Film Review : An Analysis Of The Film Blackfish

Blackfish does a great job at using all three rhetorical appeals in defending their argument for the abolishment of orca captivity. First, ethos is widely used throughout the documentary. Almost every speaker in the documentary had a first hand experience with Tilikum or other captive orcas, giving the document major credibility. Actual SeaWorld trainers who worked the shows gave their personal first hand stories in working with the orcas. They themselves explained how they saw Tilikum’s behavior and health deteriorate. Former amusement park managers who were either worked with Tilikum or dealt with the business in capturing and trading orcas also gave their first hand accounts of what had happened with Tilikum and other orcas. An OSHA expert witness was also included in the documentary speaking about the horrible conditions that SeaWorld had put the orcas in. All of these experts in their respective field talking about the dangers of orcas in captivity is a great use of ethos in Blackfish’s argument against orca captivity.

Blackfish shows all of rhetorical situations throughout the documentary. The rhetor in Blackfish is Gabriela Cowperthwaite, the director. The audience is Sea World customers or potential customers. The purpose of the documentary Blackfish is to inform people on how damaging mentally and physically it is to keep an orca whales captive. The exigence in this documentary is that holding killer whale’s captive and it is very dangerous mentally and physically to the whale, but also can be dangerous for the workers. The constraints in Blackfish is that the film may appear to be slightly biased against SeaWorld, making the audience see only one side of the issue. The affordances are you get to see live footage from the harmful attacks and listen to real life stories that people that witnessed it. Cowperthwaite goes on and appealeed to Pathos, Ethos, and Logos to create awareness on the harm of keeping killer whale’s captive.

Blackfish is a documentary centered around the treatment of killer whales held in captivity, most notably that of Tilikum, an orca that was held by SeaWorld at its facility in Orlando, Florida. The documentary begins in 1983 with the capture of Tilikum and sheds light on the deaths involved with the infamous killer whale. Moreover, it features interviews with former SeaWorld employees who interacted with Tilikum and witnesses who were present for some of Tilikum’s reported attacks. Jeff Ventre, a board-certified medical doctor and former SeaWorld Trainer, and John Jett, a marine mammal scientist are also brought onto the documentary to analyze the scientific facts presented and to describe it in a way that is easily understood by the viewer. In the documentary, there are many examples of rhetorical devices used to provoke the viewer to stand against the captivity of killer whales.

Through educating the reader, Kleiman encourages the public to create an informed opinion on the controversy. Kleiman instantly assures the reader that he is a reliable, certain source from the very beginning of the section. He starts his argument with the phrase “It should be noted...” This fragment portrays the idea that the following statements are of truth, not simply his opinion (an application of ethos.) This instils the readers’ trust in Kleiman that he is presenting facts to assist the reader in creating an expert judgement on the subject rather than bestowing his opinion to make a point. Another technique Kleiman uses is repeating multiple points made in “Blackfish” and, in a sense, using them against the film by simply disproving the “purposefully misleading edit(s)” in the film with concrete facts and conclusive data. For example, the film shows footage of an older orca hunt in the ocean as a voiceover speaks about a captive orca who was taken from the wild for SeaWorld. Kleiman reveals that the footage is not proof of the orca’s capture, but rather clever editing. He exposes that the film is from a completely unrelated orca hunt for the capture of the killer whale used in the film “Free Willy”. Continuing to explain the manipulation of film in “Blackfish,” Kleiman provides the reader with evidence as to why the two captures do not correlate, such as a logo of a different theme park on camera and providing extra data about the capture of “Free Willy”. By disproving the points made in “Blackfish” that are supposed to make viewers feel as though orcas in captivity are bad news, Kleiman opens up opportunities for readers to process true facts for themselves without an

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

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.

In the documentary “Blackfish”, directed by Gabriela Cowperthawaite in 2013, is asking the audience to take up a position on the inhumane treatment of whales in captivity. In particular, she invites us to feel sympathy for the whales and anger toward SeaWorld cruelty and denial of culpability. Cowperthawaite makes choices of visual image, language, sound and structure achieve her outstanding outcomes.

In Blackfish, the use of ethos, pathos, and logos are used to condemn SeaWorld’s mistreatment and irresponsibility of taking orca whales into captivity. The use of the rhetorical device ethos, which refers to the credibility of a source to persuade an audience, is used repeatedly through the use of interviews with SeaWorld trainers. During the documentary, former SeaWorld trainers talk about their time at

“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.

The movie Blackfish is a documentary of the story of Tilikum, a captive killer whale that has taken several lives, exploits the issues amongst the sea-park industry, and illustrates how little is known about these intelligent mammals. The experiences and treatment of the Orcas in Blackfish share commonalities with that of Blacks in America. The film touches on commonalities that can be generalized in comparison with slavery: family, captivity, sound and language, natural and captured behavior, separation. Through genes, captivity and the psychological and physical abuse of the whales in the movie Blackfish, one can determine and acknowledge that there is a correlation between the situation of African Americans today and the enslavement

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.