Blackfish Documentary Study: Documentaries are created to inform and influence their audience on a specific range of controversial topics, such as animal captivity and cruelty. Blackfish is a 2013 documentary produced and directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite and focuses on the life of a captive orca held by the sea world, Tilikum. The documentary Blackfish has utilised documentary conventions such as archival footage, diegetic sound, and statistics and facts to influence the audience to agree with the perspective that SeaWorld’s captivity of treatment of their animals, orcas specifically, is inhumane and causes them lasting negative consequences. Archival footage has been included within the documentary Blackfish as a confrontational device to ensure the viewers know the extent of cruelty orcas …show more content…
SeaWorld will often proclaim facts about their orcas that are untrue to present themselves as obligational to the orcas needs. An example of this is the SeaWorld workers explaining daily, that the orcas lifespan was ”25 to 35 years. They tend to live a lot longer in this environment because they have all the veterinary care”. This is later shown to be incorrect when orca researcher Howard Garrett quotes, “We knew by 1980 after half a dozen years of the research that they live equivalent to human life spans.” He continues to state that, “every other potentially embarrassing fact is twisted and turned and denied one way or another”. This again is evident with SeaWorld explanations of Tilikum’s collapsed dorsal fin. They state that 25% of orcas in the wild have a collapsed dorsal fin, but rather only 1% of orcas in the world have a collapsed dorsal fin. The audience is also left feeling betrayed and unsure of what else SeaWorld has lied
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 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 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.
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
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?
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.
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
The documentary Blackfish directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, leaves the viewer with many different emotions. This documentary follows the life of Tilikum, a captured killer whale who is forced to preform for SeaLand. The director uses different interviews from people who have worked with Tilikum or have seen him attack people during the shows. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, has said that swimming with and training killer whales is not safe at all and should not be done. They believe it is a very high risk to the human working with the whale.
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.
Not to mention but here’s something that really caught my attention. Did you know that in captivity, Orcas live shorter lives? Orcas in the wild are expected to live for about 30-50 years. 60-70 years for males and 80-100 years for females. At Seaworld, most Orcas only live for about 13
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.
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.
Over the years orca and Seaworld have become an intertwined named. One cannot think of Seaworld without a flash of a huge orca leaping out of the water with a trainer perched on their nose. The whale have become a huge profit making entity for Seaworld bringing in viewers from all over the world. However, while the trainers boast in their orca shows that the whales live enriched and healthy lives science proves them to be wrong on all