Rob Stewart Sharkwater Analysis

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.

Shark attacks still happen to this day. There’s nothing more terrifying than hearing a story in the news of a mighty, great white shark killing an innocent person. He mentions the backlash of Hollywood blockbusters such as “Jaws” and “Sharknado 3” that intensifies one’s fear. Sharks have evolved in our

Sharks are vicious creatures and eat humans. Don’t go into the water if you see a shark nearby or they will come after you. These are a few of the many things you will hear from the television or even people you may know. Humans are not a part of the shark diet so it is highly unlikely that a shark would randomly go after a human. The media likes to make their shark stories more exciting by adding words like “aggressive” or “threatened.” There was a total of 4 deaths caused by sharks in 2014 which is a large contrast to the 11,417 sharks that are killed per hour by humans. sharks) need to be preserved and protected in order to preserve our oceans. Laws that are more strict should be implemented in order to achieve this goal.

Every Jaws fan knows the shark gets it in the end. What they do not know is that too many sharks have gotten it; and that has caused a rapid decline in the shark population over the past thirty years. Since the 1970's, sharks of the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico shores have declined eighty-five percent. Sharks are vital animal to our world's ecosystem, and if the decline is not controlled; we could be facing devastating problems in years to come. Information has been obtained from two books: The Shark Almanac by Thomas B. Allen and Sharks, An Introduction for the Amateur Naturalist by Sanford A. Moss. Sources also include a number of online references, among them BBC News, ENS News, The New York Times, and two online scientific

     The fact that we do not see the shark makes the audience feel quite uneasy, as in a way we are uncertain of what the danger is. It also builds up a lot of fear, from our point of view.

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

Arising over 350 million years ago, the shark species has been labeled as a human devourer. Now, with the increase in human population, the demand for shark meat, fins, and cartilage are at an all time high; therefore, the existence of the shark is becoming a concern (Budker 1971). Individuals are conditioned to think of sharks as a negative aspect to the environment, which is prolonging the effort to save shark species from becoming extinct. With that in mind, some private as well as national organizations have accepted the challenge of educating and informing people about the existence of the shark specie and its importance to the sea.

I think the idea of making sharkwater was very good because it was a hit all over the world and a lot of countries banned shark finning and it helped sharks a lot, and I think without the movie sharkwater there will be not as many sharks as there is now. The movie talked a lot about the shark stereotypes that the media say like terrifying sea monsters ...ect. In fact Rob Stewart showed us that we can swim with them in peace and touch them. The movie video was in high definition so that was great. I really liked Paul Watson because he is really into the green peace that he will give his life to it. In general I will give this movie a 8/10.

Blackfish (2013), a mesmerizing, psychological documentary with 7 film awards and 38 nominations, presents an extensive look into the negative effects captivity has on Orca whales. The director and writer Gabriela Cowperthwaite calls her audience to action, similar to documentaries such as Food, Inc., The Cove, and Super Size Me. In all of these documentaries, the director and writers reach out to an audience that is not fully knowledgeable on a certain topic, in order to persuade them into taking a stance on a certain topic. In Gabriela’s film, she illustrates the story of Tilikum, a performing Orca who killed many people while at SeaWorld, Orlando. Though at times graphic, the film investigates the harmful effects captivity has had on these wonderful creatures and their trainers. Blackfish uses credible interviewees, powerful voice-overs, and influential outside evidence to persuade those who are un-informed of the negative effects of captivity on killer whales. The ultimate goal in doing this is to urge these individuals to take a stance against aquatic captivity.

Sharkwater (2006) is a documentary that was filmed by Robert Stewart, a man who spent his whole life in the ocean fascinated by sharks. Stewart's passion for sharks lead him to eventually become a marine biologist so he could spend his days scuba diving out in the ocean. His main goal shooting this movie is to inform viewers about how sharks are being killed so brutally and to persuade watchers to help do something to keep the shark population in tact. Stewart and his anti poaching crew try to evacuate the illegal fishermen out of the waters, help save the sharks, and raise awareness about the mass killings of the sharks and their rapid declining population. People in the countries that he traveled to then rallied together to protest, urging the government to create stricter laws. Stewarts’ message has impacted the countries he's visited; with his excellent use of logos, pathos, and mainly ethos he is able to impact even more people around the world.

The second victim of the shark is a young boy named Alex, this time the scene is set in along the beach, crowded with people enjoying the long Independence Day holiday. Also on the beach is police chief Brody with his own family. Sunbathers lie on the packed beach. This is a very unlikely place and time for an eventful scene. Again the

The issue of shark culling has recently surfaced in the media. The article ‘Proof still required that shark culling works’, written by Glenn Hyndes and published on abc.com, addresses the fact that there is no evidence that shark culling is beneficial for the public, yet the law has been used by the Western Australian Government. This article was written on December 12th 2013, when shark culling was discussed in the media, has a very passionate, logical and concerned tone towards the topic. Hyndes has written this article for an audience of people who think sharks are a danger, people who want to protect sharks and the Western Australian Government.

The documentary Blackfish was debuted by CNN in 2013, shortly after the death of SeaWorlds’ orca trainer Dawn Brancheau. That, and other strange “accidental” deaths, brought up a controversial issue debating whether or not seaworld is telling the truth or just covering it up. In the film, director Gabriela Cowperthwaite reveals the problems within the sea-park industry, human relationship to nature, and how little has been learned about these highly intellectual

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s article “The Brutal Business of Shark Finning” reminds us that sharks play a key role in the ocean as both predators and scavengers.

Fin Shepard (Ian Ziering) ,the main actor, is the superhero of this story. As a young 30 year old man , Fin Shepard grew up by the beach. Being divorced and owning a small bar, Shepard wasn’t a wealthy man. One day as he was surfing, he got bit by a shark. This is were the story flips. He had to leave everything he had to find his kids and ex-wife , because of a shark storm. He has to fight countless about of sharks that are coming at him from different directions, but what makes him stand out from the rest is how brave he is. There is one scene when Shepard had to save his daughter by pushing her out of the way and jump in the shark's mouth with a chainsaw.