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Blackfish documentary essay
Blackfish movie analysis
Blackfish movie analysis
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Introduction: Blackfish is a documentary based on the story of Tilikum, a performing killer whale that has taken the lives of several people whilst in captivity. This documentary underscores problems within the multi-billion sea-park industry, describes man's relationship to nature, and how little has been learned about these highly intelligent mammals. In this documentary, the conventions and techniques included are; real footage, recorded audio, written codes, montages, use of authority figures/experts, facts and statistics, interviews, bystanders, animation, background music etc. The four conventions/techniques that I will be discussing in this essay will be real footage, use of authority figures/experts, sound and bystanders. An important …show more content…
An authority figure or experts are people who have a high standard of knowledge in a certain subject, or a very well known in their expertise. By using an authority figure or an expert the audience feels like they know what they are talking about, therefore they believe what they have to say. Examples of authority figures or experts used in this documentary include OSHA expert witness and whale researcher Dave Duffus, Howard Garrett an Orca researcher, and Lori Marino a Neuroscientist. In this film these experts express their concern for the Orca species, and explain the things that SeaWorld failed to educate their trainers. For example, SeaWorld trainers were taught that an Orcas life span reaches a maximum of approximately 14 years, when in reality, Orcas have human life spans, which means they can potentially pass at the ripe age of 100. Not only that, but they were taught that it is natural and common for Orca dorsal fins to bend, when in reality only 1% of Orcas have a bent dorsal fin. This information was passed on to visitors of …show more content…
Bystanders are used in this documentary to show the audience how little SeaWorld care or wish to address the incidents involving Tilikum. When Tilikum killed Dawn Brancheu a SeaWorld trainer, a small and insignificant article was posted in a newspaper about her in the second page. SeaWorld failed to show the importance of the situation, instead, they tried to convince the public that it was not Tilikums fault and in fact it was Dawns. That if Dawn was here today, she would blame herself for the incident and that she should have known better than to wear a long pony tail to work that day. But it was found that many other trainers wore their hair the same, but did not end up in that situation. An autopsy of Dawns body showed that she had been attacked from her neck also, raising suspicion and intensity for the viewers. SeaWorld also fail to mention that it was Tilikum that made the attack, they claim that it was too quick to be able to tell which Orca had done what. But the bystanders interviewed for this incident were ____ & ____, and they state in the interview that it was definitely Tilikum that made the attack, because they could pick him out of all the whales easily, due to his large size and stand out bent dorsal
Millions of people come from across the world to visit Seaworld every day without thinking about the lives of the animals behind the scenes. Why would they have concerns? From Seaworld’s commercials to the website, they convince the general public that Seaworld is the place to go to see the happy sea animals perform. If Seaworld is such an ecstatic place, what excuse does Tilikum, their greatest well known orca whale, have for the three attacks on trainers? The documentary “Blackfish” was created by the director Gabriela Cowperthwaite because she questioned herself after realizing Tilikum's odd behavior over time in captivity, and if there was any indisputable parts to animal captivity?
How would you like to be abducted from your family and locked in a bathtub to live out the rest of your days and be used as a source of entertainment? That is exactly what happens when an orca is captured, which is disgusting and pure evil. The Documentary Blackfish by Gabriela Cowperthwaite helps depict the horrors that orcas face while in captivity and reveals the ugly and hidden side of SeaWorld. Blackfish does a great job at showing what SeaWorld has been hiding and really makes you hate them. The main focus of Blackfish is on an orca named Tilikum, who was captured off the eastern region of Iceland when he was two years old.
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. The film focuses on one orca, commonly referred to as a killer whale, in particular by the name of Tilikum. The documentary begins as a group of contract fishermen hunt a family of killer whales off the coast of Iceland.
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.
Blackfish is a 2013 documentary directed and written by Gabriela Cowperthwaite. The film regards the effects that captivity has on killer whales, with a focus on a SeaWorld orca named Tilikum. Born in 1981, Tilikum was captured at the age of two off the coast of Iceland and taken to Sealand of the Pacific in British Columbia, Canada. 8 years later, Keltie Byrnes, a marine biology student and part time Sealand trainer, slipped into the pool containing Tilikum and two female whales. The three orcas submerged and dragged Byrnes around the pool, resulting in her death. Shortly thereafter, Tilikum was moved to SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, where he killed two more people. Charles P. Dukes was found dead, draped over Tilikum’s back, in 1999 after evading security and entering the orca tank. Dawn Brancheau, a veteran trainer, was killed during a post-show routine when Tilikum pulled her into the
In 2013, Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s documentary, ‘Blackfish’ was presented at the Sundance Film Festival. The film featured a SeaWorld killer whale, Tilikium, and his involvement in three deaths that were claimed to be “accidents.” Former SeaWorld trainers were interviewed in the film and shared their recollection of events and how little was told to them by the parks. The film received most of its attention when the CNN network introduced the documentary. SeaWorld responded to the film by stating that the film was “inaccurate and misleading.”
Well, Never Mind.” by Kevin Roose. Roose stated in his article that, “SeaWorld 's stock is plummeting more than 20 percent today, after quarterly earnings that showed shrinking revenue and lowered guidance for next quarter.” (Roose). However, this is only a small victory. When everything is put into perspective, one can see that the decrease in SeaWorld’s attendance record is only one business that is suffering from the story of Blackfish. There are many more corporations in the world that are keeping orcas in captivity simply for the money from the shows. The effects of the movie, Blackfish, on this corporation is just a drop in the proverbial ocean when it is compared to all of the establishments in the world that keep orcas in captivity. There are many other establishments that still need to be investigated and possibly even shut down due to the mistreatment of these large
...ment posed by the film is that keeping Tilikum locked up in pools throughout most of his life drove him more than a little crazy and led to the deaths of the three people he has killed so far. From the evidence presented by the film, it is reasonable to believe that the cause of Tilikum killing Daniel Dukes (the man found on top of Tilikum), Byrne, and Brancheau, is not out of malice towards others, but because he was so deprived of social stimulus that when he saw someone he could play with, he was so excited that he got carried away and unfortunately ended up killing them. The message that is conveyed by the Blackfish documentary is that SeaWorld has built such an empire with the “Shamu” moniker and the killer whales’ “celebrity-ism” that it has gotten to the point where the park is simply exploiting the intelligent creatures in order to make millions of dollars.
It’s a very common practice in todays society for people to go to Sea World and see the famous shamu show while on vacation or out for a day of fun. Many people don’t fully understand how these animals feel while in captivity. Light has been shed on having these killer whales in captivity when a trainer was killed at Sea World recently. At one of the early parks called Sea Land one of the male killer whales Tilicum killed one of his trainers. After this incident Sea Land closed its doors. This meant that Tilicum was up for sale, Sea World jumped at the chance to buy him at a good price. Sea World was not fully aware that Tilicum was the actual cause of his trainers death. This was a death sentence for one of Sea Worlds female trainers. Sea World and companies like it are only in it to make money, these large animals should not be kept in captivity by any means.
If you have ever been to Seaworld you would have had to go see the Killer whales in fact its one of the top attractions there. Through the eyes of a child, these gentle giants seem to be happy, healthy, and enjoying a playful game with their trainers. The question is are they really happy, do they get treated the right way, and why have there been deaths and injuries. Many people wonder about these things and after the movie Blackfish came out more and more people began to question how well Seaworld treats their animals. “The truth is that Sea World keeps its animals for entertainment and money and helps no one but themselves.”- Animal Legal Defense Fund
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.
“Blackfish” has had people thinking about the tragic events happening at SeaWorld and the reasons behind it. SeaWorld tried to cover up the deaths of trainers, but the truth will always be set free. The trainers who have been killed, even one of the well known trainers, Dawn Brancheau, were blamed for the incidents caused by the killer whales even though they had no control over how the animals lashed out. The trainers knew that keeping any animal locked up could not be good. The documentary questions if keeping the whales in captivity was the best idea. SeaWorld’s most popular whale, Tilikum, killed his trainer Brancheau, and there are many theories on why he
Blackfish is a 2013 documentary, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, about the captive orca, Tilikum. The documentary chronicles Tilikum’s life in captivity while examining the conditions that SeaWorld’s orcas live under. Cowperthwaite argues that SeaWorld mistreats their Orcas and intentionally misinforms both their employees and the general public. Rhetorical analysis reveals that Cowperthwaite uses emotional appeals and juxtaposition to sway the viewer to her perspective.
The only reason circus animals perform is because they are scared of what will happen to them. Due to the cruel behavior many circus animals become dysfunctional, unhealthy, depressed, and aggressive. These intelligent captive animals sometimes snap under the pressure of constant abuse. Others make their feelings abundantly clear when they get a chance. In the documentary blackfish killer whales become hyper-aggressive when confined in captivity. Multiple attacks proven that keeping these creatures in captivity is a safety hazard. In February, 2010, Tilikum dragged senior Seaworld trainer Dawn Brancheau into the pool and forced her underwater, eventually killing her. Killer whales are not aggressive in the wild but confinement can lead to dangerous behavior toward both humans and fellow marine mammals. Keeping the unstable animals close to the trainers is unacceptable and should not be allowed. This not only puts multiple people in danger but other animals as
Kirby, David. Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2012. Print.