A review of the new Blackfish movie by Rob Lott of WDC:
Three deaths, two decades, one whale. What have we learned?
In one of the most powerful and thought-provoking documentaries in a generation, Blackfish turns the spotlight on humankind’s selfish desire to confine large, intelligent marine mammals in a captive situation for our viewing pleasure. Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s important film could have so easily been labelled ‘just another activist film’ but this is different. The film’s narrators are mostly ex-employees of the multi-million pound captive marine mammal industry who have decided to speak out on the culture, management style and insidious PR machine that exists at one of America’s most identifiable brands – SeaWorld.
Many of these trainers left the captive marine mammal industry years ago, have since established new careers, and had no financial interest in speaking out in Blackfish. The film draws aside the thin façade that hides the dark underbelly of the captivity industry and arms the filmgoer with the hard facts allowing them to finally dispel the myth behind the Shamu label.
The ex-trainers in Blackfish candidly describe their experiences of working at SeaWorld and eloquently convey how frustrated they came to feel after starting work there and how dismissive and even oppressive SeaWorld’s senior management could be if trainers failed to toe the corporate line. The trainers in Blackfish acknowledge that they privately questioned whether the captive whales at SeaWorld were behaving normally and whether working practices recommended by their managers were appropriate and safe, but didn’t dare voice these concerns for fear of jeopardising their own positions and careers.
Read the full article: WDC