Preview

Summary Of The Film 'Blackfish'

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
794 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Summary Of The Film 'Blackfish'
The 2013 documentary entitled “Blackfish” directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, tells of the beloved, yet infamous killer whales. There is a dramatic contrast that is exposed in the film given the fact that Orcas in the wild are majestic creatures friendly and endearing yet when they are in captivity they hold an innate ability to be savage and brutal killers. The theme of Blackfish contends that these animals should not be held captive. I strongly concur with this notion. Several emotional appeals are made many times, in order to exemplify the shameful and harmful effects of captivity on killer whales; footage of whale on whale aggression is shown. In fact actually Orcas are the largest species of Dolphin not whales. Nonetheless this was done to prove that Orcas, when held in a very confined space, exhibit hostile actions towards …show more content…
He clearly was emotionally unstable and should not have been in captivity. In the wild these animals can swim up to a 100 miles a day. Swimming around in what they consider as a small pool is inadequate. Stricter safety guidelines should have been taken, as well, the trainers should have been told of Tilli’s imbalanced temperament. After much deliberation an agreement with the Humane Society of the United States has been made. Sea World has announced that they are ending their Orca shows and captive breeding activities; this could be viewed as a publicity stunt to save face and reestablish their reputation. However, the popular notion is they were pressured to do so by steadily declining tickets sales of SeaWorld’s theatrical shows.
"We will introduce new, inspiring, natural orca encounters rather than theatrical shows, as part of our ongoing commitment to education, marine science research and the rescue of marine animals.", taken from the company’s

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The documentary successfully exploits visual and emotional rhetoric in order to cause its audience to question the treatment of whales and the habit of caring for these orcas in captivity. By observing the dilemma of captivity amongst orca whales, it produces emotions that range from empathy to resentment. This film powerfully influences its viewers to want to take action and possibly join efforts to help killer whales in captivity…

    • 1293 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    With such deliberate placement, the writer seeks to exemplify insight of the article by providing historically iconic dates in cetacean captivity, particularly those which have made an impact in media coverage of the topic. By searching through news articles of these dates, the student is immediately able to locate cover stories and breaking news videos of various attacks. Along with dates, statistics can also be found within the entry. Several times throughout the pages, the whale Tilikum appears in association with three deaths in the past years he has been held in captivity, and his being the largest whale in captivity. This means that Tilikum has a violent past, and can easily overcome a trainer. Another statistical factor that is referenced is that of Mean Duration of Captivity, or MDC. “Based upon the MMIR data, and represented in Appendix A, we have calculated the mean duration of captivity (MDC) to be less than nine years. This is regardless of whether an orca was extracted from the ocean, or born at a theme park.” This statement emphasizes that orcas live shockingly short lives while held in captivity, due to less-than-ideal living conditions. The statistics provide the student with a grasp of exactly of much or how many ways the actions of the parks have an effect on the animals living in captivity. It provides concrete evidence on which we can rely for an image of things such…

    • 1318 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    c) Summary: This article is about some former employees who worked at Marineland and have filed a petition with 77,000 names bringing awareness and urging the government to take immediate action to regulate zoos. Premier Dalton McGuinty recognizes the concerns behind the petition but wants to wait until the Society for the Protection of Animals completes its investigation and makes recommendations before he takes further action. Phil Demers is a former animal trainer at Marineland who quit after 11 years because he could no longer bear to see animals not being properly cared for and housed in inappropriate settings. He goes on to further add that his heart is breaking after watching dolphins swimming with their eyes squeezed shut because their water filtration system broke down and was not repaired.…

    • 1288 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Tilikum Blackfish

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages

    You have many accounts from past trainers or employees that use to work at Sea World giving their view on the event that happened with Tilikum. Which say that the animal is a danger to the people that work with it and most of the orcas presumably have physical and metal health problems. Which leads them to hurt or even killer some of the trainer that work at sea world.…

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Throughout the documentary “Blackfish” many rhetorical strategies are used to persuade the viewer about how captive and free killer whales living styles are affected. The main devices used to manipulate the viewer are: ethos, pathos, and logos.…

    • 238 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ethos In Black Fish

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the documentary Black fish director Gabriella Cowperthwaite (2013) is showing the viewers how horrific SeaWorld really is. Gabriella Cowperthwaite (2013) displays to the viewer by using pathos, she uses clips of men who are being paid by SeaWorld to take baby orcas out of the wild (Cowperthwaite, 2013). The documentary even shows the viewers the baby orcas being taken from their mothers and the mothers not being able to do anything about it. Gabriella interviews one of the men John Crowe that was a driver that SeaWorld hired to take the baby orcas out of the wild and John states “We only captured the little ones because of the shipping costs. I lost it I didn’t stop working though, it’s just like kid napping a little one with the mother standing right there” (Cowperthwaite, 2013). Gabriella Cowperthwaite wants people to recognize and understand what is going on. SeaWorld lost a lot of currency after this documentary, because people now understand what was truly going on behind all the flips, tricks, and how they received the orcas and how they transported them to their…

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Although there have been many animal advocates protesting against SeaWorld, there are other people who don’t mind the Orcas being at SeaWorld. “Shamu the show and the marine parks’ collection of orcas have been inextricably linked to SeaWorld since the San Diego park’s origins more than a half century ago” (San Diego Union-Tribune 1). The killer whales have been the face of SeaWorld for many years. The Orcas are one of the main reasons people go to Seaworld. Shamu is the famous name that all the Orcas are known as, because of the captive killer whale that appeared at shows in SeaWorld San Diego in the 1960’s. “She was the fourth orca ever captured, and the second female, after her death, the name Shamu continued to be used in SeaWorld…

    • 203 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Blackfish, the 2013 documentary about the attacks of killer whales provides a profound look on the miserable lives of orcas that are being held against their will. However, the film focuses on more than the “Free Willy” longings. This film is extremely emotional and somewhat graphic as it visually shows why killer whales, at numerous SeaWorld and marine parks, attack the trainers and why these whales should not be held in captivity.…

    • 852 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    With a total of 23 beautiful orca whales, it is no surprise SeaWorld attracted 4.4 million tourists in 2014. These millions flock to watch the black and white beauties swim, splash, and wave in front of huge audiences and charismatic trainers, but these millions might not be so excited once they watch, Blackfish. In the documentary, Blackfish, filmmakers attempt to discredit the SeaWorld corporation, for compromising the welfare of captive orcas for a higher financial gain. Blackfish caused quite the stir when it comes to SeaWorld’s treatment of their orcas, and brought into question, if it is ethical to keep these animals in captivity.…

    • 1838 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Seaworld

    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages

    My last source seemed to sum up strangely well, The article from The New Orleans CityBusiness newspaper. This article tells seaworld's opinion a little after the court ruling, releasing new information about their updates on the parks. Seaworld CEO Joel Manby, even noted the change in the company over all, saying that they were evolving with the new expansion on the orca exhibit that has a “conservative message”. Profits declined on the orca shows after the release of the documentary Blackfish, and after the very public court case between the california coastline commission, and the company. The conservative and anti abuse outlook that most of the public has seaworld had to change to avoid bankruptcy and the fall of the company. So the one hundred million dollar expansion is going to giving seaworld visitors a natural message, even though Seaworld was unhappy about the court ruling. The CEO said, “company had no other choice because the ruling set a "bad precedent" for not only SeaWorld but all zoos, aquariums and other…

    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After Seaworld Analysis

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Aquatic and wild animals seem to be a huge contribution of our society and entertainment, but rarely we see incidents recently recalling killer whales at SeaWorld. Reading the article “After Seaworld, ‘Blackfish effect’ on circuses and zoos?” by Kelly Wallace, shows the viewpoint on the topic of the movie called “Blackfish.” The film is about Seaworld and the famous killer whale Tilikum. The history of him and his seaworld experience was introduced. He ended up killing his trainer Dawn Brancheau, and some people even blamed her for it. This is a topic that is rarely discussed in society, but it seems as if people have a misunderstanding or don't know enough about it to have an opinion. The shocking news, is that this is not the first time…

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the most prominent ways SeaWorld has shown they truly do care about the animals, and environment is by the creation of a new SeaWorld parks website called “seaworldcares.com”. This new website features everything you need to know about how Seaworld cares for their animals, including additional links including: “Orca profiles”, “The new SeaWorld”, “Ask SeaWorld”, “SeaWorld in the news”, “SeaWorld cares blog”, and “What other say.” This website is filled with valid information on how SeaWorld is not causing any harm to the animals in their parks, and in the wildlife. Former SeaWorld employee stated in 2016:…

    • 674 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Over thirty years and three deaths have occurred at the marine park SeaWorld, Keltie Byrne, Dawn Brancheau, and Daniel P. Dukes. The media blew up about the aggressive behaviors of the whales; killing innocent trainers. SeaWorld San Antonio alone is responsible for fourteen deaths of Orcas in the past thirty years. Where is the media's articles for the deaths of Winnie, Kahana and Kortar? Three orcas of the fourteen that have died in the care of SeaWorld's facility.…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the stride of greed in this world human beings have been thriving off of almost anything to get what they believe is obtainable. Within the human endeavor to acquire currency some actions taken by SeaWorld are morally wrong and discerning. The ethical dilemma of the exploitation of wild orcas at SeaWorld has become a controversial topic with the idea of freeing the orcas to be the most morally understood solution. SeaWorld has repeatedly displaced orcas from mothers for different attractions or to ship to other parks. This occurrence is followed by the mother producing disturbing long range calls to attempt to locate her baby, described by a neuroscientist in Blackfish. The conditions these majestic orcas endure can only damage their…

    • 1855 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Blackfish Essay

    • 1976 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Who does not love to see dolphins and whales flipping and doing tricks? Although the animals look happy and unharmed, there is a dark truth behind the captive marine life in amusement parks and zoos. Yes, attending zoos and marine life amusement parks are a part of childhood; but recently researchers have discovered just how cruel the environment is for the marine life in captivity. After studies of comparing the quality of life of marine animals in the wild and in captivity, there are multiple examples shown in Blackfish, PETA, and the Animal Welfare Institute that show that animals prosper and live longer in their natural habitats. Due to the cruelty endured by the captivated Orcas, all the SeaWorld parks should be shut down and the Orca whales should be set free to prevent further demise to their species.…

    • 1976 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays