Brief Summary Of The Film 'Blackfish'

Blackfish is a thought provoking film that expresses its concerns about killer whales being kept in captivity. The main issue presented in the film surrounds Tilikum, a male killer whale. His life starts out by being taken by poachers and sold to Sea Land in Canada. Poachers were hunting whales so that they could sell them for millions of dollars. After he tragically kills a trainer, he is moved to Seaworld where he would live out his shortened life. The documentary slams Seaworld, claiming that their tactics are shortening whales lives and putting trainers in danger. According to Blackfish, whales in the wild can live up to one hundred years old and in captivity, they live to be twenty to thirty. The most publicized attack was that of Dawn Brancheau who was tragically killed by Tilikum. I believe that Blackfish is informational and did well revealing the truth about

Seaworld and how they treat their trainers and animals.
It’s undeniable that Blackfish strongly disapproves of Seaworld and how they treat their employees and whales.

Firstly, the trainers were forced to get into the water with the orcas and do crazy tricks with them. Whales are not like dogs or cats! They aren’t meant to be petted or learn dangerous tricks. Secondly, killer whales are one of the largest animals in the world and the ocean is a perfect fit for them because there’s plenty of room. At Sealand, Tilikum and others were kept in tiny stalls, only big enough for them to face forward and sleep. The stall is equivalent to a bathtub to them and is completely inhumane to keep them in there. Even at Seaworld the tank that they’re in is nowhere near the amount of space that they need to be healthy. Blackfish mostly focuses on the negatives on Seaworld, which they should because I believe that there are no positives to be found. They keep their animals in tiny habitats and if they don’t do what they’re told they don't get fed. They present their bias in a very informative and direct way, which is what truly changed my opinion about

Seaworld.
The most prominent form of rhetoric was pathos, without a doubt. The documentary had clips of whales swimming in the wild with their families, which made me sad to see the whales separated and put into small tanks. Another great use of pathos was when a female whale gave birth, and the baby was taken away from the mother a few years later. The mother whale stayed in the corner and was shivering and screeching a sound that had never been heard before. Watching this scene was heart wrenching because these animals have feelings and emotions, which are shown a lot throughout this film. I believe that there wasn’t enough use of logos because ethos and pathos take up most of the film. To improve their logos they should’ve had scientists and marine biologists added to the film. Instead, they only had former and current employees, victims families and people involved in poaching the whales. Ethos was also used effectively because they had many people who could account for the film's claims. This included past employees and victims families.
This documentary should be watched by everyone who has been to Seaworld but doesn’t know the lives of the whales that live there. I loved Seaworld and the Shamu show, but now I’m disgusted by what goes on behind the scenes. Seaworld should stop doing Shamu shows and release the whales into the wild so that can live a longer, happier life.