Gabriela Cowperthwaite Blackfish

Gabriela Cowperthwaite directed Blackfish to illustrate the mental and physical struggles orca whales face in captivity and highlight its negative effects on the death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau. Cowperthwaite’s intertwined usage of logos and pathos throughout this film allows the viewer to comprehend this scenario in a new light to expose the truth behind the deaths of the three individuals murdered by SeaWorld killer whale, Tilikum.

Throughout the film, Cowperthwaite’s ability to personify killer whales definitely could not have been accomplished without her tactical use of logos. Cowperthwaite’s film reveals that a scientific brain study of the orcas found that they have large limbic system, which indicates they process emotions on a larger spectrum. While Tilikum was kept in Sealand of the Pacific, he would constantly be taunted and chased by the older female orcas to the point of trainers moving him to the medical bay by himself. Including the brain

study is for contextual purposes as it allows the film to introduce the concept of Tilikum starting his violent behavior as a result of these traumatic experiences.

Furthermore, the documentary references to an actual clip of a SeaWorld trainer explaining to visitors that, “25% of killer whales have a floppy fin as they age.” Although to the common eye it may seem to be the truth, the film reveals that, “less than 1% in the wild” have this condition. By providing these contrasting details, it introduces the viewer to idea that SeaWorld is prone to this type of manipulative behavior which undermines situations involving the maltreatment of orcas and its effects immensely. The use of the “floppy fin” facts in the documentary are purposeful in the portrayal that if the chances of the dorsal fin of an orca increases drastically in

captivity, then the chances of an orca attacking a trainer while in captivity are also feasible. By using the actual footage as well as providing scientifically proven evidence which contradicts the statements given by SeaWorld, ethos is created in order to support their claim. The claim which emphasizes SeaWorld’s negligence of the effects of captivity on the orca whales mentally and physically is further built upon through Cowperthwaite’s use of pathos.

Without the use of pathos in Blackfish, Gabriela Cowperthwaite would not have been able to achieve the sense of sympathy for the killer whales. Various former SeaWorld trainers who had worked at SeaWorld park locations were interviewed by Cowperthwaite for her film to give their personal experiences working with Tilikum, Dawn Brancheau, or orcas in general. During the movie, light and merry music plays while they give their funny or memorable anecdotes before and when they started working at SeaWorld. As this portion ends, the pathos develops when soft piano music plays behind each trainer reminiscing to where and what they were doing when the news of Dawn Brancheau being killed by Tilikum. Not only is pathos developed here, but ethos as well in order to convince the viewer that the incident which had occurred had a mental toll on various trainers who had worked with Tilikum or any other orcas in the past. The piano music creates subtle emotional background, while the personal stories given reveal that the majority were very surprised that Tilikum killed Brancheau. Original footage is constantly used to depict the orcas in their natural habitat because of its emotional appeal.

Gabriela Cowperthwaite was able to illustrate the adversity killer whales experience while captive in aquatic theme parks such as SeaWorld through her purposeful usage of scientific evidence in logos and personal anecdotes in pathos. Without the use of these rhetorical appeals, SeaWorld would not have been exposed for their ignorance toward the emotional and physical abuse of their captive killer whales and the precedent of the effect of captivity on the killer whales would not have been set for the world.