The Adverse Truth
As an infant leading all the way up to the beginning of adolescent years, SeaWorld had always been a place of refuge for families, to get away and be entertained by the famous orcas or also known as killer whales. Although, it is much more than just an entertainment source, this is an exceeding crisis that was well overdue to be examined into further investigation. Within the 2013 documentary Blackfish, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, tales of the beloved, yet infamous killer whales are told.The story of Blackfish is told by a group of former SeaWorld trainers, a story that leads to the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau who was attacked by an orca named Tilikum. Despite the fact that in the wild, killer whales are viewed
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For instance, Tilikum who is a 22 foot orca persisting life at SeaWorld has a tank of a max capacity at 35 feet. As established on SeaWorld Fact Check, once again we see the average maximum dive depth of killer whales approximately at 525 feet, and the deepest killer whale dive documented is 853 feet which certainly portrays how inadequate the tanks at SeaWorld truly are. Certainly, in which the orcas have acclimatized to their captivity, they surely have had a decrease in their lifespan. In the film it had provided facts about the lifespan of the orcas held in captivity and was claimed that killer whales had a life expectancy of up to 50 years of age in the wild, while the ones in SeaWorld have yet to reach the age of 30. Henceforth the way killer whales are being treated in such conditions have distinctly prevailed to such catastrophic statistics.
Ultimately, beneath the dark truth of SeaWorld it is truly a shame to see such an immense family oriented, kid friendly place go in the direction of no return. Prior to the film Blackfish a circumstance just as tragic as the death of Dawn was bound to happen and there is simply no going back to how SeaWorld once was. The film had effortlessly unveiled the harsh treatment towards the killer whales, while informing the public eye how a place can have such a delighted stigma, but an appalling
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.
SeaWorld tour guides have also falsely told the public that collapsed dorsal fins are very common among orca whales, but specialist have identified that less than one percent of dorsal fins actually collapse in the wild. SeaWorld has also stated that the average lifespan of an orca is twenty five to thirty years but an orca can live approximately the same amount amount as humans which could be up to one hundred
John Crowe, one of the hunters, is interviewed and tells the story of “the worst thing he’s ever done”. He appeals to the appalled emotions of the audience by admitting to the inhumane way they captured the baby whales. He uses an analogy when discussing the capturing, claiming it was like “kidnapping a kid from its mother”, which pulls at the heartstrings of any parent watching the film, establishing a sense of relatability. The film uses juxtaposition by examining how Crowe, a tough looking man, can be brought to tears by this horrific act. Blackfish then moves to discussing the reason behind Tilikum’s outburst by running a montage of news reports ambushing SeaWorld on the inhumane treatment of whales. The use of the rhetorical question “If you were in a bathtub for 25 years don’t you think you’d get a little irritated, aggravated, maybe a little psychotic?”, grabs the audience’s attention by creating a scenario they can understand. These events create an accusing tone that convinces the audience that SeaWorld is the antagonist of the film. Along with accusations from reporters, SeaWorld has fought many lawsuits against OSHA- the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, due to the way SeaWorld treats their animals. A court hearing is held regarding Tilikum’s behaviour due to pulled video footage of Tilikum lunging towards one of the trainers
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.
On February 24, 2010 Dawn Brancheau, a trainer at SeaWorld, was killed when a killer whale named Tilikum pulled her into the water (Mooney). The death of Brancheau is not the first that SeaWorld has experienced throughout the time the park has been open, and it was not the first murder for Tilikum (Mooney). After Brancheau was killed in 2010, and Blackfish was released in July of 2013, SeaWorld endured an immense amount of backlash due to the death of the trainer and the treatment of the whales. Finally, in March of 2016 SeaWorld announced that the current generation of killer whales will be the last of the Orcas to be enclosed in the water park (Berlinger).
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.
The controversial documentary named Blackfish was released on July 19, 2013. Gabriela Cowperthwaite, the producer and the director of the film shows the controversial lives of killer whales in captivity. Gabriela is trying to show us about how holding these wild animals in captivity, the way Seaworld did it, results in deaths and injuries to trainers over years of time. This really shows with Tilikum and the case of Dawn Brancheau which ended in a tragic death. The emotion and the tone of the film is trying to persuade the viewer to feel like having these whales in captivity is horrible for them, and they would have a much better life in the wild. Having killer whales in captivity has proven multiple times to be a mistake in the past and big corporate companies such as Seaworld, will do whatever it takes to be able to keep them there.
Orcinus orca is the scientific name for the massive marine mammal. Orcas are not rare, but have declining numbers in some areas (Martin.) Orcas are found from the Artic Ocean to the Antartic Ocean. (Britannica) They belong to the Delphinidae, or dolphin family, which is the largest of their species. Female orcas grow to be at the most 15 feet, and weigh up to 4 tons, but the males can grow as large as 20-30 feet, and weight up to 8 tons. (Martin) The color of the orca is white in some spots, black on the majority of the body, and gray just behind the dorsal fin. It is white on the chin, belly and the eye. The white patch above the eye is usually mistaken for the eye, and may confuse their prey, but acts as a camouflage for the eye. The name “killer whale” makes people tend to believe that this is a viscious man-eating mammal, yet it is one of the most shrewd, docile and playful species of the marine mammals. The orca is sexually mature at 10-15 years of age, much like humans, which is 12-13 years of age. They tend to mate year round, and is able to have a calf every two years. It is interesting to know that lactation of the mother lasts 12 or more months (Wynne.) The life expectancy of orcas is 45-50 years of age.
Ex- SeaWorld Employee Gives Chilling Details About Orca Mistreatment, an article written by Ameena Schelling, was based on the story of a former employee at SeaWorld’s grueling experience working at the park. Sarah Fischbeck worked as a diver for six years at SeaWorld, starting in 2007. Many of her tales gave the park a negative connotation. Animals were held in small tanks. This caused the whales, turtles, or any other aquatic animals to attack on one another. Fischbeck stated, “You’d be diving at the bottom of the tanks and you’d find these long strips of what looked like black rubber, and it was the skin they peeled off each other.” The size of the habitats wasn’t the only issue. The penguin exhibit wasn’t protected properly. Tourists would
To many who’ve seen it, “Blackfish” is a damning indictment of SeaWorld and its decision to hold killer
Did you know that while you are there watching the cool exciting whales, you aren’t thinking about where do they get them from, or where do they sleep how do they live are they happy? Well they get the whales when they are babies they take them from their mothers and they sleep in the same pool they perform from, and “BlackFish” is where you can see it all. You probably think that well it can’t be that bad because wouldn’t the whales revolt well they already have, 3 trainers have already died maybe even more. The trainers were blamed for their own death when it was Seaworld's fault. They said if she was still alive she would even tell you it was her fault.
Blackfish was released in 2013 by director Gabriela Cowperthwaite. This documentary is about a killer whale name Tilikum, a whale who has taken several lives of people. The documentary also shows you how happy they are out in the wild and how they swim miles and miles every day, but the whales at SeaWorld are in small tanks and just swim in tiny circles not giving them enough room for them. This also shows you how they treat them if they don’t listen to the trainer when given something to do. At SeaWorld separates the babies from their mothers because they are either sold to other parks or put into another tank. This film is emotionally sad. It will make you realize the relationship these animals have with nature and how little the humans learn
But for what it is, it is a film that helps raise awareness of what goes on behind the scenes. SeaWorld is not as fascinating as it seems. Blackfish is a film that strips away the image of fun from these parks, and shows the bitter reality of what goes on behind the fun commercials. Blackfish is a film that sheds light not only on the brutal mental and physical abuse that some of these whales go through when put into a compact area with other whales they are not familiar with, but also the horrendously deceptive, irresponsible, and dehumanizing way in which SeaWorld treats its trainers, the people who the public are supposed to trust to know exactly how to handle themselves in the event of an incident. The fact that the film conveys this to the viewer shows success. Something that led to a lack of success was only showing one side (their side) of the argument. The film's tagline is, "Never capture what you can't control." In essence, the film puts on notice a major corporation who makes its money by turning animals into performers and questions the validity of such practice with little regard to these
Anyone who has been to SeaWorld has seen trained whales, dolphins, and seals. SeaWorld guests are entertained by the sea mammals in the tanks, jumping in the air on command by whistle. These tricks draw guests into the park. What may seem to be fun for the viewer, is torture for the mammals. There is a deadly truth behind all sea mammals in captivity: they don’t survive well there. Though sea mammals provide entertainment, they do not belong in captivity. Imagine being at home and then somebody broke in and you were forced, without any choice, to join the circus. This is what the mammals have to go through every day. It is not fair for the mammals to go through this. Why should anyone want them to? Now imagine being a six foot man living in an apartment that is only seven feet high. It would be very difficult to get around. Finally, imagine being a six ton whale that has to live in a much smaller confined area that is not anywhere close to the regular area in which a whale should live. At SeaWorld, the tanks are approximately thirty six feet deep. In the ocean, whales can swim up to 200 feet below the surface of the sea. (Stone, B)
...for that matter. The companies say that all they want to do is educate the public about these wild animals but I don't see that as true. With all the shows, stunts, and tricks SeaWorld trains them to do I think it's safe to say that they're in it for the money. Education is not at the top of their priorities. I have no doubt that marine mammals are taken in for rehabilitation and care, but that doesn't mean SeaWorld should take advantage of that and put that animal in the entertainment business. In my opinion, the only reason SeaWorld of San Diego didn't keep that stranded gray whale is simply because it would eventually grow to be too large for them to keep captive. Whales and dolphins are extremely intelligent and don't deserve to swim in oversized bath tubs their whole life. The ocean is their home, that's where they should be and that's where they should remain.