Imagery In Blackfish

Keeping animals in captivity has become the social norm around the world, with thousands of people lining up each day to buy tickets to watch these animals in their constricting cages. The documentary Blackfish demonstrates the physical, psychological, and emotional impacts of keeping such animals, specifically orcas, in captivity by following the story of an orca by the name of Tilikum who was captured at the young age of two. He was brought to Sealand where he reportedly faced harassment by his fellow captive orcas and was then shipped to SeaWorld where he received similar treatment leading to him becoming a prominent member in the gruesome deaths of three individuals. Through the documentary’s emotional and grieving tone the writer’s convey their central message that neither the human …show more content…
Through the use of imagery portrayed by the grisly events that occur in these amusement parks, the juxtaposition present in the sequence of the scenes, and the points of view depicting the documentary, it is demonstrated that marine amusement parks, specifically SeaWorld, are incapable of taking care and protecting their animals and other humans, and, thus, should not hold these animals captive.

Firstly, imagery is used to paint an image in the viewer’s mind of the grisly events that occurred in these parks. For instance, the death of Dawn Brancheau, a trainer, was not shown but rather described in a gruesome manner so that the viewers could visualize the atrocity for themselves and wonder how a human could have ever been expected to swim side by side with such an enormous and unpredictable animal. The scene was described by a paramedic and the words were shown in typewriter font on a black screen so that the viewers could both read and listen to his account. He said, “she was, uh, scalped, and there was no blood […] we knew then that the heart wasn’t beating […] he didn’t (let go) of the arm, he