Blackfish

2013 documentary

Rating: 14/20

Plot: An investigation of Seaworld and their treatment of their captive killer whales used in shows. The focus is on one named Tilikum that is responsible for three people's deaths.

Of course, there are multiple sides to every story, and the Seaworld folk declined to participate in this. They, as well as at least one person interviewed for this and the family of one of the victims, say that there's some misrepresentation and that the makers of this had an agenda to prove instead of an interest in being objective. So I don't know what to think exactly about the whole thing. Of course, who knows how much Seaworld is giving the family of the woman with the ponytail. And the guy who claims that a lot of what he said in the interviews wasn't used was one of the big guy's first trainers, so he doesn't have the insight that some of the others have. As a character study of Tilikum, the titular fish, it's fascinating and depressing. Actually, there's a lot that's depressing about this. I hated seeing the baby orca ripped from their families and the trainers recalling the violent acts. It's just hard to imagine the life that poor Tilikum has led although there are some days I'd trade with him in a heartbeat because of this fantasy I have of being straddled by a woman in a wetsuit. I'm not sure Tilikum would fit in my classroom though, and I am sure that some of my students would make him angry enough to inspire him to flap over and maul them. The descriptions and the footage of these accidents were chilling because of the overwhelming power combined with the intelligence of these animals. More chilling is the descriptions and footage of what human beings have done to these majestic creatures.

By the way, if you are ever in a situation where you're being eaten with a whale, I learned from Pinocchio what you're supposed to do. Build a fire and wait for the whale to cough you out. Easy solution.

Here's a link to an interview with the interviewed trainer who was angry after watching the film. It's an interesting read.