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Black fish analysis film techniques
Black fish analysis film techniques
Black fish analysis film techniques
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Guillermo Aragon English 121 Leslie McCutchen October 09, 2015 In the Deep End Since the beginning of filmmaking producers had made documentaries to present an argument, an idea, or to portray a kind of reality. In attempt to introduce an argument of some kind filmmaker’s intent is to engage the audiences and to also appeal to their values and emotions. To do this producers use a number of rhetorical deceives, such as logo, ethos, and pathos, to help get their audience to believe and think in a certain way. Gabriela Cowperthwaite director of the 2013 documentary Blackfish uses these rhetorical techniques throughout the film, which tells the story about Tilikum, an orca whale that killed three professional trainers while in captivity. Throughout Cowperthwaite uses the interviews done with former SeaWorld trainers, also interviews people in the audience who witnessed the death of professional whale trainer Dawn Brancheau and the recording of the emergency calls that we hear going along with the visual footage of the horrific attacks. Blackfish also uses pathos to help portray killer whales was gentle giants who have the ability to feel emotions just like humans do. This comparison of whales to humans helps formulate an emotion from the audience and cause use to question the actions SeaWorld takes to provide these animals with a “livable” environment. To back up claim that orcas share similar characteristics with human Cowperthwaite interviews neuroscientist Dr. Lori Marino, who explains that whales have a part in their brains that allows them to process and understand emotions. By adding this scientific information of killer whales and the way the process emotions helps to make the reinforce Cowperthwaite’s claim that orcas deserve to be out of captivity. Another types of rhetoric that plays a major role in getting the audience to emotionally appeal to Blackfish are the use of typography, audio, and visual affects. For instance whenever there is a scene showing attacks on killer whales Cowperthwaite uses a combination of the right typography and audio affects to increase the suspense of the events that are taking place in the film and the emotions to build up a certain response from the
While this footage plays, the former trainers discuss the alarmingly low amount of information they, as employees who worked with these orcas on a daily basis, were given. Footage of Tamaree being pulled into the water by Orkid and the resulting compound fracture in her arm exemplifies a situation that could have ended in a fatality. Cowperthwaite also includes several minutes of footage of the Ken Peters attack, as well as footage of him receiving medical attention in the aftermath. A multitude of shorter clips of trainer accidents surround these longer clips. The interviewees comment on the culture at SeaWorld where they were expected to get right back out there after an injury and that SeaWorld ignored risks to trainer safety. The interviews about the danger the trainer’s were unknowingly placed under are disturbing on their own, however without the footage of bloody and injured trainers, there is less of an impact. By including the gory footage, Cowperthwaite forces the viewer to acknowledge how dangerous working with orcas is. In turn, the interviews contrast this evident danger with SeaWorld’s repeated claim that working with orcas is not particularly dangerous, thus showing that SeaWorld knowingly misinforms their
These killer whales are massive creatures living in these cramped pools not doing what they want to do when they want to do it. Mr. Jett and Mr. Ventre also said “...Typically spending their entire lives within tight family groupings, orcas captured from the wild, have been traumatically extracted from the security, comfort and mentoring which these groupings provide. Captured animals are confined to small, acoustically-dead, concrete enclosures where they must live in extremely close proximity to other whales with which they often share no ancestral, cultural or communication similarities.” Seaworld ends up throwing these animals in random groups of whales that are not their families, having whales that have never been outside of the concrete wall, to whales that all they know is the wild. The Documentary Blackfish states that one of the killer whale
Since whales are normally peaceful in the wild and they only seem to attack while in captivity, the argument is that captivity is wrong and dangerous for killer whales. This argument is supported by detailed facts about how the whales are tortured and agitated by other whales with no outlet. Both female and male whales are confined to a swimming pool where they are in a way being forced to try and mate. The female whales tend to abuse the male whales, which leads the whales to become mentally and physically unhealthy resulting in attacks on trainer. In the interviews with Corinne Cowell and Nadine Kallen, they mentioned that when they visited Sealand of the Pacific that three whales were confined to a “dingy pool”. Another appeal to pathos is when a neurologist that has studied killer whales mentions how the animals are very intelligent and are well-aware of what is going on around them. (SeaWorld) Killer whales have similar brains to humans, but have a bigger part of their brain where emotions are processed. With this, whales are more aware of their emotions and the bonds they make with humans and other animals. (SeaWorld) With the huge amount of raw footage, first-hand accounts, and true information, the film is able to grasp the attention of the viewers with the amount of emotion that is shown from the former trainers and the whales themselves. With these tactics, the film effectively appeals to the
The documentary Blackfish by Gabriela Cowperthwaite is a gripping documentary about orca whales in captivity at SeaWorld and other sea parks around the world that shows the disturbing effects that can be caused from having these animals in a place where they shouldn’t be.
The captivity of large, wild animals is accepted for theme parks all around the world. Tickets are sold for people to come and watch these animals live and even preform in an exhibit that almost resembles their natural environment. It is impossible for parks and zoos that use animals as attractions to provide the same resources and space they would have in the habitat they are usually found in. They can, however, help injured or ill animals that cannot survive in the wild. This is where I believe they should draw the line for keeping animals in captivity. SeaWorld has gotten a lot of attention in the last few years, especially since the Netflix documentary, Blackfish, was released. This film targets the company for the mistreatment of their orca whales. In particular, it told the story of one named Tilikum and shows the problems he and the other orca whales face while living under the care of SeaWorld. Gabriela Cowperthwaite, the director
The use of definition when it comes to dopamine, for example, is an excellent rhetorical strategy for those unfamiliar with the chemical and its effects on happiness. This comes to light when the film describes dopamine as “a chemical in the brain called a neurotransmitter that’s necessary for feelings of pleasure and happiness” , and then explains the intricate details of its process in the brain (Belic). Considering how dopamine is the fundamental chemical for happiness, it is essential that this documentary set in modern times touch upon it. When it comes to rhetorical strategies, the documentary does hold an advantage over written pieces in terms of imagery. Obviously, to use one image or vivid description would be a discredit to the others it presents, but where its imagery holds the most power is when the film demonstrates people “doing what they love” while talking about it, such as the surfer who describes his passion as the camera shows him curving over a wave (Belic). This particular usage of imagery allows the audience to visualize and connect with what the surfer is describing, and almost allowing them to experience it in the same fashion. This works particularly well in combination with the sound effects of the waves and wind combined and the soothing soundtrack to provide an element of
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.
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?
This appeals to surprised and saddened emotions of the audience by stating “whales are stored for 2/3 of their life in a small dark area”. The trainers “would deprive them food to make them go into the box” and this resulted in “whales covered in rakes and blood”. The music slows to a wistful tune as the former trainers discuss how “it didn’t feel right to store them there” in order to draw the audience in to empathize with them. The use of these heartbreaking scenes exhibits a sympathetic tone that proves to the audience that whales should not be kept in captivity. Blackfish uses reasoning to explain that an orca is a very intelligent creature and aware of its environment and interactions. “Whales have a part in their brain humans don’t have, they can process emotions. They live emotional lives”. The film uses this claim in order to emphasize that orcas in captivity suffer mentally. Blackfish confirms this statement by explaining that orcas have a limbic system that is more complex compared to humans. It then displays a scene reviewing an MRI that proves that researchers found a development in the brain of an orca that cannot be fully explained. By examining the brain first hand it is proof for the audience that allows them to understand this concept. The film states that mental stress and irritation can occur when
In Blackfish, one person shows a whole different side to their job and brings out all his emotions. This person would be John Crowe, a diver whose job was to capture orcas. He would do his job everyday capturing the whales and taking the babies from their mothers. Crowe says, “you understand then what you're doing, I lost it, I started crying, I didn’t stop working, I couldn’t handle, its like kidnapping a little kid away from it’s mother” (Blackfish). Crowe is explaining that while they were capturing these baby whales and hearing them cry for their mothers is when they you finally realize what you're doing to them. Cowperthwaite does a good job picking Crowe to be interviewed. Looking at Crowe the viewer would not expect him to get emotional; he looks like a very rough person with a long beard and tattoos. When the viewer starts to see him get emotional and cry they begin to feel emotional too. This director uses the strategy of emotional interviews to get emotion from the audience. This creates a picture in the viewer’s mind of the crying whales, which is purposely done by the director to get emotion out of the audience. Another thing the director does is...
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.
And even a six year old wasn’t blind to that fact. The issue of keeping Orcas in captivity and under the care of man has been a controversial practice ever since the first dolphins and whales were taken into aquariums for the amusement of humans. In more recent times, the documentary Blackfish (which has been recently broadcast on popular TV stations such as CNN) that focuses on Tilikum, an orca held by SeaWorld, has brought to light the controversy over captive killer whales. Orcas are majestic, beautiful, and intelligent creatures that should not be kept in captivity for our entertainment because of the harm they cause. 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.
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.
The short film ,”Humpback Whale Shows AMAZING Appreciation After Being Freed From Nets,” shows 3 men, and a woman are in a small boat, cutting away the net that inprisons the whale. This is a fine example of the value of human emotions enhancing the survival of the whale, that otherwise would more than likely die. After being freed the whale danced a happy dance of sorts, and showed it 's appreciation for valuing it 's life enough to risk their own safety to save it ("Humpback Whale Shows AMAZING
Before affiliating the crew aboard the ship with Moby Dick, there are some comparisons to be made between them and ocean inhabitants in general. While living in the ocean environment the men begin to acquire the same survival techniques as some of the organisms in the ocean. The manner in which the whalers go about slaughtering the whales is much like the way that the sharks react to the whale carcass being held stagnate in the water. "....because such incalculable hosts of sharks gather round the moored carcass, that were he left so for six hours, say, on a stretch, little more that the skeleton would be visible by mornong"(Melville 328). These sharks are savages in the face of sustenance. In most cases the sheer size of the whale prohibits it from being captured and consumed by the sharks. The only chance that they have at these huge beasts is when they are slung along side the whaling ships. Once they have their opening to this plethora of meat it becomes a barbaric feeding frenzy. These actions of the sharks reflect the actions of the whalers when taking part in the slaying of a whale. "Soon ranging up by his flank, Stubb, firmly planting his knee in the clumsy cleat, darted dart after dart into the flying gish.