Review: 'Blackfish' Ensures You'll Never Go to SeaWorld Again
Nobody from SeaWorld agreed to an interview for "Blackfish," Gabriela Cowperthwaite's searing take on the theme park's mistreatment of killer whales and the dozens of deaths that have resulted from it. Instead, the majority of its subjects are ex-SeaWorld trainers frustrated by the negligence they witnessed up close and willing to speak out. Nevertheless, based on the evidence on display in "Blackfish," Cowperthwaite's case against SeaWorld would change little with an opposing point of view. The movie makes a strong case against the captivity of killer whales under sub-circus conditions, but the stance is made even more horrifying because so little has changed in the history of the organization. "Blackfish" is less balanced investigation than full-on takedown of a broken system.
Cowperthwaite's framing device is the February 2010 death of veteran SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau, who was ripped to shreds by the notorious Tilikum, a whale responsible for two other deaths along with other human injuries since getting captured in the early 1980s. However, "Blackfish" tracks countless other incidents across several decades of orca whale training, all of which coalesce into a stinging assertion that SeaWorld both relies on animal abuse and carelessly puts its employees in constant danger.
It's one thing to hear disgruntled former employees and activists complain, but "Blackfish" draws much of its disturbing power from a plethora of video documentation showing various attacks. In every case, the aggressive whales initially come across to their naive caretakers as well-adjusted beings. "I liked to think the relationship was about more than fish," says one former trainer. It's that presumed two-way bond that enables trainers to justify their work; the ongoing contrast between footage of grinning young recruits hopping about with whales and the tearful reminiscences they provide for the camera provides a devastating critique of the anthropomorphizing forces that fuel the animal business.
Cowperthwaite threads recollections and archival footage together into an engrossing overview. However, because "Blackfish" barely exists in the present moment -- aside from an epilogue, the story begins and ends with the 2010 tragedy -- the limitation prevents it from injecting its story with the immediacy that the filmmaker clearly strives to obtain. Still, "Blackfish" forms an effective case against the entire institution of SeaWorld by placing it in a terrifying historical context.
Source & more: http://www.indiewire.com/article/review-blackfish-ensures-youll-never-go-to-seaworld-again
Nobody from SeaWorld agreed to an interview for "Blackfish," Gabriela Cowperthwaite's searing take on the theme park's mistreatment of killer whales and the dozens of deaths that have resulted from it. Instead, the majority of its subjects are ex-SeaWorld trainers frustrated by the negligence they witnessed up close and willing to speak out. Nevertheless, based on the evidence on display in "Blackfish," Cowperthwaite's case against SeaWorld would change little with an opposing point of view. The movie makes a strong case against the captivity of killer whales under sub-circus conditions, but the stance is made even more horrifying because so little has changed in the history of the organization. "Blackfish" is less balanced investigation than full-on takedown of a broken system.
Cowperthwaite's framing device is the February 2010 death of veteran SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau, who was ripped to shreds by the notorious Tilikum, a whale responsible for two other deaths along with other human injuries since getting captured in the early 1980s. However, "Blackfish" tracks countless other incidents across several decades of orca whale training, all of which coalesce into a stinging assertion that SeaWorld both relies on animal abuse and carelessly puts its employees in constant danger.
It's one thing to hear disgruntled former employees and activists complain, but "Blackfish" draws much of its disturbing power from a plethora of video documentation showing various attacks. In every case, the aggressive whales initially come across to their naive caretakers as well-adjusted beings. "I liked to think the relationship was about more than fish," says one former trainer. It's that presumed two-way bond that enables trainers to justify their work; the ongoing contrast between footage of grinning young recruits hopping about with whales and the tearful reminiscences they provide for the camera provides a devastating critique of the anthropomorphizing forces that fuel the animal business.
Cowperthwaite threads recollections and archival footage together into an engrossing overview. However, because "Blackfish" barely exists in the present moment -- aside from an epilogue, the story begins and ends with the 2010 tragedy -- the limitation prevents it from injecting its story with the immediacy that the filmmaker clearly strives to obtain. Still, "Blackfish" forms an effective case against the entire institution of SeaWorld by placing it in a terrifying historical context.
Source & more: http://www.indiewire.com/article/review-blackfish-ensures-youll-never-go-to-seaworld-again