Examples Of Ethos In Blackfish

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. The film starts off with a 911-phone call as the person on the phone explains what is happening. We hear

It is being shown through the stories of the former trainers; the videos of the attacks during performances and even during the 911-phone calls in the opening scene of the film. Hearing the poignant stories of the former trainers allows the audience to emotionally connect with them. The director interviewed a few witnesses to these attacks. Listening to their heartbreaking story just allowed the audience to really take the time to understand what happened and how they felt about the incidents that occurred. The 911-phone call about Dawn’s accident is what really grabs the audience’s attention. Cowperthwaite uses pathos to grab her audience’s attention, but not to a point where they are enraged; she uses just the right amount to persuade them that the animals at SeaWorld are in terrible living conditions and are treated

At first, the film is happy and the trainers talk about how much they loved working at SeaWorld and working with the animals. As the film goes on, you get to see the tragedies and heartbreak that goes on at these parks. The film talks a lot about the living conditions of the whales. Tilikum gets beat up by the female whales, which does not necessarily happen in the wild. The whales are used to swimming around one hundred miles a day, but in captivity, they are confined to a little swimming pool where they barely have any room to even breathe. It is also mentioned that orcas have a lifespan of twenty-five to thirty years. In reality, that is their lifespan in captivity. In the wild, male orcas can live up to sixty to seventy years and female orcas can live anywhere from eighty to more than one hundred years. This shows how SeaWorld fails to treat their animals