Documentary 'Blackfish': Documentary Analysis

The controversial documentary Blackfish, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite rose to popularity four years ago in 2013, when it was released. Blackfish tells the stories of killer whales, or orcas, that were caught and kept in captivity, and the effects that arose due to their capture. The documentary focuses on Tilikum, an orca caught in 1983, who was kept in captivity in SeaWorld Orlando since his capture for 34 years. Blackfish does an excellent job in using all three rhetorical appeals, providing many real life examples and statistics, to defend their argument that orcas should never be captured or held in captivity.

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.

In 2013 Gabriela Cowperthwaite produced and directed the documentary “Blackfish”. This documentary mainly focused on the issues behind killer whales being held in captivity such as at the famous amusement park Sea World, instead of the open ocean. Some negative outcomes of these animals being confined to such small spaces is, many accounts have been documented of the whales being agitated and having an aggressive tone with other whales and the trainers as well that work with them. A handful of these are human deaths caused by the orca whales. Throughout the documentary the director uses the Rhetorical strategies ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade the audience and try to convince them that her argument has a valid point and can be

          The website for SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment is speaking towards anyone that has seen the documentary BlackFish, or anyone who thinks that SeaWorld is abusing or mistreating the orcas or other animals by keeping them in captivity. They also attract the corporate side of SeaWorld as a business. The website gives information about what the business does to give back to the community, how their animals are treated and shows their credibility to draw in customers.  The tab titled “The truth about Blackfish” states multiple points about how the producers of the documentary were lying about their facts or over exaggerating to appeal to multiple viewers. The purpose is to fight back against

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.

Finally, I will give reason to why people need to realize the damage SeaWorld is doing to the

The documentary, Blackfish, proves that there was and still is quite a bit of controversy over whether it is ethical to keep Orcas in captivity. Some people believe that it is acceptable since the Orcas are being treated and fed well. Other people, however, believe that this is not ethical because being kept in a tank for twenty years leads to aggression and therefore is too dangerous for humans. The documentary proves that there are many incidents, in the past, where a whale has harmed their trainer. One example of this, that made people more aware of the danger, was the death of Dawn Brancheau in 2010 (Cowperthwaite & Oteyza, 2013). The incidence has led to many different debates over the years and Sea World has had to try to refute the claims that were made about them. The claims were regarding their treatment of the whales and other issues. However, Sea World was not

“Blackfish” the documentary film was created to reveal how confinement of killer whales can lead to dangerous behavior toward human trainers. The main claim this film displayed is how the captivity of Killer Whales triggers aggression and is unsafe for humans and other marine mammals. Blackfish uses the story of Tilikum (most aggressive killer whale who killed the most amount of Sea World trainers), interviews of previous trainers, and court hearings regarding OSHA and Sea World to support their claim.

Documentaries are a form of genre in the film industry that aims to discuss a certain topic in the world, often trying to prove a point or persuade the audience towards a particular cause. The cove (2009), directed by Louie Psihoyos, is about the annual dolphin slaughter in Tai Ji that happens every year in Japan. It shows the ventures of the activist Ric O’ Barry who tries his hardest to expose the injustice within the industry. Blackfish (2013), directed by Gabriela Cowpertha is about the captivity of Orca Whales in public wild life parks such as Sea World. Very much like The Cove, Blackfish attempts to expose a certain dark side of what seems to be a harmless company and show the world that captivity can be dangerous for whales and even

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

Blackfish, a documentary filmed by director, Gabriela Cowperthwaite, centers around the neglect and mistreatment that large animals, like orcas, receive in captivity. The document’s purpose is to not only spread awareness about the treatment of orcas but to also cause a change in the situation they are forced to be in.

Blackfish, a documentary by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, analyzes the horrific treatment, containment, and use of Orca whales within entertainment facilities. The discussion of treatment began in 2010, when Dawn Brancheau was killed and drowned by the whale, Tilikum. Since this incident, there have been multiple investigations into SeaWorld and similar facilities. It is argued that the whales should be released from these facilities due to the posed dangers they have to humans, and themselves.

Again, Blackfish uses an uncredible witness, Dean Gomersall. According to SeaWorld, “Mr. Gomersall worked at SeaWorld Florida with sea lions, beluga whales and dolphins, and never worked with killer whales. He never worked with Tilikum” (Awesome Ocean). Now not only is Blackfish using an ex employee who has not worked with Tilikum, they are using an ex employee who has never even worked with killer whales before. That to me, throws out all the credibility of Blackfish, as it should to

The Blackfish film by Gabriela Cowperthwaite begins with the interview of several orca whale trainers. The trainers say that they have enjoyed spending several years in disciplining and mastering the interaction with killer whales. After the interview, Blackfish shows a police case about a killer whale at SeaWorld swallowing a woman’s arm. This police case causes the Occupational Safety & Healthy Administration to sue SeaWorld and claim that interacting with killer whales is always dangerous and has unpredictable outcomes.

Notable for its destruction of the SeaWorld Killer Whale exhibits, Blackfish is an engaging exposé on the potential for aggressive behavior in captive killer whales. I enjoyed the film because it could have been critical of the killer whales and their species as a whole, but it was not, and the movie told the whole story without requiring graphic scenes, explicit language, or traumatic anecdotes. Blackfish was an excellent film because it kept the watchers engaged, despite being a documentary, and presented all the information it had in an informative and interesting way.