Favorite Reflections...

Here are my favorite responses I had to the Documentary Blackfish. It was extremely eye opening to me and I think after reading my responses it will be to you, also!



1) What did you learn from the movie?


1) After watching Blackfish, I realized that there is a lot going on in the world that is kept secretive. I never would of even thought that something like this would be going on. It makes clear how many awful situations could be going on in this world that we, as people, are not aware of. SeaWorld does a great job at keeping a situation that is so terrible under wraps. Other than learning the essentials of a killer whale’s life and habitats, I learned about how heartbreaking it is to the whales when the mothers are separated from their children. The film shows the mothers crying, screeching, and shaking for several nights, isolating themselves from the rest of the whales in the pools, and making noises that have never been discovered while searching for their child. The secrets that SeaWorld had been able to hide for a while shows the audience how any company is able to hide such elements like this. Any company is able to cover their tracks and hide such important information if they absolutely need to. I knew that working with wild animals is dangerous, but I thought after extensive training and several years of being used to a daily routine that the whales would have been used to being under SeaWorld’s reign. It did not cross my mind what animals in zoo’s or entertainment facilities are able to do or are not able to do. Taking a wild animal out of their natural habitat is a risky matter in the first place, but taking them to somewhere that will only frustrate and enrage them is what causes the whales to act out. Not only did SeaWorld have several of their staff covering up the lies they were telling customers and juries in court, but they also had them destroying footage and falsely accusing the trainers of the “accidents” being the trainer’s faults. After I finished watching the film I also learned how it is best to voice your opinion and stand up for what you think is wrong. Most of the interviewees were former SeaWorld trainers and they were in this documentary telling audiences how wrong SeaWorld is in this situation. It is best for people to be knowledgeable on this topic so they do not give SeaWorld any credit that they clearly do not deserve.  



6) Was there a specific scene or segment that stayed with you and caused you to to curious? etc.

Was there a specific scene or segment that stayed with you and caused you to be curious?

delighted? angry? motivated?

6) The scene of the two women who witnessed Kelty Burn’s death stuck in my head after watching the film. They were there and not only saw, but also heard Kelty’s cries for help. What they thought was going to be a fun, uplifting experience was something that they will never forget. They completely recalled the memory and knew that Sealand of the Pacific lied about Kelty’s death to the press. No one ever contacted them to get their side of the story, but what confused me was why they never said anything to the news about what they saw and how Sealand was portraying it in a better light than what actually happened. When one of the sister’s recalls hearing Kelty say, “I don’t want to die”. After hearing this, I was sick to my stomach. This is such a gruesome sight to see, but hearing a cry for help and knowing you are completely unable to help puts that person in such a worse situation.

This is the trailer for Blackfish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ou5DqfkZ8

Documentary Reflection

After watching the documentary Blackfish directed by Gabriela Cowperthewaite, I had several questions that lingered in my mind. Does Seaworld still house these Orca's at their entertainment sites? Why don't they face the truth of how dangerous these whales are after keeping them captive? Why don't they tell the trainers the risks they are facing? Before getting into the major details let's backtrack a little bit and recap what this documentary told.. The film begins telling the audience how intelligent Killer Whales are and the emotions and knowledge they are able to hold inside of their brains. The whales should not be separated from their families because the offsprings live by their mothers side for most of their life. Tilikum is one of the whales that this film is based around. Being the only male killer whale Seaworld owns, they take his sperm and impregnate the other female whales. Knowing how dangerous and depressed Tilikum was after being held in a pool for most of his life, it only makes the audience wonder what affects that could pass on to his children. Tilikum was so dangerous that several supervisors knew to be cautious around him but did not inform he trainers. This fact makes me furious. Why would they let their employees be in such danger knowing what the outcome could be?
Some things I enjoyed about this film was how real everything seemed to be. Having former SeaWorld trainers share their experiences and also seeing real footage of attacks from these whales that are held in captivity made it feel like you were there watching the dangers of these animals. The footage made you feel suspense and made you scared for the trainers that the whales were attacking. It is a perfect example of why we should just let nature take it's own course and not disturb what these animals should naturally be doing.
The person that I would most like to meet up with and talk to would be Ken Peters. He was not interviewed in the film but was one of the trainers attacked by one of the killer whales and survived. He was only mentioned and they showed film of the whale dragging him to the bottom of the pool several times, then finally letting go of him. Nothing was ever said directly from him. It would be interesting to hear what he has to say and what his beliefs are about keeping these whales out of their natural habitats and used for promotional purposes for an entertainment park.

This is a picture of Ken Peters with a killer whale before his attack in 2006.