Blackfish as a Platform for Animal Rights

1426 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Blackfish documentary essay

The death of Dawn Brancheau made national news back in 2010. Dawn was working as an orca trainer at the SeaWorld of Orlando when the tragic accident occurred. While doing a relationship session with Tilikum, the largest orca in captivity, Dawn was pulled into the water and drowned. It was a story that not only shocked the nation but left people wondering how something so horrible could happen. Gabriela Cowperthwaite‘s use of the accounts of retired SeaWorld trainers exposed the harsh reality of captured animals in her documentary Blackfish. In creating a piece focused on the life of one orca, Cowperthwaite has allowed viewers to look into the lives of captured animals and has shown the greater social issue of animal rights, the treatment of animals for research and the need for actions.
Animal rights has been a topic of interest in society for many years. There is an extreme form of animal rights where these extremists believe people should not own house pets and should not eat anything that comes from an animal. But there is a less extreme form of animals rights, “one movement is that of the traditional humane interest groups who feel that their goals embody an enhancement of the animals’ life quality. They care for stray animals, fight animal abuse… and generally concern themselves with ‘quality of life’ issues” and this is the type of animal right that will be dealt with in this paper (Silberman 161). Quality of life is what the orcas in captivity are missing. Sure, they are not being hunted and killed by fishermen, but they are basically being kept as pets in a giant bathtub. They live a scheduled life where they must work for every fish they get to eat. Tilikum for example, is not well liked by the other killer whales. He is...

... middle of paper ...

...and Ethics." Journal of Mammalogy 75.1 (1994): 219-23. JSTOR. Web. 28 Jan. 2014. .
Burford, Mahalia. "Response to Blackfish: A Case for SeaWorld." Journal of Law and Public Policy. N.p., 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 28 Dec. 2014. .
Cowperthwaite, Gabriela, dir. Blackfish. Magnolia Pictures, 2013. Film.
Jasper, James M., and Jane Poulsen. "Fighting Back: Vulnerabilities, Blunders, and Countermobilization by the Targets in Three Animal Rights Campaigns." Sociological Forum 8.4 (1993): 639-57. JSTOR. Web. 28 Jan. 2014. .
Silberman, Morton S. "Animal Welfare, Animal Rights: The Past, the Present, and the 21st Century." Journal of Zoo Animal Medicine 19.4 (1988): 161-67. JSTOR. Web. 28 Jan. 2014. .

Show More
Related

  • Is the Captivity of Killer Whales for Entertainment Purposes Inhumane?

    934 Words  | 2 Pages

    Suppose you were kidnapped from your family as a child by an alien species while your family watched in despair, crying out helplessly for your kidnappers to not rip you away from them. Now imagine then being strapped down and transported to a place unknown and once you arrive, you see that some of the other children that were also kidnapped have died. You then witness something that will forever remain engraved into your mind; you witness those monsters that took you hostage cut the children open, fill their bodies up with rocks, tie an anchor onto their feet and throw them into the ocean. The monsters then throw you into a tiny cage; you learn that you will not only never see your family again and die in that confinement but you will also work for these monsters and perform as a source of entertainment for them. You spend every night locked away into an even smaller steel cage that gives no freedom of movement at all and aren’t fed if you displease your new masters. Although this sounds like an outline for a horror movie, it is not. It is happening in real life and in our world. It is horrific, not only unethical but inhumane. This depicts the capturing process and life in captivity for public display of Orcinus Orcas, popularly known as Killer Whales since 1961. Although some laws regarding the capturing of whales have changed, whales are still being treated unethically. Just as inhumane as it is for this to be done to humans, it is equally inhumane for it to be done to animals. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, inhumanity is “the quality or stage of being cruel to other people or to animals” (dictionary.com) and that is what their captivity is...

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Techniques Used In The Film Blackfish

    704 Words  | 2 Pages

    When a man spoke highly about the orca he trained, he explained how they were a team, which was very heartwarming. I was very displeased to hear about Dawn Brancheau’s death. Not only did that displease me, but how no records of an orca killing a human in the wild, only in captivity. Cowperthwaite showed pathos by allowing stories to be told to those who had first hand experience with these moments.

    Read More

  • Let's Put an End to Animal Research, Testing, and Experimentation

    2009 Words  | 5 Pages

    Loeb, Jerod M. “Human vs. Animal Rights: In Defense of Animal Research.” Taking Sides: Science, Technology, and Society. Gilford: Dushkin Publishing Group, 2011

    Read More

  • Ethical Issues In Blackfish

    681 Words  | 2 Pages

    Blackfish is a 2013 documentary attempting to elevate public awareness regarding the orca that are being kept in maritime amusement parks, specifically SeaWorld, and the inherent danger of their captivity. The film is effective because it raises a set of important ethical questions for the viewer while presenting with a necessary fact-based style of documentation that does not evoke gratuitous scenes of abuse in order to inspire sympathy, unlike some of the other films that are intended to raise awareness about animal abuse.

    Read More

  • The Complex Issue of Whales in Captivity in Blackfish by David Kirby

    784 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Ag-Gag Laws

    556 Words  | 2 Pages

    The modern fight for animal rights has been geared toward factory farms and the removal of animal testing and ag-gag laws. Protection for test animals and farm animals has become an important focus for many animal rights groups including ASPCA. The end of uncomfortable and inhumane treatment of animals is still a fight thousands are fighting

    Read More

  • Movie Review: Blackfish

    1006 Words  | 3 Pages

    The topic of the abuse of Orcas in captivity is a widespread injustice that culminates in the biggest orca training water park in the country, SeaWorld. Unfortunately, this abuse is practiced all over the world and is a major issue that many people want to see end. The documentary, Blackfish, presents these issues by educating people on the abusive conditions that takes place in these water parks. In the movie, one can see just how significant this problem is and the impact that it has had on the population of the orcas around the world. Furthermore, it is a problem that it is too significant to be solved by simply attacking the problem head on. There are simple yet complicated methods and small steps that must be taken in order to solve

    Read More

  • Blackfish Exploitation

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • animal experimentation

    545 Words  | 2 Pages

    League, Animal Defense. “Policy Statement on Animal Research.” Civil Rights in America. Woodbridge, CT: Primary Source Media, 1999. American Journey.Student Resources in Context. Web. 6 Feb. 2014.

    Read More

  • Addressing Premature Birth

    1657 Words  | 4 Pages

    Morrison, Nick. "Animal Rights and Wrongs." Northern Echo, 24 Feb. 2001: n. pag. elibrary. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Commercial Whaling: The Ethical and Political Debate

    1447 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Killer Whales Should Not Be Allowed In Captivity Essay

    1977 Words  | 4 Pages

    Rose, Naomi A. “Killer Controversy: Why Orcas Should No Longer Be Kept in Captivity.” Humane Society International and The Humane Society of the United States. Sept. 2011. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Animal Research and Testing, Is it Ethical?

    2169 Words  | 5 Pages

    Washington D.C.: Acropolis Books, 1978. Call Number: HV4711O5. Regan, Tom, and Peter Singer, eds. Animal Rights and Human Obligations.

    Read More

  • Animal Welfare In Farming

    1683 Words  | 4 Pages

    America focuses heavily on its livestock and crops earning us a major role in global trade as a farming nation. Unfortunately this has led to some poor choices in treatment of our animals. Many farmers who believe in animal rights say that it started back when farmers only tended to fewer animals, “Ownership of farm animals became concentrated in fewer hands, and flocks and herds grew larger. As a result, the individuality of animals was lost to their owners and they began receding from most people's everyday life” (Namit 29). When people lost their connection to the animals that provided their food, the quality of the animal's lives began to dramatically decrease. Consumers constantly pushed farmers to their limits with high quotas. To keep up with demands agriculturalists turned to some unorthodox practices to keep costs low and still maintain their annual quotas; “To raise efficiency and cut costs, farm animals began to be engineered for abnormally rapid weight gain, fed unnatu...

    Read More

  • Should Animals Be Kept in Captivity?

    559 Words  | 2 Pages

    Waples KA, Stagoll CS. Ethical issues in the release of animals from captivity. Roundtable. 1997; 115-120.

    Read More

More about Blackfish as a Platform for Animal Rights

Open Document