Blackfish

 Blackfish    

    Blackfish, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, is an exposé documentary about the capture and mistreatment of orcas, as well as orca trainer deaths at SeaWorld. The documentary features Tilikum, an orca who lived at SeaWorld for twenty-five years and is tied to three separate deaths: Keltie Lee Byrne, which he shares responsibility for with two other orcas, Daniel P. Dukes, who was found dead and mutilated in Tilikum’s tank, and Dawn Brancheau, whom Tilikum is directly responsible for killing. SeaWorld’s official stance on Blackfish was to label it propaganda and run a smear campaign against the film, the cast, and the writers. Though I don’t agree with the rest of their strategy, I do agree with SeaWorld that Blackfish is propaganda, due to the nature of its sources, the emotionally-charged imagery used, and the personal biases of the writers.
    In Blackfish, the majority of the sources are ex-employees of SeaWorld. Other sources include an ex-whale hunter, who became teary upon recounting his experience in capturing and separating calves from their mothers, and relatives of a fourth victim. There are only two eyewitness accounts provided, and only for the death of Keltie Lee Byrne, who was killed while Tilikum was at Sealand. Only one source in the film attempted to defend the capture and keeping of the orcas. Though there were many sources, there was little variety in viewpoints, with nearly all the sources being of the opinion that the orcas do not belong in captivity.
    Secondly, Blackfish shows emotionally-charged footage, such as video of attacks on trainers happening, the aftermath of orca on orca cruelty, and footage of orca calves being taken from their mothers. In addition to this, aside from the SeaWorld ads used in the film, the background music is typically intense and upsetting during shots of the orcas in captivity, and only becomes happier when focused on shots of wild, unbothered orcas. Yet another example of emotionally-charged footage would be towards the end, when viewers are shown multiple shots of protestors calling for the release of the orcas while inspiring music plays in the background. The film and score have been aligned in such a way that the viewer will experience anxiety, sadness, and other negative emotions upon seeing any orcas in captivity. Conversely, the score over scenes of the wild orcas inspires feelings of wonder, delight, and other positive emotions. As a result, the viewer will come to see orca captivity in a negative light, and the freedom of the orcas in a positive light.
    Lastly, I think it is important to take into account the potential biases of the writers of Blackfish. Gabriela Cowperthwaite was involved in documentaries for National Geographic and Animal Planet prior to the making of Blackfish. Eli B. Despres had worked as a writer for a sports documentary, and also as a writer for a thriller film. Finally, Tim Zimmermann is a writer for both Outside and The Dodo, shows a strong bias against marine-life captivity, and has written several articles about the poor treatment and quality of life of animals at SeaWorld. Though there is no direct evidence that the writers intended the film to be propaganda, the knowledge of their past and current writing ventures leads me to believe that it is possible.
    In conclusion, I do agree with SeaWorld that Blackfish is propaganda. I do not, however, think that the film should be dismissed, nor the writers and cast smeared. The nature of Blackfish’s sources, the usage of its emotionally charged footage, and the biases of the writers are enough for me to consider it propaganda. Even so, Blackfish made excellent points about the quality of life of captive orcas, and the film brought to light the details about the deaths of three victims of captive orca attacks.