Blackfish

Killer whales should not be kept in captivity, especially for the amusement of humans. I think anyone with a sense of morality sees that. The 2013 film Blackfish, directed by Gabriella Copperthwaite, reinforces that as she looks at SeaWorld's practice of pushing trainers into the water with orcas that have shown aggressive behavior toward humans.

SeaWorld is a big fat villain in this piece, and really erred by not agreeing to be interviewed. There is only one person interviewed who sticks up for them, and he isn't very convincing. "What would the world be like without SeaWorlds?" he asks, and I imagine most of us would way, "much better, especially for killer whales."

Blackfish would seem to be about killer whales, and there's plenty in here about them. But really this is another film about a heartless corporation always looking at the bottom line. I would have never gone to a SeaWorld before seeing this film (I think that any venue that uses wild animals as performers are abominable, including circuses) and I certainly wouldn't afterward. A few things that might seem trivial really bothered me, like the "experts" at the park telling visitors that orcas live longer in captivity, which is patently untrue. In the wild, females can live to be near 100, but they only live into their twenties when confined to a concrete pool for their whole lives.

The film grew out of an incident in 2010 when an experienced trainer was killed by a whale named Tilikum, who twenty years earlier had taken part in the death of another trainer. The park initially fudged the details, saying that she slipped and fell into the water, but later had to admit that the whale did drag her to her death. They then turned in on her, saying Tilikum grabbed her by her ponytail, which should have been put up in a bun. Copperthwaite interviews a host of former SeaWorld trainers, all regretting their pasts, who call that bullshit.

What is clear is that corporations, like SeaWorld, cut corners to make bigger profits, and don't care about the safety of orcas or people. Killer whales have a very tight social unit, but the suits don't care and break up families. The scenes of mothers after their babies are taken away are heartbreaking. These animals are very intelligent and have never hurt people--in the wild. But capture them and condemn them to swimming in a confined space, doing tricks for braying audiences, and who can blame them for snapping?

Because SeaWorld did not participate, Blackfish ended up being a polemic, and as such it's pretty convincing. As one former trainer says, "In fifty years, we'll look back on this time and call it barbaric."