhumane capturing of killer whales. Also, through the eyes of former Sea World trainers, there is a consistent basis of Sea World covering up attacks by blaming them on trainer error. According to John Crowe, who was a professional diver that was part of the capturing of several whales in the Puget Sound during the 1970’s, the entire process of rounding up killer whales and separating the mother from the babies was not only inhumane, it was heartbreaking as
Blackfish is a well-known film about how whales were kept in captivity while being mistreated. This film explained the situation in more of a sequential order stating each event one after another from occurrence. This film was made to inform people of all the cruel and monstrous things that Sea Land and Sea World were doing to the whales.
Robert L. Pitman. "Whalewatcher: Killer Whale: The top, top Predator ." Journal of the American Cetacean Society (2011): 2. Journal.
Tilikum is sold to SeaWorld and all of the news reports regarding the death of his previous trainer are altered to reflect an error on the trainer’s part in order to ease the public’s conscience regarding the aggressive
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.
Though the significant difference in the setting, but equally in the subject of separation, the authors, Bass, and Stuphen, communicate their thoughts mainly through imagery of the situations that happened in their lives. In the poems “The Albatross” by Kate Bass and “Ever After” by Joyce Sutphen, in the book 180 More: Extraordinary Poems for Every Day, they use metaphoric language to expose their feelings. They capture the frustration of being apart from their partners and the urge to understand why the man that the woman in the poem loves is now strange and no longer has any part in their present. Shawn Lewis explains, “Next to the death of a loved one the death of a marriage is one of life 's most devastating experiences.... When the pain
Despite the orcas being trained in captivity, they are still wild animals and have the potential to be unpredictable in their personal behavior and actions. For example, during February, 2010, one of Sea World Orlando, Florida's most experienced and valued trainers, Dawn Brancheau, was attacked and killed by the park's largest orca that she had a close relationship with. The whale "grabbed her hair pulled her into the pool and brutally killed her." (Court). In addition, there have been records deaths of Sea World trainers in 1999 and 2006, both resulting from the whales' playful and social attitudes and lack of sense the fragile nature of a person and size difference between themselves and the humans.
SeaWorld a leader in the captivity and use of killer whales for entertainment has counterattacked the points made by the documentary Blackfish, which brought many points to light. For example, SeaWorld asserts “that while research suggests that some wild killer whales can live as long as 60 to 70 years, their average lifespan is nowhere near that,” (source). In the wild, average lifespan is 30 for males, 50 for females, and can live up to be 80-90 years old. In captivity, in such environments as those at SeaWorld, most orcas die in their teens or 20s and only a handful survive past 25. The annual mortality or death rate for orcas is 2.5 times higher ...
Captivity is a term that has a range of definitions. The least restrictive would be an enclosed area that attempts to meet the physical social, physical, and medical needs of these animals. The most restrictive provide limited area for movement, social interaction, and does not provide needed regular medical attention. When referring to dialect in killer whales we are talking abo...
For decades SeaWorld has operated and advertised under the guise of being a happy family destination where children can interact and supposedly learn more about sea life and sea creatures. The documentary Blackfish, however, has illuminated the public on the shady practices of this world renowned park and the manner in which they mistreat their animals and endanger their employees. The death of SeaWorld whale trainer, Dawn Brancheau, sent out shockwaves to the public; was this supposedly educational, family-friendly Park not as safe as people thought? SeaWorld scrambled and changed their story multiple times as to how the incident occurred and denied that they were at fault. The world-famous sea park built up such a celebrity status with their main attraction, “Shamu” that they could not possibly let the name be smeared by the death of an employee. What the research gathered hear proposes is that SeaWorld has built such an empire with the “Shamu” moniker and the killer whales’ “celebrity-ism”, that it’s gotten to the point where they are simply exploiting intelligent creatures to line their pockets with money.
The Palumbis’ article emphasizes how there are many more dangerous creatures in the ocean besides sharks. Even though people are crazy about Shark Week, they should be interested in finding out the different species that live within the water. Everyone is obsessed about sharks for the fact they think they are the most dangerous fish in the water, but there are scarier animals that swim below. As a result of the national concern about sharks, people get excited when Discovery Channel videotapes the annual show Shark Week. As Palumbi tries to prove their point that sharks are not the most dangerous animal in the water with using logos and ethos but they should have more pathos.
In Blackfish, Director, Gabriela Cowperthwaite, addresses the accidents that occurred at SeaWorld involving trainers and whales. Cowperthwaite’s purpose is to educate the audience on the cruel treatment and rough conditions of whales that occur in SeaWorld. The film maintains a shocking tone in order to persuade the audience and appeal to feelings of sadness and anger.
The main focus in this article is the two killer whales that died from mosquito
Save the Whales, Screw the Shrimp is an essay written by Joy Williams, about the overwhelming complacency that todays culture shows towards nature.Williams argues in a very satirical way, that todays culture has all but completely lost touch with what nature really is, and that unless we as a nation change our morals regarding the role that nature plays in human existence, we may very well be witnessing the dawn of our own destruction.
“Blackfish”, Magnolia Home Entertainment, 2013, Netflix). Brancheau was grabbed by her ponytail and dragged into the pool by Tilikum. This incident happened in the middle of a performance as Brancheau was sitting next to the pool rubbing Tilikum’s nose (“Whale Watch”. Current Events, March 2010, Vol. 109 Issue 20, p7). When Tilikum finally did let her go, it was too late. Experts suspected that Tilikum was very stressed and depressed for many reasons; tourists and trainers believe this is what caused him to be so aggressive. Being in captivity is different than being in the wild, and being in the tank was so miserable that Tilikum would get painful stomach ulcers and bite the sides of the tank, essentially trying to get out, but it caused his teeth to break. Also, Tilikum had many cuts from the other whales biting him. The cuts became so bad that they often became infected (Tocco, Nicole. “Should orcas be set free?”. Scholastic Action). He had nowhere to escape because he was in a confined area. If he had been in the wild, he could of just swam away if a whale was trying to bite him (“Should orcas be kept in captivity?”. Scholastic Scope, Vol. 58 Issue 17, p4). Tilikum had been in a tank for well over 20 years of his life and is worn of the tank he is in. These facts as well could have caused him to attack (“Whale Watch”. Current Events, March 2010, Vol. 109 Issue
Guests leave parks believing that killer whales enjoy being in captivity. How can humans be so selfish to enjoy the presence of these animals, if the animals aren’t enjoying themselves? After the gates are close and the lights turned off, the whales spend hours alone, floating lifelessly. It’s hard to postulate that they receive world-class care. “Orcas are too large, too intelligent, and too behaviorally and socially complex to adequately provide for in concrete enclosures” (Rose).