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BLACKFISH – The Review
( This review by Melissa Thompson was originally posted on July 18, 2013. BLACKFISH opens in the St. Louis area on August 2, 2013 exclusively at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas )
In Gabriella Cowperthwaite’s stunning documentary, BLACKFISH, we get a glimpse into the devastatingly sad life of Tilikum, a killer whale that has spent the majority of his life in captivity at Sea World in Orlando, Florida, where tragically, he was responsible for the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau. Upon further investigation, it was revealed that before Dawn, at another sea park, Tilikum was responsible for the deaths of two other people – unbeknownst to the trainers that were in the pool with Tilikum on a daily basis in Orlando. BLACKFISH sets out not only to uncover why this happened in the first place, but also to shine a long overdue light on the injustice of keeping killer whales, or Orcas, in captivity.
Told mostly by interviews with former Sea World trainers and employees, and experts in the field of ocean mammal biology, the story starts back in the early 1970’s when Tilikum was captured in the open ocean as a baby and taken away from his mother. There is actual heart-wrenching footage (bring a tissue) of the capture of Tilikum and other babies who have been rounded up and separated from the adults in their pod. In one particularly difficult moment, one if the boat captains that Cowperthwaite actually tracked down and interviewed becomes emotional saying, “it was the worst thing I’ve ever done.”
This early psychological trauma is what Cowperthwaite and her experts hammer home as the main reason these animals are not meant to be in captivity. Science has proven that orcas are highly intelligent and emotional animals that feel loss and pain and anguish. Sea World has made a fortune promoting their breeding program with flashy commercials encouraging people to come meet “Baby Shamu” every time another killer whale is born at the park. What the public doesn’t see is the mother mourning and calling out in distress when the baby is eventually taken away to start training and many times transferred to another Sea World park, thus creating another psychologically damaged animal and perpetuating the cycle.
After being captured, Tilikum and other whales like him were destined for a life of misery in tanks that were too small and isolated, starting with cruel conditions at a foreign sea park where he would be confined in a dark tank that he couldn’t move around in, sometimes for 12-14 hours at a time. Once he was purchased by Sea World and moved to Orlando, life only got slightly better. The trainers genuinely cared about him and showed him affection, and of course he responded positively. But this would never erase the fact that killer whales are supposed to live in the ocean, staying with their mothers and family their whole lives. And by this time, the damage had been done. The former Sea World trainers that are interviewed provide perhaps the most undeniable honest testimony. It is the first time that the formerly impenetrable Sea World lie has been exposed. They state the facts that have long been dismissed by Sea World PR as rumors and exaggerations.
Year after year, tourists stream into Sea World to see the Shamu Show, convinced by slick marketing and plush toys that “Shamu” loves performing for the crowd and could not be happier in his fun home. This could not be further from the truth. Because most of the whales in the three Sea World parks (San Diego, Orlando and San Antonio) are only barely related (some not at all) they have no familial bonds. There is fighting and bullying that goes on, and BLACKFISH includes astonishing footage of injured whales bleeding in the pool in plain view of the packed stadium in which they perform.
What BLACKFISH urgently demonstrates is that this is not an issue that we, as a society, are looking back on as past mistakes and learning from. Sea World “The Corporation” has no interest in ending their killer whale shows because it brings in too much money. I don’t know anyone who would see this film and not wonder why this is still allowed to go on.
Sea World was contacted and asked to be a part of this film but they declined and now they are in serious damage control mode, going as far contacting media outlets, in a too-little-too-late attempt to discredit the film, Cowperthwaite and her experts. Fortunately, BLACKFISH doesn’t need defending. It more than speaks for itself.
5 out of 5 stars.
BLACKFISH opens July 19th in NY and LA; expands July 26th. Click here to find your city where the film is playing: http://blackfishmovie.com/screenings?usa_flag#usa
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