Hannah chose Blackfish for us this week and I was unenthusiastic. I was expecting a smear campaign against SeaWorld with a complete lack of fact and more heuristic stylings. Then I sat down and watched it.
It was an extremely compelling film with interviews from former SeaWorld trainers and Orca Whale Experts. There were expert witnesses from OSHA talking about how unsafe it was for both whales and trainers. Neurologists talking about how male whales in captivity have bent over fins while this never happens in the wild. At the end of the film I was convinced. I was ready to never go to SeaWorld again because they didn't care about the well being of their trainers or their whales and only about their bottom line. For me, this is a big deal as I am very skeptical and cynical about these documentaries in general.
Blackfish is a documentary about Orca whales in captivity and their interactions with humans. Specifically, those in which a whale trainer was injured or killed. One whale in particular, Tillikum, is a repeat offender with at least three deaths to his name. The film shows, with overwhelming evidence and trainer testimony the danger that the trainers encounter while working with these mammals. They also go so far as to imply that the animals do these things because they have become psychotic from being separated from family members and enclosed in spaces much smaller than they are used to. The documentary ended with a call to free the whales and release them into the wild.
I was completely convinced, and I sat down to write a blog with a very different thesis... then I started to do some research. The first thing I did was look for SeaWorld's reaction to the film and needless to say it was not positive. I expected a terse press release about how changes and being implimented etc. etc. However, I was surprised to find a point by point rebuttal of most of the tenets of the film, each point backed up with hard evidence. Now, lest you believe I just take SeaWorld's word for it, I did my own research and it turns out that quite a bit of the interviews were misleading. Here is just some evidence that casts some serious doubt as to the integrity of this film.
1. Using Orcas in SeaWorld Shows Constitutes Slavery.
Most of the main interviewees were involved in a lawsuit filed against SeaWorld claiming that using the Orca whales in shows was a violation of the 13th Ammendment and that it constituted involuntary servitude. Naturally this lawsuit was thrown out by the judge. I do love however that it was filed in Southern California (As opposed to Florida, where the 'plaintiffs' reside) where such a suit might have a small chance of getting through.
2. Interviewees were Mislead About the Purpose of the Film.
Some people who were interviewed for the film have, after it's release, come forward angry that their thoughts were intentionally edited to show them saying things they did not intend. You can see their thoughts here and here.
3. "Scientists" give their "Scientific" testimony.
This is my personal favorite. I did some research on the scientists giving their thoughts in this film and turns out that they literally do not have the expertise that is claimed by the film. One gentleman in particular, Dave Duffus, is given considerable screen time and gives some of the most heart wrenching information/performance. In the film he is subtitled as "OSHA Expert Witness - Whale Researcher" In reality, he is the associate professor of geography (GEOGRAPHY!!!!) at the University of Victoria. I double checked this because I didn't believe it at first. You can see his faculty listing here and read some rather hilarious Rate My Professor reviews here.
As I said before these are only some of the evidence that can show how fallacious this film is. Perhaps the strongest evidence is given by Dawn Brancheau's family (The woman who was killed most recently by Tillikum) and can be read here.
Now, I do think that SeaWorld has some serious questions to answer. The most blatant of which is why was Tillikum, or any orca that threatens the life of a trainer, not put down? This would put pressure on Sea World to protect both their trainers and their animals that are worth millions of dollars. This would occur with any other animal that kills a human, so why not with Orcas?
The story of Blackfish is not yet over. Of course the supporters of Blackfish have denied any sort of journalistic dishonesty. Just this week a law was proposed in California to ban Orca shows and captive breeding. For me, all I learned was that I am kind of gullible.
You can find out more about the science behind Blackfish at this link.
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