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Argumentative Essay On Blackfish

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Two years ago a documentary was released that completely changed the view of a multi-billion dollar industry forever. This extremely influential and controversial documentary is called Blackfish. Blackfish centers around the story of a killer whale named Tilikum, who is nicknamed Tilly. The documentary was produced to illustrate that SeaWorld, and other sea parks similar to it, do not treat their animals in captivity well. Tilikum had killed one of his trainers in the past year when the documentary began to be filmed. Dawn Brancheau, one of Tilikum’s former trainers was dragged down to the bottom of the tank and held until she drowned on February 24th in 2010. This, sadly, was not the first person to be killed by Tilikum. Tilikum killed three …show more content…

Even though the documentary does not have strong aesthetic appeal, the film’s raw emotion draws both critics and the audience in. According to Rotten Tomatoes, 90 percent of viewers like the film and 98% of critics like it. In an article named "My Problem with 'Blackfish' | Rope of Silicon", written by Brad Brevet, some critics’ “problem isn't with the message, it's with the delivery and while Blackfish is successful in getting its message out… it fails in giving us all the necessary information” (Brevet). Brad Brevet also thinks the film fails in making this a broader topic. Killer Whale’s being treated poorly in captivity is a very important problem that needs to be addressed, but Blackfish does not cover the more general problem: animals in captivity everywhere. Animals in captivity are not provided enough space and freedom that they would receive if they were wild and Blackfish has made viewers see what truly happens behind closed doors when the show ends. The film is told primarily through former workers voice, which weakens the credibility of the film. It is not stated how long the workers were at SeaWorld, or if they worked there at all. Even though the credibility of the film is not as strong as it could be, the graphic images and videos speak for

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