Gabriela Cowpertwaite Black Fish 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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

As time progresses, people, along with their relationships with one another, change by events that take place. Certain events can either make a relationship stronger or weaken one based on the severity and cause. In the story, “Isabel Fish” by Julie Orringer, Maddy gets treated unfairly by her older brother, Sage, a moody teenager who has recently has gone through a life changing event, where his girlfriend Isabel died in a car accident. This event impacts the way Sage treats the people he is around, especially his sister Maddy, who was in the car with Isabel when it sunk into the river. Even though Maddy initially gets treated unfairly by Sage since he picks on Maddy’s insecurities, once her behavior changes showing Sage that he has been negatively impacting his

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.

The film “Blackfish” by Gabriela Cowperthwaite reveals to the audience the effects of captivity on orcas, especially the orcas at SeaWorld. Specifically, the film demonstrates that captivity is traumatic for orcas, which may cause the orcas to be aggressive. Moreover, Cowperthwaite used information from a credible source and provided evidence to best convince the audience of the orcas’ mistreatment within the film. In particular, the film had experts to convey facts on the subject and showed different incidents of aggression by the orcas to prove the negative effects of captivity to the audience.

Under the aspect of Narration, we have 3 basic modes of film making which is your Narrative film, or your everyday films, Experimental films, which are your Avant Garde Films, but then there’s one type that is overlooked by most and that is your Documentary film whose purpose is to inform and influence the audience perception on an issue or topic that is usually factual. In the movie, Blackfish, we can really see how documentary film differ from those of other narrative films. In the movie, Blackfish, the director of the movie is trying to inform the public of what is happening to the Orcas, or Killer Whales, in captivity and the how a multitude of trainers who swim with those Orcas have been injured and how at least 3 or more have died from interacting with the Orcas.

The death of Dawn Brancheau made national news back in 2010. Dawn was working as an orca trainer at the SeaWorld of Orlando when the tragic accident occurred. While doing a relationship session with Tilikum, the largest orca in captivity, Dawn was pulled into the water and drowned. It was a story that not only shocked the nation but left people wondering how something so horrible could happen. Gabriela Cowperthwaite‘s use of the accounts of retired SeaWorld trainers exposed the harsh reality of captured animals in her documentary Blackfish. In creating a piece focused on the life of one orca, Cowperthwaite has allowed viewers to look into the lives of captured animals and has shown the greater social issue of animal rights, the treatment

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.