On February 4th 2010, SeaWorld Orca Trainer, Dawn Brancheau, was killed whilst performing the ‘Dine with Shamu’ show by the Orca named Tilikum. It was a news story that shocked the world and called into question how SeaWorld takes care of both its animals and its staff. In 2013, Blackfish released to critical acclaim, and ushered with it an unprecedented scrutiny of SeaWorld and its practices. It’s a documentary that has evaded me until now, and so what do I have to say about one of the most important documentaries of the 2010’s?
Blackfish chronicles the life of Tilikum, a male Orca who was captured in 1983 for exhibition at the Sealand of the Pacific Park in Canada, and later SeaWorld in Florida. Throughout his life, Tilikum was the victim of relentless violence by female Orca, and lived in water tanks barely big enough to contain him. One of the largest Orca’s to ever live in captivity, Tilikum became the subject of scrutiny over the years for injuring a number of his trainers and being responsible for the deaths of three people. Filmmaker Gabriella Cowperthwaite seeks to expose various malpractices by Sealand and SeaWorld which have no doubt contributed to the whale’s violent behaviour.
Blackfish chronicles the life of Tilikum, a male Orca who was captured in 1983 for exhibition at the Sealand of the Pacific Park in Canada, and later SeaWorld in Florida. Throughout his life, Tilikum was the victim of relentless violence by female Orca, and lived in water tanks barely big enough to contain him. One of the largest Orca’s to ever live in captivity, Tilikum became the subject of scrutiny over the years for injuring a number of his trainers and being responsible for the deaths of three people. Filmmaker Gabriella Cowperthwaite seeks to expose various malpractices by Sealand and SeaWorld which have no doubt contributed to the whale’s violent behaviour.
I’d had Blackfish bigged up a lot over the years and it was in my list of most anticipated documentaries. Suffice to say that Blackfish did live up to the hype with it being not only an expertly crafted documentary, but also one that knows just what emotional strings to pluck at in order to evoke a powerful response from its viewers. Compiled mainly with home video footage from guests attending the two parks, as well as some archival footage from SeaWrold, Blackfish places you in the middle of all of the action. You feel like you’re there, watching it unfold in front of you and you’re powerless to stop the inevitable from happening.
With interviews from a number of former Sealand and SeaWorld staff, as well as animal rights activists, Blackfish doesn’t ever pull its punches and is a relentless assault on those in charge of the two animal parks, and those who have tried to cover up their misdeeds.
The documentary is extremely one sided because it is explained that SeaWorld executives were approached for interviews and nobody who represented the company would come forward. In the wake of the films release this was a different story with many SeaWorld representatives coming forward to denounce the films ‘false’ information, and the statements made by those involved. I feel like this bias is forgivable given the attempted contact, though I would have liked to have seen the filmmaker attempt contact, however considering the short runtime of eighty-three minutes, Blackfish is a short and sharp culture shock for those who have been blind to SeaWorld’s propaganda.
With interviews from a number of former Sealand and SeaWorld staff, as well as animal rights activists, Blackfish doesn’t ever pull its punches and is a relentless assault on those in charge of the two animal parks, and those who have tried to cover up their misdeeds.
The documentary is extremely one sided because it is explained that SeaWorld executives were approached for interviews and nobody who represented the company would come forward. In the wake of the films release this was a different story with many SeaWorld representatives coming forward to denounce the films ‘false’ information, and the statements made by those involved. I feel like this bias is forgivable given the attempted contact, though I would have liked to have seen the filmmaker attempt contact, however considering the short runtime of eighty-three minutes, Blackfish is a short and sharp culture shock for those who have been blind to SeaWorld’s propaganda.
There is one other issue I took with the film, and this may be because of how long it has taken me to see it. I don’t feel like any of the information the film presented in relation to animal captivity was new to me. Perhaps that’s because the film is almost a decade old now and I’m just used to knowing information that has disseminated since the films release. However, I also know that some information regarding animals in captivity I knew when I was a child and felt was common knowledge. Maybe this is coming from a position of privilege, but every wildlife park that I attended when I was growing up was very clear about the fact that all the animals they held in captivity were there for conservation reasons. They were animals that were on the brink of extinction, or required human intervention to survive, and the parks aim was to always release them back into the wild when it was safe to do so, even if that took several generations. They were also never there for guests’ entertainment, but for education. I’m sure those parks were also responsible for some shady business practices, but I didn’t think it took much to understand that animals don’t belong in captivity, and that no wildlife park can adequately emulate an animals natural habitat. So, the ‘shocking’ reveal that SeaWorld actually houses its whales in tanks that aren’t big enough wasn’t a surprise to me at all. But what surprises me more is how SeaWorld has managed to build a business off taking animals that aren’t endangered and sticking them on display for entertainment purposes.
Blackfish was a powerful film to witness, and it certainly did live up to its reputation. Whilst a lot of what it revealed regarding the state of captivity of the Orca’s I didn’t consider new or surprising, but the way the company has been able to continue operating despite its history of staff injuries, near-miss fatalities, and poor animal welfare is what really shocked me. Definitely check it out if you get the chance, it might make you think twice before attending a park like SeaWorld.
Blackfish was a powerful film to witness, and it certainly did live up to its reputation. Whilst a lot of what it revealed regarding the state of captivity of the Orca’s I didn’t consider new or surprising, but the way the company has been able to continue operating despite its history of staff injuries, near-miss fatalities, and poor animal welfare is what really shocked me. Definitely check it out if you get the chance, it might make you think twice before attending a park like SeaWorld.