The documentary “Blackfish” is a captivating documentary centered around the famous orcas at the marine amusement park SeaWorld. Through poignant storytelling and real footage captured at the park, the documentary uncovers the suffrage of the captive orcas at SeaWorld. Furthermore, the documentary delves into the many incidents involving the orcas attacking numerous SeaWorld trainers. Throughout the documentary, past SeaWorld trainers, marine scientists, and fisherman, explain how complex the orca species are and how it’s dangerous for both people and orca to keep them in captivity. To begin with, the main argument in “Blackfish” is that it’s unethical and unsafe to keep orcas in captivity. Additionally, through the documentary’s main argument, …show more content…
The target audience for this documentary is SeaWorld customers and future customers as well as SeaWorld itself. The documentary accomplishes speaking to the customers of SeaWorld by telling stories and providing footage of how poorly the orcas looked and were kept while being at SeaWorld. Almost guilt tripping the audience into believing that if you support SeaWorld, this is the kind of damage you are impacting on the orcas. Additionally, this leads to the reason why the documentary chose to show graphic and depressing footage of the captive orcas to influence the audience into taking their side. Finally, this documentary accomplishes its purpose of informing its audience on why animals in captivity are a bad thing. Through the almost 70 accident accounts between orcas and trainers and the staggering 179 orcas that have died in captivity (Fate of Orcas in Captivity, https://us.whales.org/). It’s easy to say that this documentary easily persuades its viewers and accomplishes its goal of informing its audience. The strengths of this documentary lie with its compelling evidence and backup support to brace its claim of not keeping orcas in
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 film Blackfish, a documentary created by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, is a film about the cruel punishment of killer whales at SeaWorld. It suggests that killer whales should be set free from captivity in marine mammal parks because of the threat and danger towards humans and each other. Blackfish is an explicit example of how logos, ethos and pathos are used to create an argument that is impressive, valid and effective. 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.
I am sure almost all of you have either been to or heard of SeaWorld. Today I am going to tell you about what they do to their orcas that they are trying to hide. I chose this topic after watching a documentary called “Blackfish” that goes into the behind the scenes of how SeaWorld treats its animals. I have since done further research online to prepare for this presentation. This is an important topic because you should know what kind of company you are funding and behaviors you are endorsing when you go on your vacations to this destination. Today I am going to persuade you that SeaWorld is corrupt and maltreats its animals, specifically the orcas. First, I will talk about the specific way the orcas are treated and how it affects them
Blackfish: The Documentary Entertainment is a word that invokes feelings of fun and pleasure. It is an exciting time with family and friends filled with joy and laughter, especially at amusement parks. However, what about the whales entrapped at water parks? How do they feel about this? Are they content with their environment?
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...
“You hear her just scream out, ‘somebody help me!’ It was such a bloodcurdling scream. She knew she was going to die,” commented John Hargrove, a former SeaWorld trainer. There has been 21 attacks on humans by killer whales in the last 10 years. SeaWorld was associated with 12 of them. In 2013 SeaWorld was worth $2.5 billion, they would do anything to protect their business. They target adults and teenagers; or anyone who can pay. The purpose of the Blackfish documentary was made to inform people how wrong it is what SeaWorld is doing. Animals in captivity do not live as long and depending on the animal there is more complications. Seaworld is an unacceptable place to live, for orcas and any other animal. They do not have animals’ best interests in mind.
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.
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.
In the movie, “Blackfish” we are exposed to the fact that the way orcas are treated at SeaWorld is worse than we are lead to believe. We see how they are forced to swim in tiny pools and how they can only be fed if they preform well. After seeing this it makes you feel like the only way to help these poor creatures is to jump on the animal activist wagon and to free all the whales like in “Free Willy”. But is that really the right way to go? Are the big companies like SeaWorld the only bad guys here? In this world things aren’t always black and white and sometimes you need to know when and when not to free Willy.
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.
This argument about Orca whales is very important. The abuse that these animals go through is unbelievable and uncalled for. They face starvation, dorsal fin damage, and withdrawals from not seeing their family if they were taken from the wild. Orca whales love to play but it is hard when they are being abused. Whales in the wild have dorsal fins that stand straight up (Killer Whales Don’t Belong In Captivity). The whales at any marine park have dorsal fins that
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 broadcasted 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 it causes them.
“… building a tank the size of Rhode Island wouldn’t be large enough for a six-ton male killer whale such as Tilikum, an animal capable of swimming 100 miles a day,” states an anonymous whale expert. Whales have been in captivity since 1861 when P.T. Barnum displayed the first live whale that was captured in Canada. However, Barnum had no idea how to care for the mammal and it died after only a week in captivity. (Animal Legal and Historical Center, 2014) Being up close with killer whales could give us some clues about how they interact with each other, including physical behavior, their dialect, and how their pods work together as a family unit. However, what we are finding is that whales who belong in the wild are suffering in captivity. Killer whales have no record of ever harming a human being in the wild. In captivity, there have been many incidents of killer whales harming or even killing their trainers. What would cause them to do this in captivity, but not in the wild? They have been known to resort to aggression toward themselves and each other, in what scientist believe to be a stress induced behavior. (Animal Legal and Historical Center, 2014) Evidence against having these wild animals in captivity is increasing and we need reevaluate the value of capturing and holding killer whales for our educational purposes, enjoyment, and profit.
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.
An orca, more commonly known as a killer whale, is currently one of the largest marine animals held in captivity. Countless arguments are being made, supporting and opposing captivity of orcas to be exploited as circus animals in theme parks around the world. Throughout recent history, Sea World trainers have been injured and killed by the orcas and the whales, and the whales themselves have been observed as severely depressed. If Sea World releases the whales, they would undergo an immense economic downfall and the whales would be too weak to survive in the wild if they were freed. Since the first Sea World park opened in San Diego, California in 1964, common questions have arose concerning the well-being of orcas in captivity, the dangers of humans training them, the physical capability of whales theoretically being released, and the psychological differences between whales living in the wild versus whales living in Sea World's confinement.