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Dilemmas Depicted In The Film 'Blackfish'

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Sea World Dilemma Though Sea World is using the orcas for entertainment, profit, and and education, their work is harmful to the orcas and trainers as shown in the informative film “Blackfish”. Orcas are large mammals who are not meant to be pets and should not be treated as so. The unnatural being of the confined spaces SeaWorld’s orcas are held in effect the natural being of the orcas. Such unnatural treatment can lead to negative effects on the orcas physical and emotional wellbeing. Also, though SeaWorld did not personally illegally capture Tilikum from the wild, they bought it from an illegal capturer which goes again the message and purpose of SeaWorld. The work of SeaWorld is harmful to the orcas and the trainers. In the wild orcas travel in families, but at SeaWorld orcas are separated, and are from different families, which communicate in different ways. “Dold and other SeaWorld supporters say sea pens could expose killer whales to ocean toxins, viruses and harsh weather. They say long-captive orcas can’t withstand these conditions”(3). This is an example of how extensive captivity causes dilemmas in how the orcas can be handled as they are no longer able to withstand certain parts of their natural habitat. As a result, the orcas currently living in captivity are stuck there unable to leave, with either …show more content…

Orcas are large mammals who live in families in large open waters. Consequently, being stuck in such confined spaces can drive them mad and lead to violent actions. “Confined to unnatural social groups for the convenience of their owners, bored and restless, forced to perform tricks for food that trainer withheld as punishment, they occasionally slipped, he writes, ‘into the dark side’”(1). Based on the quote from previous trainer Hargrove, it is clear that the orcas’ physical and emotional needs are being surrendered to the show business of

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In 2013, Gabriela Cowperthwaite released her documentary, Blackfish, to establish her argument as to why orcas should not be kept in captivity. Orcas have been kept in captivity at SeaWorld since the mid-60s and have shown aggressive behavior towards trainers. Throughout her documentary, Cowperthwaite creates ethos and pathos appeals through the use of interviews with former SeaWorld trainers as well as showing the change in behavior of Tilikum, an orca that has been kept in captivity since he was two. With the information provided by the interviews and the examples of Tilikum’s behavior, Cowperthwaite emphasizes why orcas should be released from captivity.

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Unlike in the wild, where orcas tend to avoid human interaction, there have been dozens of fatal and non-fatal incidents involving captive orcas and humans. The most famous example of this features the largest captive orca in history, Tilikum, who was initially owned by Sealand in Victoria, B.C, before being sold to SeaWorld for their breeding program. Over the course of his life, he directly caused the deaths of three humans: two trainers, Keltie Byrne and Dawn Brancheau, and one trespassing man, Daniel P. Dukes. The most well-known of the three deaths, Dawn Brancheau, was witnessed by a live audience during a SeaWorld Orlando show in 2010, during which she had been suddenly yanked into the water by Tillikum, who not only scalped her and tore off her arm, but also refused to release her body for nearly an hour. Years of abuse and mistreatment had accumulated to anger and exhaustion in the orca, and eventually, he snapped and lunged towards the closest human, who unfortunately happened to be Dawn.

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Blackfish: DROWING IN BIAS!!!! The 2013 expository documentary Blackfish, directed by 2-time award-winning Gabriela Cowperthwaite, sheds light on SeaWorld’s abusive orca captivity program and the death of SeaWorld trainers by orcas such as Tilikum. Intended to educate and bring awareness to a wider audience, the documentary sends a powerful message that SeaWorld’s abuse and negligence towards orcas, blinded by their profit-hungry mentality, jeopardizes orca wellbeing and trainer safety. The film utilizes various techniques and persuasive devices to influence audiences and portray its bias agent SeaWorld that they are a heartless, greedy, and corrupt company.

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SeaWorld's safety problem Did you know there was only one person injured by a wild orca and over 70 incidents in SeaWorld. Does that make you want to have orcas in captivity?. SeaWorld needs to be more about safety in the park to prevent anymore deaths or serious injuries. Nobody wants anymore people to be killed by orcas in captivity. Blackfish is a documentary directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite and it was made in 2013 all this information is from the documentary.

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This article is an interview with Jon Cawthorne, Dean of Libraries at the West Virginia University Libraries. His research work focuses on scenario planning for libraries. He is one of only a few African American, young, male, library directors. Dr. Cawthorne received his Ph.D. in Managerial Leadership from Simmons College in 2013. As he states in the article, he decided to become a library director after a library leader attempted to persuade him not to become a director.

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The people of the Ethical Treatment of Animals have filed lawsuits on SeaWorld (PETA), PETA claimed that SeaWorld captured 5 orcas from the wild and they are seeking a declaration that those five orcas are slaves and subjected to involuntary servitude. Different rhetorical devices such as extreme exaggeration, ethos, are used to persuade and inform the audience about animals that are being held at SeaWorld in articles Orcas Aren't the Only Ones Being Mistreated at SeaWorld, The Guardian, and As SeaWorld stops breeding orcas, what are the impacts of research?. As seen in the movie Blackfish several orcas at SeaWorld have a collapsed dorsal fin that has the public concerned.

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The ancient Sun God (God G) referred as Ahau Kin or more commonly known as Kinich Ahau is a sixteenth century Maya God. The Sun God is associated with having several recognizable and variant traits which can be linked back to iconography found in the beginnings of the Classic era. The most apparent feature when depicted in Mesoamerican art is the “kin” or sun sign in the name glyph inscription, which can be found in the cheek, brow or other parts of the body. In the Classic period, he is illustrated with having a “Roman nose”, a slightly bent nose resembling a curved eagle beak, a large square eye, and often depicted in a frontal view as cross-eyed. Other significant characteristics of the Classic Mayan sun deity is the filed incisors that

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In conclusion Blackfish is gives audiences a shocking, aggressive and deeply compelling look into cruel practices of marine parks for decades that will change the way you look at captive/trained killer whales and other animals. In watching this documentary has significantly opened my eyes regarding the brutal treatment and methods of capturing wild animals giving me a greater sympathy for orcas in parks such as SeaWorld. This startling documentary will surprise audiences as Cowperthwaite is unrelenting in showing the fatal consequences of keeping killer whales in captivity while also critiquing of the cruel and immoral practises of

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Andre Cole Ricardo Acosta G. English 101 September 22, 2015 Do Killer Whales Actually Belong in Captivity? Ever since wild animals such as Killer Whales have been captured and kept in theme parks and zoos as amusement, there have been issues on whether they should or shouldn’t be kept in captivity. Killer Whales, otherwise commonly referred to as Orcas, have regularly been taken away from the sea at a very young age so they can be trained, raised and kept in theme parks for exhibition. Although theme parks no longer capture whales from the wild, they are still bred in captivity for public display at marine parks such as Sea World (Gorman).

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The target audience of this documentary is the general public that includes a big emphasis on the customers of SeaWorld. The filmmakers are trying to inform the public of the inhumane treatment and the conditions that the orcas face while at amusements parks such as SeaWorld. As described in the film, orcas are seen as intellectual animals that are aware of their surroundings. Because of their intellect, orcas don’t belong in a place SeaWorld and should be released.

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On top of all of this, they are not being bred naturally. In SeaWorld, Orcas naturally breed at the age of 15, but in SeaWorld they are bred at the age of 8 or 9 (thetoptens). This shows that the company only wants more animals for more shows and more money, even though it is not right. You might be saying, “well they have rehabilitation center inside the parks to help the animals when needed.” This is true, but no matter how much medicine you give them cannot cure their animal nature of wanting to be free in the ocean and stop their sadness of being enclosed.

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This causes aggression and violence that you would not normally see in the wild because they are usually with their family. Orcas are highly social animals and have a very emotional part of the brain us humans do not have. In the wild they stay in groups of 2-15 and in some populations they stay with their mothers their whole life. As a result from being separated, whales are getting seriously injured or dying, and some are forced to be left in a smaller tanks as punishment or protection, making them completely immobile. What kind of life is this to

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It’s finally time to stop keeping orcas in captivity because lastly, captive orcas suffer from a wide range of health problems, that not seen among wild orcas. The orcas shallow pools give them ‘vulnerable to higher-than-normal levels of ultraviolet radiation’ from the sun, which is a major risk risk factor for most skin cancers, which breaks down and wrecks their immune systems. In other words, there really isn't anything that the workers or owners at parks can do for the orcas since no matter what, where ever in captivity, the orcas will still be exposed to skin cancer, as a result of the radiation. Collapse of the orcas shark-like dorsal fin is another issue that orcas in captivity are prone to as well. Though it is not harmful, the deformity affects

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705 Words | 3 Pages

Since then, SeaWorld no longer takes orcas from the sea, because they have enough whales at SeaWorld to birth their own. This just adds to the fact that SeaWorld is

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Many people will argue that SeaWorld trainers are performers rather than biologists, when in reality, they must now pass a certain amount of tests and examinations before coming in contact with any animal. They also only care about the fact that SeaWorld keep Orcas in captivity, but will have no problem with a zoo. This is hypocritical and unfair, as, just like zoos, SeaWorld contribute

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