Blackfish Film Review

Improved Essays
Blackfish had been, and continues to be, a controversial film. The film aired on July 19th, 2013 and was produced by Judy Bart, Rick Brookwell, Gabriela Cowpertwaite, Erica Kahn, Manny Oteyza, Tim Zimmermann. Gabriela Cowperthwaite is also the director of the film. In the documentary film former SeaWorld trainers and Sealand trainers and employees, witnesses of killer whale attacks, OSHA employees, whale experts, SeaWorld’s killer whales, and employees at SeaWorld are casted in the film. With an “all-star” cast like this the points the film makes are more clear and realistic. Watching the documentary film is interesting but what is it trying to tell its viewers? The film focuses on the consequences that come with having killer whales in captivity. Throughout the film there are witness accounts of the killer whale attacks and the opinions of former trainers from SeaWorld. Also, with the opinions of whale experts it shows how SeaWorld is covering up and downplaying the reality of killer whales in captivity. In the film you get the chance to see some of the killer whale incidents and the people involved. Along with the incidents there are many opinions given in what really happened. The cover-ups that are noted in the film raises a curiosity in one’s mind about whether the truth is really being told in the film or if the information given in the film is made to make you view SeaWorld a certain way. Watching the film can lead you to believe what they are saying is true but it is important to not just take the film for its word but also do research to develop an in-depth opinion. The film’s use of former SeaWorld trainers and whale expert opinions made a convincing case on SeaWorld’s killer whales. …show more content…
With the opinions provided by these people it made the films point very clear but why not use other opinions from different people? Besides just having different people saying the same thing throughout the film it would have been nice to see other people’s views on the killer whale incidents. Like the film stresses that the whales attacked due to aggression but there could be a number of other reasons. One reason that people argue is that the whales where playing as they would with other whales. Since the whales in the tanks live together but do not know each other like they do their pods they might see the trainer as the next best thing to play with. I am not saying aggression is not the answer but you cannot say it is without further research and the opinions of different people. Killer whale behavior is complex due to the fact they are very complex animals. In-depth research on killer whales has only been around for about 50 years. In those years’ people have learned a lot but they do not know everything. When I watched the film it left me with an impression that SeaWorld seemed unacceptable. With the negative views in the film about killer whales it made me wonder is SeaWorld really a bad place for other animals too. Then I remembered that SeaWorld is an amazing place when it comes to rescuing and rehabilitating animals. I agree that SeaWorld should not house killer whales in the environments they are

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