Psihoyos

Louis Psihoyos first premiered his documentary The Cove at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009. The audience was shocked. Very few people had even heard of the dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan, let alone see it with their own eyes. Psihoyos and his team of experts wanted to uncover the secret of a small town in Japan for the world to see on the big screen. In order to convince his audience that the killing of dolphins needed to be stopped, Psihoyos used appeals to logos, ethos, and pathos throughout the film. As the director of The Cove, it was up to Psihoyos to establish strong logos, appeal to reason. The documentary aims to provide logistical evidence against the events in Taiji. The Cove argues that whether dolphins are sold into captivity

Because of the strong stance of the film, it became expected that there would be an equally as strong opposition denying all claims the movie made. Psihoyos discussed the Oceanic Preservation Society, and organization that he founded, and a few of their past projects. He also gains the help of many world famous ocean and marine activists including O’Barry. While introducing O’Barry, video clips of him releasing dolphins around the world and protesting captivity are flashed across the screen. This proves to the audience that O’Barry is a force to be reckoned with in the activist community. To make the film connect to a person with less knowledge of O’Barry’s work, Psihoyos involves more household names. People like cofounder of Greenpeace International Paul Watson and actress/activist Hayden Panettiere. These familiar faces make a skeptical audience more likely to consider a strong argument. The film also touches on O’Barry’s life as a dolphin trainer. He explains that while working with captive dolphins he only considered the paycheck he would receive and not the wellbeing of the animals. This slight consideration of the opposition strengthens the connection between the audience and the filmmakers and intensifies the movie’s