In 1961, Sea World started with their orca program. They started off by herding orcas into coves and taking their babies from the coast of Washington. At first everyone from the whale hunters to the everyday civilian believed that SeaWorld was only doing this for the whale’s benefit. Of course, there was those few critics that said the whales should stay in their natural habitat, and that it was inhumane. But Sea world seemed to be very good at covering their backs. They claimed that they were only taking the whales that weren’t fit for the natural environment claiming they had collapsed dorsal fins and that the other whales saw these whales as “outcasts”. Which we later find out was just a cover ups for their failure to properly take care …show more content…
The use of ethos in Black Fish contained many versions and different sides of respectable people throughout the sea world community, and “experts” in the domesticated animal field. Mark Simmons, a former Sea World Orca trainer, talks about how when he first became a trainer at sea world. He explains that at first glance these whales looked like they have a great life. But after a few years of really getting in touch with these animals, concluded that the whales were only acting in such behavior because they were tortured and trained to behave in that way or the whales would be deprived of food. Sea world released a video to ease the minds of the skeptics that didn’t understand the intentions of Sea World for making these whales show animals. Jim Solomons, a spokesman for Sea World claims that the whales are in captivity because they have birth defects causing them not to be fit for the wild. Which in return gives the whales a better life. Another video was released debunking Sea Worlds claim using a OSHA whale researcher. Dave Duffus explains statistics on how all the so called “birth defects” are due to captivity. He states the issues the whales had that Sea World Claimed to give them the right to take the whales out of the ocean was false, and only do to the stress of …show more content…
Most of the Segments are the whale trainers that had the best connection with them. The first Part of the documentary starts off with soft music in the background with a video playing of a trainer being drown by a whale. It then cuts to the other trainers crying and expressing their feeling for a beloved coworker. The fact that this film starts off with such an emotional feel towards it portrays that most of the video is going to be directed in more of a pathos way. Most of the trainers admitted that the whales weren’t treated the best. They were then asked why they continued to work for something they didn’t believe in, and they all replied the same. They felt that if they didn’t stay that the whales would be treated even worse. Steve Huxter said that he didn’t enjoy his job. He felt that he was trapped because he believed without his emotional bond with the whales that no one would treat them with the same care and respect the whales
Since whales are normally peaceful in the wild and they only seem to attack while in captivity, the argument is that captivity is wrong and dangerous for killer whales. This argument is supported by detailed facts about how the whales are tortured and agitated by other whales with no outlet. Both female and male whales are confined to a swimming pool where they are in a way being forced to try and mate. The female whales tend to abuse the male whales, which leads the whales to become mentally and physically unhealthy resulting in attacks on trainer. In the interviews with Corinne Cowell and Nadine Kallen, they mentioned that when they visited Sealand of the Pacific that three whales were confined to a “dingy pool”. Another appeal to pathos is when a neurologist that has studied killer whales mentions how the animals are very intelligent and are well-aware of what is going on around them. (SeaWorld) Killer whales have similar brains to humans, but have a bigger part of their brain where emotions are processed. With this, whales are more aware of their emotions and the bonds they make with humans and other animals. (SeaWorld) With the huge amount of raw footage, first-hand accounts, and true information, the film is able to grasp the attention of the viewers with the amount of emotion that is shown from the former trainers and the whales themselves. With these tactics, the film effectively appeals to the
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
Out of the 156 whales they have taken into captivity from the wild, 129 are dead. Including orcas bred within SeaWorld, at least 165 have died in their facilities (Schelling). Another falsehood SeaWorld claims is that collapsed dorsal fins are completely normal and common of all male orcas. It is actually quite rare to find in the wild, while every single one of their male whales has a collapsed dorsal fin (“8 Shocking Facts…”). SeaWorld also guarantees that they never separate a calf from its mother and even have posted a picture of a baby and its mother as proof. What they didn’t tell the public was that soon after that picture was posted they shipped the calf off to Spain alone to a different park. A past trainer even said that there had been at least 19 separations of mother and calf that he knew of at his location. All of these factors previously stated added up have a large influence on the whales mentally. Many whales are afflicted by psychosis and anxiety and in turn are given drugs such as Valium to keep them performing in shows. There have been various occasions, often swept under the rug by SeaWorld and away from the public eye, where the drugs didn’t work enough (Schelling). There
Second reason why they shouldn’t be kept in a captivity. You can’t recreate on orcas natural environment. The pods sea world cannot hold 40 or more whales which are usually in a pod. If it holds 40 orcas they will make more babies and after their gonna be so much whales and the water won’t hold that much whales. Because whales are the size of bus school and is just like 40 bus
An authority figure or experts are people who have a high standard of knowledge in a certain subject, or a very well known in their expertise. By using an authority figure or an expert the audience feels like they know what they are talking about, therefore they believe what they have to say. Examples of authority figures or experts used in this documentary include OSHA expert witness and whale researcher Dave Duffus, Howard Garrett an Orca researcher, and Lori Marino a Neuroscientist. In this film these experts express their concern for the Orca species, and explain the things that SeaWorld failed to educate their trainers. For example, SeaWorld trainers were taught that an Orcas life span reaches a maximum of approximately 14 years, when in reality, Orcas have human life spans, which means they can potentially pass at the ripe age of 100. Not only that, but they were taught that it is natural and common for Orca dorsal fins to bend, when in reality only 1% of Orcas have a bent dorsal fin. This information was passed on to visitors of
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?
Gabriela Cowperthwaite showed many examples of pathos, logos, and ethos. Those who were trainers during February 24,2010,shows logos by giving the date, explained why they became an orca trainer. John Hargrove, a trainer, loved SeaWorld because he would go there so many times as a child so he felt connected, which gave him a sense of happiness. I also felt joyful when the trainers spoke of when they became trainers and how their first day was. A man laughed when he first put a wetsuit on backwards because he had never put one on before, since he lives on a farm.
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.
For 50 years, SeaWorld has entertained park guests with numerous stunts involving the majestic sea creature, the orca, also referred to as the killer whale, and their human trainers. What the on-lookers don’t see at these shows is what goes on behind the scenes: how the whales got there in the first place, and the conditions in which they are housed. SeaWorld San Diego opened on March 21, 1964. This was the first SeaWorld park to be established. There are three parks all together, the other two being SeaWorld San Antonio, and SeaWorld Orlando (Ask Shamu).
"Blackfish" might not make an airtight case against training wild animals for our enjoyment, but it very convincingly argues that those animals remain what they are, no matter how SeaWorld or any other corporation invested in presenting them as cuddly attractions tries to say otherwise.
The author uses ethos to make his article sound more credible, however, when he states “boats killed 10 manatees in Brevard waters last year” it sounds trustworthy since there is a number of how many manatees were killed by boats last year but the author does not state his source of where he got this number. For pathos, “Manatee advocates fear such actions will be repeated statewide if the manatee is downlisted” this sentence appeals to manatee advocates and other readers. It is showing that manatees advocates are afraid if nothing is done about the downlisting of the manatees, there is a possibility that the manatees can go
It all began with good intentions. People thinking that they can control these animals and not expect any negative impacts. It was all due to wanting to explore and entertain with the animals. However, not all animals are meant to be taken from the wild to be show animals. After many years of unfair ways, SeaWorld is doing the right thing by closing down the whale exhibit even if it isn’t by choice because it is unhealthy for both the humans and animals involved.
This appeals to surprised and saddened emotions of the audience by stating “whales are stored for 2/3 of their life in a small dark area”. The trainers “would deprive them food to make them go into the box” and this resulted in “whales covered in rakes and blood”. The music slows to a wistful tune as the former trainers discuss how “it didn’t feel right to store them there” in order to draw the audience in to empathize with them. The use of these heartbreaking scenes exhibits a sympathetic tone that proves to the audience that whales should not be kept in captivity. Blackfish uses reasoning to explain that an orca is a very intelligent creature and aware of its environment and interactions. “Whales have a part in their brain humans don’t have, they can process emotions. They live emotional lives”. The film uses this claim in order to emphasize that orcas in captivity suffer mentally. Blackfish confirms this statement by explaining that orcas have a limbic system that is more complex compared to humans. It then displays a scene reviewing an MRI that proves that researchers found a development in the brain of an orca that cannot be fully explained. By examining the brain first hand it is proof for the audience that allows them to understand this concept. The film states that mental stress and irritation can occur when
Seaworld is a giant marine life theme park. The greatest attraction to these many theme park would be those killer whales. In fact, these killer whales are the face of the park. As gigant as these mammals are, seaworld is keeping them in some pretty tight quarters. Mr. Jett and Mr.Ventre says “Wild killer whales can swim a hundred miles daily as they socialize, forage, communicate, and breed. In stark contrast, with little horizontal or vertical space in their enclosures, captive orcas swim only limited distances, with most spending many hours surface resting.” The animals don't have the freedom they need. Also when taking the whales out of their natural habit the whales tend to be depressed and not as heath in that situation. They need their freedom in the big ocean blue. Bring them into the small living units, breeding whales in captivity all for the entertainment of humans. At young ages the calves are taken away from their mothers on to a new seaworld park. Mothers of the calves have even been seen denying their offspring.
The short film ,”Humpback Whale Shows AMAZING Appreciation After Being Freed From Nets,” shows 3 men, and a woman are in a small boat, cutting away the net that inprisons the whale. This is a fine example of the value of human emotions enhancing the survival of the whale, that otherwise would more than likely die. After being freed the whale danced a happy dance of sorts, and showed it 's appreciation for valuing it 's life enough to risk their own safety to save it ("Humpback Whale Shows AMAZING