What Is The Moral Of The Movie Blackfish

In terms of pathos, Blackfish is also strong in delivering an argument appeal to emotion. These SeaWorld trainers gave their personal stories in the documentary, all sharing how they were so excited to work with the animals when first applying and getting the job. They all explained how they truly were able to develop relationships with Tilikum and the other orcas during their time at SeaWorld. When talking about the incidents between Tilikum and trainer Dawn Brancheau, the trainers’ emotion is shown when they stutter in their words, cry, and give their deepest regrets

Cowperthwaite used Pathos to get the audience emotionally connected into the film. She used an emotional appeal to help the audience stay invested throughout the film. She started the documentary by showing all the tricks that the Orca Whales can perform, to get the audience intrigued by what they are capable of in the SeaWorld business. Cowperthwaite then goes onto show how the Orca whales were trained to do the tricks. This is when the mood of the film changes from the whales putting on amazing shows to the devastating reality behind how they are trained to do them. She showed live footage of the whales be starved and forced to do the tricks over and over again. The whales were finally fed after the trainer was satisfied by their performance. She used pathos by showing live footage of how the whales were

A documentary is an expository text that informs its audience about an issue person or event using visual and auditory conventions to convey a message. Documentaries are often used to reveal an unusual, interesting or unknown angle. Topics are limited only by one's imagination. The documentary Blackfish is the story of Tilikum, a captive killer whale that has taken the lives of several people, it underscores problems within the sea-park industry, man's relationship to nature, and how little has been learned about these highly intelligent mammals. This documentary was directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite. The ideas that orcas are wild and unpredictable, Seaworld’s treatment of orcas are inhumane and Seaworld’s was negligent in their training of their trainers. These ideas are shown throughout the documentary as visual techniques of Celebrity figure, expert opinion, audio codes, the documentary technique of interviews, archival footage and written codes. I think these ideas in the documentary are quite true and are well proven throughout the documentary.

One of the most effective strategies that the director amplifies in the film is pathos. Pathos is shown by phone calls that have been made to dispatch when attacks occurred, actual footage from attacks and baby orcas crying when they were separated from their mothers. This allows the audience to see and hear all of the incidents regarding the killer whales and be able to feel more connected. When the director uses pathos the appeal is to have the sympathy directed for the killer whales. A claim that ties in with all of this is in the documentary when they are saying killer whales are normally peaceful in the wild, and they only attack while in captivity. Detailed facts about how the whales are to an extent, tortured and become agitated with no outlet support this reasoning, since there are documented reports and footage of this as well.

Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s activist documentary, Blackfish, spurred a significant public dialogue following its 2013 premier. The film centers on the role of Tilikum, an orca whale at SeaWorld, in the deaths of three SeaWorld trainers, including, most recently, Dawn Brancheau. Cowperthwaite follows a suit brought against Sea World by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), weaving together testimony of scientists, former trainers, and family members of the deceased, among others, to make a compelling case against SeaWorld’s practice of holding and performing alongside orcas. Nevertheless, after its release, the film drew criticism from some of its participants as well as Sea World itself. Cowperthwaite claims not to have tried to vilify SeaWorld. However, this claim seems dubious given the film’s fairly evident anti-SeaWorld bias.

Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite in the documentary, Blackfish (2013), argues that captivity triggers aggression in killer whales. Cowperthwaite supports her argument by demonstrating shocking footage and emotional interviews to present a convincing case against keeping these animals in captivity and for human entertainment. The author’s purpose is to show the problems that are caused by captivity in order to aware the audience that keeping killer whales in captivity affects their behavior mentally and physically. The author writes in resentful tone to Sea World, the people who visited Sea World, and those who were present during the killer whale incident. Gabriela Cowperthwaite argues that keeping killer whales in captivity at SeaWorld affects their mentality due to how they are being treated. She makes this argument by applying pathos, ethos, and logos.

Black; a colour closely associated with dread, a cascade of bubbles emerging, and a voice filled with sorrow reveals the events that lead to the death of a human being are present when suddenly a killer whale and person come into shot. This is what the audience first sees with the documentary Blackfish, what they do not see, however, is all of the manipulative fallacies. At first glance Blackfish looks like a strong and valid argument, however, under further examination it becomes evident that Blackfish’s argument is not as strong as it first appears to be. While Blackfish has some solid evidence, the use of fallacies in the argument makes it manipulative, and therefore invalid.

The beginning of the documentary shows a whale attacking the trainer which makes the audience feel whales are dangerous and invites us to be terrified of them. The body of the documentary then goes into depth about the whales which explains SeaWorld’s mistreatment of them, whale psychology and their behaviour. The end of the documentary, a footage of a whale swimming with the community, which represent hope for the whales. By constructing a sequence like this, it makes us feel aware, anger and compassion which is basically playing with our emotions and also that is what the producer do to make a quality, memorable and poignant

Black Fish uses the death of a recognized Killer Whale trainer at SeaWorld, Dawn Brancheau who was one of Tilikums trainers thorough his twenty years in captivity, almost as a framing device to explore the theory that possessing Orcas in captivity is corrupt and unnatural for the whales. In Black fish, there are many different tragedies that went on while the Orcas were in captivity. Fisher men separated the young from the mothers and took them into SeaWorld. Many of the workers were unaware of all of the immoral actions they were taking part in. Tilikum was the Killer Whale that ended up killing Dawn Brancheau and causing a stir in SeaWorld. Having Orcas in captivity damages them but, the trainers were scared to leave because they want to continue to care for the whales. There is a relationship shared with the trainers and the whales yet it is obvious that very little was taught in the SeaWorld industry about these intelligent mammals.

With all of the incidents and interviews provided in the film, my interpretation of what the Filmmakers purpose was to provide evidence and information explaining why there are so many deadly killer whale accidents. Viewers can take away enough information from this film to make their own opinion on Sea Worlds captivity of killer whales. The filmmakers of blackfish pieced together Tilikums story with different film footage, interviews with trainers who know Tilikum the most, and expert testimonies. It creates a great set up for their claim about captivated killer whales used for entertainment.

The claim further argues that said stress can be directly blamed for the violent outbursts of the orcas against the training staff. When whales are taken away from their families in the wild waters, they grieve the pain and suffering that is associated with that parting, thus making the whales an emotional time bomb. The documentary provides grounds to argue that orcas suffer the emotional repercussions of separation, much like humans do by with the fact that scientists have proven them to be conscious of human-like relationships and feelings via MRI’s. Moreover, included in this documentary was a commercial of a killer whale giving birth to baby Kalina. Much like our society, killer whales value their relationships with their offspring. Once Kalina was taken from her mother, Katina, is shown being immobile in the corner of the tank, audibly screeching and crying. Being able to see and hear the tragic response of the mother makes the audience empathize with the orca and want to cry for her. Incorporating this event shows how holding orcas in captivity can negatively affect them psychologically. This vivid scene gives the audience the ability to sympathize on a personal level with a mammal other than

David Kirby’s book describes the complex issues of whales in captivity. The death of a SeaWorld trainer brought up many objective reasons of the training practices of this business were not effective at keeping trainers safe in the water. Currently this debate is still being tested in a court of law. OSHA claims that even with the precautions that SeaWorld tries to use, it still cannot guarantee the safety of trainers in the water. This cultural topic has been gaining ground, and recently prompted a movie based off this book titled, Blackfish. The audience of this book includes animal activists, followers of David Kirby, and people that are interested in the topic of killer whales in captivity. Rob Grom was contracted to create a book

Killer whales, also known as orcas, are the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. In their natural habitat, killer whales have been described as docile and majestic creatures. Killer whales are known to travel in pods that are composed of matrilines. Matrilines are groups of whales connected by maternal descent. Relationships between killer whale calves and their mother are extremely close knit (“Behavior”). Beginning in 1965, SeaWorld – a marine zoo, began capturing whales from the wild to perform in shows for park visitors’ entertainment (“10 Things You Didn’t Know”). In the documentary Blackfish, director Gabriela Cowperthwaite urges and reassures audience members that keeping these large creatures in captivity is a horrible thing that is dangerous for both the whales as well as the humans that interact with them. To accomplish this persuasion, Cowperthwaite employs the use of rhetorical devices ethos, pathos, and logos to solidify her claims.

The film is directly targeted at the general population, with the intent to notify the public about the cruel management and the inhumane practices of SeaWorld. They use Logos to assure that Orca whales are more than a simple creature. They inform the audience that Orcas are intellectual, and are capable of understanding emotion. The film supports this claim by further saying that orcas have a limbic system that is more complex than that of humans. Additionally, Blackfish supports its argument by claiming that scientists have used MRI's on the whales, proving them to be conscious of human-like relationships and feelings. This source of Logos becomes very apparent when the film shows the Orca whales being taken from their ocean environment. They become lethargic and show signs of depression while captive in their tanks. Another sign of the whales having the capacity to understand emotion and human-like relationships is when one of the mother Orcas gives birth. Form research, it is found

Sea World rebuttal was not considered in the documentary of “Blackfish” which clearly defines the bias views of the creator. So without choice, viewers are marked to take the side of the creator or leave the documentary feeling like a kid in a fine china shop, unable to touch or lose your balance for fear of shattering the look of the shop. Unfortunately, the problem with animal activist groups is that they force their religious views of animals on others with no other biases to consider. Hence, their real arguments are skewed and we are unable to clearly see the real poignant side without the opinions.