The Human Fascination Of Whales

One of the most effective strategies that the director amplifies in the film is pathos. Pathos is shown by phone calls that have been made to dispatch when attacks occurred, actual footage from attacks and baby orcas crying when they were separated from their mothers. This allows the audience to see and hear all of the incidents regarding the killer whales and be able to feel more connected. When the director uses pathos the appeal is to have the sympathy directed for the killer whales. A claim that ties in with all of this is in the documentary when they are saying killer whales are normally peaceful in the wild, and they only attack while in captivity. Detailed facts about how the whales are to an extent, tortured and become agitated with no outlet support this reasoning, since there are documented reports and footage of this as well.

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.

There is no doubt that humans have always been intrigued with the majestic beauty of the large giants found in all of the world’s oceans. Whales and people have had a long history together, marked by many turns of events.

She employs an effective range of visual techniques to create compassion for the miserable creatures. Contrasting real footage of captive whale with bent fin; with wild whale’s perpendicular fin. It allows the audience to question the differences and makes us realise that SeaWorld is doing something severely wrong that causes physical damage. This makes the audiences feel outraged by its treatment as it is unfair, inhuman and cruel; furthermore, audiences are invited to feel compassion for the unfortunate creature because they could not defend themselves.

Most people today have visited or at least heard of the popular tourist attraction, Seaworld. These tourists may think of it as a place to see marine animals do trick, like killer whales interacting with humans in a fun and entertaining way- but do we ever stop to think about the treatment or feelings of these creatures? After visiting Seaworld and seeing the famous Shamu, the thought of how living in captivity affects the animal had not crossed my mind. After researching I am now extremely concerned with the way these whales are impacted by spending their lives in bathtubs and forced to do tricks for food, all while humans are blindly funding this billion dollar business.

If you have ever been to Seaworld you would have had to go see the Killer whales in fact its one of the top attractions there. Through the eyes of a child, these gentle giants seem to be happy, healthy, and enjoying a playful game with their trainers. The question is are they really happy, do they get treated the right way, and why have there been deaths and injuries. Many people wonder about these things and after the movie Blackfish came out more and more people began to question how well Seaworld treats their animals. “The truth is that Sea World keeps its animals for entertainment and money and helps no one but themselves.”- Animal Legal Defense Fund

Blackfish is a shocking film that reveals a lot of information regarding Sea Worlds famous known “Killer Whales”. These enormous whales are highly trained by trainers of Sea World who perform for thousands daily. The film uses the tragic tale of Tillikum to support their many claims and an investigation of the Sea World

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

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

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.

For several years, Americans have been visiting amusement parks, like SeaWorld and Six Flags, to observe large animals like orcas, also known as killer whales. These whales are quite difficult to view in the wild, but can now be seen for a simple fee. Orcas are known to be one of the smartest mammals. They are friendly, and this has caused people to take advantage of them. For the past sixty years, people have brought these massive creatures into their aquariums to make a profit from their exhibitions. Often, without considering the orcas' quality of life. While kept in captivity, killer whales are forced to do many tricks they normally wouldn’t do in the wild. Over the years, there have been numerous controversies regarding killer whales

The main topic of Whale Talk is violence/ abuse. Chris Crutcher shows this through his imagery, symbols, and theme. He shows this theme vividly throughout the book. Chris also uses many real life references such as people from his life. He also provides some accuracies to his own life.

Killer whales are one of the most fascinating displays of ocean life. The killer whale has characteristics that are important to its survival in the ocean. It is interesting to know that killer whales have a plentiful diet. It is astounding to see how killer whales behave in the ocean. I plan to tell you about the killer whale, its characteristics, its diet, and its behavior in the ocean as well as the predation of the orca.

For many years, we’ve been going to such places like, SeaWorld, and Six Flags, to see vast animals, like Orcas, also known as the killer whale, which we wouldn’t normally see out in the wild. Orcas have been around for millions of years; it’s known to be one of the smartest mammals, closest to humans. Since of their friendliness, people have taken advantage of them. For the past sixty years people have brought these massive creatures into their aquariums to make profit out of it, but never thought about their lives. What if you were kept in a cage for years, and was pushed to do such activities, you wouldn’t do in your normal life. While being in captivities, killer whales are forced to do plentiful tricks, which they normally wouldn’t do