Blackfish was a documentary released on July 19, 2013. The documentary revolves around one of the main breeding killer whale, Tilikum. The filmmaker mentions the stress from his captivity directly relates to why he caused three deaths. This precedent starts the documentary off with the question of why Tilikum and other killer whales randomly lash out on trainers. The documentary continues to inform the public about teeth rakes on killer whales given by other killer whales, fights and premature deaths. Most of this information is hidden from the public but brought out through this documentary.

In the National Geographic, the article “Orcas don’t do well in captivity. Here’s why.” by Natasha Daly gives an insight on the population of captive orcas in the world and why having killer whales in captivity is harmful for both orcas and humans. She mentions how, “in Russia and China, the captive marine mammal industry continues to grow”(Daly). Daly commends California for banning breeding of captive orcas however, mentions that no matter the ban other countries are now attempting to profit from killer whales. She continues to talk about the stress killer whales have due to being placed in the “bathtubs” created for them. Not only do they have stress but they physically harm themselves and each other.

The scholarly journal, “Dying to Entertain Us or Living to Educate Us? A Comprehensive Investigation of Captive Killer Whales, Their Trainers, and How the Law Must Evolve to Meet Their Needs.”  by Megan Rechberg examines orcas and the facility they are held in further. Rechberg includes details not known to the general public that entertainment centers such as SeaWorld hide. She also includes how SeaWorld knew about the violent tendencies killer whales had due to the stress of spending their lives in a tank however, still allowed trainers to enter in the water with them. Rechberg explains further, “In the aftermath of Martinez’s death, as with all serious killer whale-related attacks, SeaWorld briefly ceased water work at its three parks. However, in what was becoming a dangerous pattern of complacency, within a week, water work resumed at all of them”. SeaWorld knew the potential danger of allowing trainers in the water since, now a couple of attacks have occurred however, this notion was ignored. Most of the attacks were never publicized, instead were kept under wraps. In all Rechberg agrees orcas shouldn’t be placed in captivity and explains what changes should be made.

The blog post, “5 Arguments For Keeping Orcas in Captivity” by Aqua News gives a different viewpoint on why captive orcas aren’t released into the wild. It further mentions the damage it will have releasing these orcas into the wild after having them rely on their everyday basic needs on humans. Aqua News elaborates, “releasing captive-bred orcas into the wild could very well just lead to them being killed or recaptured because they have no fear and will approach boats”. They understand captivity is wrong in general however, they want the audience to understand the effects of human interference in captive orcas can’t be undone.

Rhetorical Situation

The filmmakers of Blackfish felt the need to create this documentary because after hearing about Dawn Brancheau’s death in 2010, who was a trainer at SeaWorld, they felt something fishy was going on. The filmmakers wanted to try to understand the incident of why Tilikum otherwise known as Shamu attacked his trainer. SeaWorld mentioned it was Dawn Brancheau’s fault that she passed away, it was said that she had a ponytail which resulted in Tilikum’s attack on her. However, it was unlikely it was Dawns fault as she is an experienced trainer who wore a ponytail in water with Tilikum numerous times before. Due to this, the filmmakers felt that there was more to uncover.

Natasha Daly felt the need to write this piece on captive orcas. She needed to write this article to show the audience orcas are very intelligent mammals. These mammals are kept in confined pools, separated from their family. Each family or pods of killer whales have “different languages”(Daly). Due to this, they are unable to communicate with the artificial pairing of other orcas in the amusement parks. Daly also wrote this article to inform the audience, killer whales become agitated and hurt one another. The agitation sometimes is taken out on their trainers causing extreme bodily harm or even death.

Megan Rechberg felt the need to write about killer whales because she felt she had a lot of details the public were unaware of. She also knew she can shed some light on the fishy behavior of SeaWorld. SeaWorld mentions Dawn Brancheau’s death by Tilikuim was by mistake. However, Rechberg mentions the autopsy report and some of the gruesome details that show it wasn’t a mistake, “Brancheau was beaten to pieces: she was scalped, with the skin ripped off her head exposing her skull; her left arm was completely severed from her body” (Rechberg, 749). And those are only some of the many injuries she sustained. Rechberg also felt the need to write this article to make the readers understand killer whales aren’t meant to do simple tricks for our entertainment. They are meant to hunt and form close bonds and families and swim thousands of miles a day. Due to being constrained, the stress tends to cause the violent behaviors.

Aqua News felt the need to write this blog post on why captive orcas should stay in captivity is because they wanted to make sure the audience is aware of all the factors that go into releasing orcas back into the wild. They know people think it is an easy decision and it goes without saying that animals shouldn’t be kept in captivity. However, they challenge this idea giving further proof that the orcas being released back into the wild, “have no knowledge of how to hunt for themselves and have no reason to avoid humans”(Aqua News). It would be impossible for the orcas to live on their own since they have become dependable on humans.

The Purpose

The documentary, Blackfish intention was to expose how unsuitable the environment of SeaWorld is for killer whales. The filmmaker includes SeaWorld trainers who directly worked with killer whales in order to give further insight on how unsuitable the environment is. In the film a former SeaWorld trainer, Jeffery Venture, asks, “Can you imagine being in a small concrete enclosure for your life when you’re used to swimming 100 miles a day?”. The author’s intent was to compel the audience into understanding and informing them that killer whales should not be used as entertainment. Keeping them confined in tanks that are too small for them only builds aggression and causes them to lash out which leads to people losing their lives, attempting to handle these animals.

Natasha Dalys purpose was to inform the readers of the capability of orcas and how to help them. Daly understands captive orcas are completely reliant on humans however, she still feels it is important to still let go of the orcas to stop profiting from them and stressing them even more. Daly also mentions,  “large seaside sanctuaries for retired or rescued cetaceans”. These sanctuaries would be perfect for orcas who have previously been captive as humans will still care and feed for them but they will be able to live freely instead of swimming in laps around their home which to them is a pool and gnawing the cages surrounding their “pool”.

Megan Rechbergs purpose of writing this scholarly journal was to investigate killer whales, killer whales in captivity and entertainment centers that hold orcas. As she investigates, she plans on informing the readers about everything she learns. For example, many people don’t know, “the captive killer whale industry in the United States alone has lost seventy-one killer whales” (Rechbergs 734). The deaths of killer whales are hidden from the public due to the many complications of breeding captive orcas. The author makes sure to inform the readers on information they may not be aware of.

The purpose of writing the blog post, “5 Arguments For Keeping Captive Cetaceans” is to inform readers placing captive orcas back into the wild would not benefit them. They believe, “common sense, the health of orcas” (Aqua News) should be considered when discussing the release of orcas. They inform the readers releasing orcas even if they have been with humans for a short period of time can still deeply affect the way they live in the ocean. It may be a big adjustment for them and eventually bring them to their demise.

The Audience

The audience for the Blackfish can be anyone who is interested in the secrets and the truth about sea animals in SeaWorld. The director says “I just wanted to tell the real story” (Cowperthwaite). She wanted to give the truth to the audience no matter who it is. She also mentions that she didn’t want to completely change their perspective even though, the release of the film lead to SeaWorld suffering massively.

The audience for the article, “Orcas don’t do well in captivity. Here’s why.”is the same as for Blackfish. Since they both have the same opinion on how orcas should be able to stay in the wild where they belong. However, the audience can also range to different countries such as Russia and China. Their countries are mentioned because they are creating parks to profit off of orcas. And the author seems to warn them that it isn’t a good idea to capture these intelligent animals.

The audience for the scholarly journal can be experts on killer whales. However, they can also be people who are interested in understanding how killer whales are, their capability and why they kill. In particular the author hones in on Tilikum just as the documentary, Blackfish did. People who are interested in his backstory before the Dawn Brancheau attack and how he spent his last few years can gravitate towards this journal.

The audience for “5 Arguments For Keeping Captive Cetaceans” are animal activists who disagree with this blog post stance, that orcas should remain in captivity.  Other audiences may include people who already support the entertainment of captive cetaceans.

 The Genre

The genre of Blackfish is a documentary which is a form of visual media. Documentaries are usually created to inform the audience on a specific message. Consists of a lot of different insights from first person accounts (interviews), documents, videos or scenes and photographs from real events.

The genre of “Orcas don’t do well in captivity. Here’s why.” is a nonfiction, opinion piece article. It is again to inform the readers on orcas in captivity and areas in the world that are attempting to profit the way SeaWorld has been. This article includes information from the documentary, Blackfish, and The Whale Sanctuary Project.

The genre of “Dying to Entertain Us or Living to Educate Us? A Comprehensive Investigation of Captive Killer Whales, Their Trainers, and How the Law Must Evolve to Meet Their Needs.” is a scholarly journal. This journal article was written by an expert who knew a lot about the intelligence of killer whales, their capabilities and their history in the entertainment industry. The author also presented all the research that was available at the time. She mentions how Tilikum is alive however, he recently passed away.

The genre of “5 arguments For Keeping Captive Cetaceans” is a blog post. This blog post in particular consists of multiple authors answering the question, why orcas should be kept in captivity? Blog posts consists of opinions either from an individual or in this case of group of writers. Comments from others are welcomed on the topic as well.

 The Stance

Blackfish explicitly states in the documentary several times that they feel orcas should not be held in captivity. And the damage of being held in captivity greatly affects not only the orca but the handlers of the orca. They believe the stress from being held in captivity directly relates to their violent outbursts.

Natasha Daly mentions her stance is the same as the documentary Blackfish. She doesn’t believe orcas should be held captive. She constantly mentions how intelligent they are and continuing to hold them captive to profit from them is inhumane. Daly also advocates for killer whale sanctuaries and hopes SeaWorld will support it.

Rechberger stance supports the statements made in the documentary, Blackfish. Many of the information such as the effects of extreme stress on killer whales is presented in this journal. Rechberg mentions the many unnecessary deaths of killer whales that were bred in captivity as well as the tragic loss of human lives due to killer whales lashing out. Implicating many lives would have been spared if orcas were never held in captivity.

Aqua News wrote a piece on five reasons to keep orcas in captivity. The writers try to argue the ocean isn’t clean and is “highly polluted”. They explicitly mention, “Orcas live in sparkling tanks” (Aqua News). Further stating the tanks temperatures and the water cleanliness is stabilized. Aqua News believes orcas shouldn’t be released from captivity as it will do more harm than good.

 

Works Cited:

Aqua News. “5 Arguments For Keeping Captive Cetaceans”, September 10, 2014 https://www.leisurepro.com/blog/scuba-diving-stories-news/for-keeping-captive-cetaceans/ Accessed September 19, 2019.

 Cowperthwaite, Gabriela. Blackfish, CNN Films, 2013. Netflix.

 Daly, Natasha. “Orcas don’t do well in captivity. Here’s why.”, March 25, 2019 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/03/orcas-captivity-welfare/ Accessed September 14, 2019.

 Rechberg, Megan J. “Dying to Entertain Us or Living to Educate Us? A Comprehensive Investigation of Captive Killer Whales, Their Trainers, and How the Law Must Evolve to Meet Their Needs.” Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary, 15 Oct. 2011, https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=naalj Accessed September 20, 2019