Pets are a key component of society today. From fish to dogs, to the few who have pet tigers, humans have normalized the practice of domesticating other species. Although society has accepted this practice, the question of whether or not it is morally right remains unanswered. Blackfish, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, opens up the conversation by revealing the atrocities of SeaWorld, an amusement park that features captured and domesticated whales. The release of Jurassic World, directed by Colin Trevorrow, follows a few years later. With many parallels between the Indominus Rex in Jurassic World and Tilikum in Blackfish, Jurassic World acts as a response in agreement with Blackfish. Jurassic World criticizes animal domestication by …show more content…
highlighting the dangers within the main practices of it: breeding and isolation, especially thorough the separation of families. In Jurassic World, the Indominus Rex is a genetic hodgepodge designed to be the next flashy addition to the theme park. When making the Indominus Rex, however, the scientists focused entirely on the positive effects of each piece of genetic material that they incorporated without any consideration of possible drawbacks. This becomes a problem later in the film when Owen and Claire discover that the Indominus Rex has abilities that the park did not prepare for such as camouflage (Trevorrow 45:37-46:35). When confronted, the lead scientist informs the others that the Indominus Rex’s DNA includes cuttlefish genes to allow for accelerated growth, but at the cost of allowing the Rex to blend into its surroundings (50:30-51:00). By creating an exaggerated version of what breeders do each day, and showing the extensive damage it causes, Jurassic World takes on an anti-domestication stance that matches the opinion in Blackfish. The message that Trevorrow is conveying then becomes humans starting to treat animals as controllable things rather than natural, wild creatures, holds dire consequences. Breeding and genetic manipulation are a large part of animal domestication, and Trevorrow filmed Jurassic World with the intent to alter the view of society, which sees this as a positive element or a science that is bettering lives. Jurassic World exaggerates the consequences of genetic manipulation: The Indominus Rex kills thousands of people and many dinosaurs. However, Blackfish reveals that the true consequences of breeding are not better, just on a smaller scale. When the whales in Blackfish are captured and bred for human benefit, they disregarded the personality of the whale being used as the father even though this whale has injured and even killed multiple trainers (Cowperthwaite 1:06:27-1:06:43). SeaWorld still uses his sperm to breed the female whales, and this results in fifty four percent of the whales that SeaWorld owns exuding the same aggression (58:17-58:27). Tilikum may have killed the most trainers, but SeaWorld’s violence issues are not limited to him, as there are hundreds of reported incidents in which whales portray violent behavior towards their trainers (“Incident”). The reason that SeaWorld still used Tilikum to breed new whales is because of the monetary gain they would receive, and this is a major flaw within animal domestication. In both Jurassic World and Blackfish, the drawbacks of genetic manipulation drastically outweigh the benefits. The parks in each film try to adjust life to maximize monetary gain, and end up destroying things that extra money cannot buy back. With all of this in mind, the number of parallels between Tilikum and the Indominus Rex is huge, making the Indominus Rex in Jurassic World a fictional embodiment of Tilikum the whale.
Both are the biggest, flashiest creature of their respective kinds, and each possesses dangerous traits that their controllers ignore for profit. Jurassic World is, essentially, Blackfish presented on a different platform. Using fiction instead of a documentary, Jurassic World is critiquing the ethics of animal domestication. The key difference is that Jurassic World’s criticism is towards animal captivity as a whole, whereas Blackfish focuses on SeaWorld and parks of that nature specifically. Another important note is that Jurassic World utilizes hyperbole so that the viewer cannot overlook the problem it is addressing, while Blackfish does not. Since Cowperthwaite does not focus on animal domestication as a whole, and bases the film in reality, the truth is enough of an argument for its case. Together, however, Blackfish and Jurassic World emphasize not only that keeping animals in captivity is ethically wrong, but that specific practices within animal domestication are dangerous and that humans are naïve to the how little control they have over the creatures they call …show more content…
pets. Jurassic World criticizes not only the biological aspect of animal domestication, but the psychological element of it as well. Specifically, Jurassic World emphasizes the dangers of the isolation that is typically a part of domesticating an animal. The Indominus Rex in Jurassic World faces isolation from the moment it is born, and as Owen points out, “The only positive relationship this animal has is with that crane” (Trevorrow 34:03-34:05). When the Indominus Rex escapes captivity, it does not know how to interact with other creatures, as it had never been in a social situation before, and goes crazy, even killing other dinosaurs for sport (1:01:45-1:03:55). Keeping in mind that the Indominus Rex is still a baby, relatively, the dysfunctionality of the Indominus Rex is equal to that of all animals who experience isolation from a young age. This separation does not occur very often in nature, but is common within the realm of animal domestication, meaning young animals are receiving none of the necessary guidance. Since the Indominus Rex is a genetic mashup of multiple species, Trevorrow is using the destructive nature of it to implicate the dangers of its upbringing and the practice of isolation among all animals. Blackfish demonstrates the real-world effects of the idea played out in Jurassic World. At a young age, trappers take Tilikum from the wild and place him in captivity, effectively cutting him off from his family. From this point on, he only has negative experiences with the other whales, and his only positive relationship is with something foreign: humans. This relationship, however, isn’t always positive. Sometimes the trainers make him enter metal boxes for storage overnight, or they feed him less when his performance is inadequate (Cowperthwaite 15:43-17:38). What really creates a foundation for his violence, however, is the fact that SeaWorld’s response to all of this is to isolate Tilikum more, often making him stay in the back pool alone (1:16:31-1:17:04). The environment that SeaWorld creates for the whales is one where they feel trapped and frustrated, as the tanks are only a tiny fraction of the distance that a whale would traverse each day. This isolation leads to Tilikum being dysfunctional, just as Owen in Jurassic World suggests that an alienated animal would be (Trevorrow 33:47:33:50). Tilikum does not know how to deal with the frustration he begins to feel, and ends up taking it out on the trainers in a violent nature. This behavioral pattern is present in many of the whales within SeaWorld. Even in situations where the whales have other whales to interact with and are not truly “isolated”, there is still aggression present within the whale communities at SeaWorld, proving that there is no replacement for the socialization a whale could experience in the wild. Scientists in Blackfish explain that the corporation takes whales from their families and puts them into a tank with whales that speak different languages (Cowperthwaite 25:13-25:37). The isolation truly begins when whales are separated from the mothers, which happens frequently when humans attempt to domesticate a species. Blackfish focuses on the negative psychological effects that the loss of the baby whales has on the mothers, but the greater impact of the separation shows through the child. Statistics show that the violent incidents at SeaWorld rarely occur before the baby whale and mother separate, and the first incident for a whale tends to occur within the year or two following separation (“Incidents Analysis”). SeaWorld trasnsfers these baby whales because the baby would impede the show (Cowperthwaite 35:59-36:40). But the separation of “domesticated” families for profit extends far past SeaWorld—people constantly breed and sell dogs for profit, often separating the puppies from their mothers as if the animals are unaffected by this. Human society has normalized the breeding of animals and the separation of families, and both of the films question why this is something that is ethically okay. Jurassic World explains the dangers of animal domestication by using hyperbole to present the problem in a clear manner.
By using dinosaurs instead of dogs, the problems which can be brushed over now become unavoidable. While a dog may bite, a dinosaur will kill. That being said, this message could be overlooked if Jurassic World was standing alone because dinosaurs are stereotypically violent. However, Jurassic World crafts a response to Blackfish, which describes the harms of domestication in an animal that is not typically portrayed as violent: whales. Blackfish examines the environment of the whales at SeaWorld while primarily focusing on the outcome. The whales take out their frustration, specifically from being separated from their families, on the trainers in aggressive manners that even lead to death. Jurassic World’s Indominus Rex symbolizes Tilikum, but also represents the nightmarish potential that could result from any domestication practices. The two movies pair together to convey one message: that animal domestication and the practices within it are ethically immoral. While Jurassic World covers the magnitude of the issue, it relies on Blackfish to make its argument
credible.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
The fact that the animals in Seaworld are depressed and angered means that kids are going to see animals not only in an unnatural state. Unfortunately, they will also have the potential to see aggressive Orcas. Children are going to absolutely terrified by these animals when they are actually very calm. Peaceful animals. Plus, the facts that Seaworld gives their guests about all the animals are downright false! If we were going to compare Seaworld to anything, then I would compare it to a judge sentencing an innocent man to life in prison. Places like this truly show us that mankind is downright evil! Now, let's look back, what are our kids truly learning
The movie that I will be doing for the ethical narrative analysis will be Jurassic Park. The movie is about an island made up of dinosaurs. The park's founder, John Hammond invites a paleontologist, Dr. Grant, his assistant, a lawyer, a theologist. Hammond invites Dr. Grant to the park for his endorsement, therefore the park can be opened up with the public. The group starts off being informed about the different animals which are present on the island. The lawyer at this time is the only person that thinks this place will be very popular and profitable. A tour begins on electric vehicles running on rails which will take them through the park and see the inhabitants. The purpose of the tour is to show how safe the island will be for people
"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.
Toys, movies, clothing is a clear indication that our fascination with dinosaurs is much more than what the word represents, but also a genuine interests in the actual creatures scientists have uncovered. Dinosaur toys allow children to use their imagination to transport back to a time when dinosaurs walked the earth, became extinct, and eventually became fossils. Any kind of toy figure encourages imagination, dinosaur figures gives children an opportunity to learn about the science behind dinosaurs and fossils. Dinosaur toys, movies, clothing and advertisements also encourage children to ask questions, which becomes an opportunity to visit the library. “Judging from their frequent appearances in the movies and on television, dinosaurs have a firm hold in the popular imagination, one realm in which they show no danger of becoming extinct” (History.com, 2009). They are fierce, strong and because of anthropomorphism, dinosaurs are our
Jurassic Park is a book about the cloning of dinosaurs and they are used as the park entertainment on an island. In this park where dinosaurs are the attraction, not every thing will go as planed. Reading this book will teach someone how Michael Crichton feels about biological science and the cloning of extinct animals. There are things that caused the park to be unsuccessful. Dr. Malcom and Dennis Nedry where two of the parks problems, and the other was the nature of the animals.
The concluding scene of Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, is very important because it resolves the major conflict of the Velociraptor outbreak. Most of the tourists that had visited Jurassic Park have died, there are only a few left. Alan Grant, a middle-aged paleontologist, is one of the survivors and has the daunting task of going toe-to-toe with three escaped Velociraptors when he is separated from his group. With a lawyer and two kids locked in the control room, Grant had the responsibility of getting them out of there. This task is depicted with this quote, “There was no door to the control room beyond. Gennaro and the kids were trapped in there. It was up to him now” (352). Grant successfully eliminates the vicious dinosaurs by poisoning