The Cove: Rhetorical And Cinematic Strategies

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.

In the documentary “Blackfish”, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, she discussed the harmful events that have occurred when keeping killer whales contained for show and entertainment purposes. Cowperthwaite argued the fact that the killer whales become aggressive when held captive in an area too small for them and separated from their families. Throughout the documentary there were many horrifying stories about the attacks told by people who had saw the tragedies first-hand.

Any little child is able to connect the name Shamu to the massive black and white creatures that dwell in the ocean waters, termed orcas or killer whales. However, the recent release of the film “Blackfish” has aimed to revise the common opinion of killer whales who are known by the title Shamu. As the film strikes marine life parks such as SeaWorld with apparent reasons as to why these orcas should not be in captivity, the question of “Blackfish”’s validity arises. How truthful can a film be that was created to persuade its viewers to ceases visiting attractions such as the killer whale shows? Since the release of “Blackfish,” animal rights activist, writers, and amusement park aficionados have been expressing their speculations on the “Blackfish”

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.

The advertisement by WWF uses rhetorical strategies such as an establishment of ethos, and an appeal to logos and pathos. WWF establishes ethos by being a world wildlife program who “is at work in more than 40 countries...and collaborating with governments and coastal communities,” which demonstrates their credibility. They appeal to logos by offering statistics such as that “ten million people in sub-Saharan Africa make a living fishing,” and that the “number of fish in their waters has declined by 50 percent.” By offering these concrete numbers and statistics, WWF establishes a logical advertisement. Pathos is appealed by this advertisement by including phrases such as “Protecting the Future of Nature”, “protect marine populations,” and “ensure

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

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

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.

In the documentary “Blackfish,” there are rhetorical devices that are used to send off different thoughts about orca whales being held in captivity in such a limited space. Many of these devices try to give off certain feelings to the emotions and the mind through different people’s opinions. A device that is most used throughout this documentary is logos, meaning more facts are included and convincing the audience to pick more of one side than another. Shown through the documentary, many points from different people are told and give off plenty of emotions for the viewers that watch the documentary. Many facts are given off throughout this whole documentary, however the way that the people say it gives it more of two aspects that

    The filmmaker practices various forms of Rhetorical devices to persuade the audience to believe that the ruling in the OSHA vs. SeaWorld case was indeed the appropriate option. Example of pathos in the documentary were when the trainers describing their time working at SeaWorld and the bond some of them had with Dawn it provides a chance for the viewers to bond with the trainers. Another example is when the fisherman, John Crowe, recollects the experience and emotions he had while capturing the baby orcas “We’re there trying to get the young orca into the stretcher and the whole famn damily is out here 25 yards away, maybe in a big line and they’re communicating back and forth, well you understand then what you’re doing, you know. I lost it. I mean I just started crying.” An example of Ethos is when the neuroscientist empathizes the intelligence of the orcas. The final device in the documentary is logos. Logos is utilized when the orca researcher, Howard Garrett, evaluate the behavior of the orcas in captivity and compare it to the orcas in the wild.

Pathos is a rhetorical appeal in which the writer tries to gain the readers attention by using emotions. The writer will give examples or information that will make the readers feel a certain emotion. For example, when you see the commercial of the ASPCA many people feel the need to donate because they see the suffering animals. It's a great way to get readers to agree with what you are saying because emotion gets the best of most people. I tried using this appeal in almost all my essays in order to get the readers to agree with me.