[MindBomber]

The Sundance film Blackfish has been airing on CNN over the past week.

I watched it twice, and it was a great documentary on an issue that's long interested and concerned me. I was wondering whether anyone here watched it and would like to share their thoughts/discuss?

Here's the wikipedia page, good for a tl;dr:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackfish_(film)

Here's the trailer:
Blackfish - Official Trailer - YouTube

It's coming out on Netflix on Nov. 11, I checked for anyone wondering.

[dinosaur]

I really want to watch this, but I have a very hard time watching these types films.

Emotionally, it stays with me for days and I feel very helpless.

[Delish]

^ no kidding. Have you ever watched "Dear Zachary" ? :(

[BeeBeeAhn]

I really want to watch this, but I have a very hard time watching these types films.

Emotionally, it stays with me for days and I feel very helpless.

Despair. That's what I would call it. That's how I felt after watching "The Cove".

[dinosaur]

The Cove still guts me today...:(

[murd0c]

The Cove still guts me today...:(

Saddest and sicked documentary I have ever seen... thanks for reminding me about it :okay:

[radioman]

Watched this sometime in September.

I had an understanding of some things that were going on but there was a lot more I didn't know.

The thing that made me feel the worst was the limp dorsal fins. Fuck I hate that they're kept in tanks.

[sloansabbith]

I just watched Blackfish recently. I found it so interesting how the main male whale under question was from BC (well Iceland originally..but you know what I mean)!!

Like the cove, Blackfish left me feeling super sad. I think Blackfish hit home a little differently though. I thought the cove was so gut wrenching, their editing style, the graphic shots they captured under water etc. But in the case of Blackfish, I think the most unsettling feeling I got from it stemmed from the fact that Tilikum is still alive and at Seaworld.......

[E-40six]

If anyone wants to watch it right now, it just started on CNN

[MindBomber]

I really want to watch this, but I have a very hard time watching these types films.

Emotionally, it stays with me for days and I feel very helpless.

This is very cliche, but the difficulty of the experiences are why they're so worthwhile watching.

[sloansabbith]

I think the unsettled feelings we get from watching them spark conversation, and from these a healthy discourse arises for social change.

[E-40six]

this popped up on 9gag as the documentary was airing

http://d24w6bsrhbeh9d.cloudfront.net/photo/aZPynXQ_700b_v2.jpg

[Marshall Placid]

It was a good documentary, and presents valid points.

Not as tough/gut-wrenching to watch as The Cove though.

[PiuYi]

i'm pretty split on aquariums and zoos... on one hand you're imprisoning animals, sometimes subjecting them to torturous conditions, for life and it feels like it goes against all morals and ethics. On the other hand, the suffering of a few members of their species presents a great opportunity for people to research and learn about these animals. Maybe in the long term it will be for the species' own greater benefit by allowing humans to make scientifically sound environmental decisions.

[MG1]

There's nothing to be learned by watching captured animals in a zoo or aquarium.

As a child, I remember having to go to the zoo in Stanley Park when they had a real zoo there. The only thing I learned on those school field trips were how wrong it was to cage up animals.

As a parent, I don't ever recall taking my children to any kind of zoo. They never saw a giraffe or an elephant. They've seen enough wildlife documentary films to know about them.

[dinosaur]

I think it is best to take a kid to volunteer at a wildlife rescue facility if they want an up close and personal experience with an animal. These facilities and organizations can teach the importance of animals being kept in their natural habitat and the downside of human encroachment on their lands.

[CL_S]

Posted via RS Mobile

[blagh]

It's wrong to breed wild/exotic animals in captivity too, it's just as bad as capturing them from the wild.

They loose their wild instincts(some of them) and wont be able to fend for themselves, if they ever get released to the wild.

[kayceeee]

the part that really got me was when they interviewed one of the divers, the old dude with tattoos, when he broke down recalling the moment when they captured the young ones, and the whole fam just kept communicating to the whale, all helpless watching their kid get taken away, that really hit me hard.

[Lomac]

Documentaries: Presenting biased opinions, one highly edited cut scene at at time. :p



Not saying that's the case in this situation, but it's something to always keep in the back of your mind when watching this type of film.

[dinosaur]

the part that really got me was when they interviewed one of the divers, the old dude with tattoos, when he broke down recalling the moment when they captured the young ones, and the whole fam just kept communicating to the whale, all helpless watching their kid get taken away, that really hit me hard.

:tears: gutting.

[GS8]

I will definitely have to check this film out.

One thing I've always hated is when people anthropomorphize animal behaviour. Unless you're an animal psychologist or even a student of animal behaviour studies, attributing human qualities to an animal is condescending, disrespectful and dangerous.

Personally, I never call an animal 'cute' or say 'awwww' when you show me a photo of a kitten playing with a ball of yarn. Animals are not dumb. They learn and develop like any other life form does including expressing love for their offspring.

Zoos / Aquariums remind me of slavery. If a slave is offered food and housing for demeaning work, they have two options:

i.) Do the work and continue to live
ii.) Do not do the work and probably die

I'm pretty sure some animals decided on option two because they couldn't get used to their confined space. How many younlings died at the Vancouver Aquarium?

**I'm not animal psychologist either. I'm just ranting because my news feed on FB gets polluted with photos of cats with retarded captions

[MindBomber]

I will definitely have to check this film out.

One thing I've always hated is when people anthropomorphize animal behaviour. Unless you're an animal psychologist or even a student of animal behaviour studies, attributing human qualities to an animal is condescending, disrespectful and dangerous.

Personally, I never call an animal 'cute' or say 'awwww' when you show me a photo of a kitten playing with a ball of yarn. Animals are not dumb. They learn and develop like any other life form does including expressing love for their offspring.

Zoos / Aquariums remind me of slavery. If a slave is offered food and housing for demeaning work, they have two options:

i.) Do the work and continue to live
ii.) Do not do the work and probably die

I'm pretty sure some animals decided on option two because they couldn't get used to their confined space. How many younlings died at the Vancouver Aquarium?

**I'm not animal psychologist either. I'm just ranting because my news feed on FB gets polluted with photos of cats with retarded captions

I do absolutely agree, anthropomorphism is overall dangerous and detrimental to non-human animals and science, but your post is a bit backwards. It is not anthropomorphism to call a domesticated cat 'playing' cute, because it's describing a quality rather than a behaviour. The term 'cute' has no place in strictly scientific observation, but casually observing domesticated cat behaviour is not science. Treating casual observation of domesticate car behaviour as scientific observation suggests you are taking things too seriously, chill out. Now, referring to behaviour as 'playing' and 'expressing love' are examples of anthropomorphism, which is what you oppose. I'll note that anthropomorphism of a domesticated cat is not a big deal, because the worst case outcome is basically being scratched. A potentially dangerous animal - like a horse - is an different story. You're on point otherwise, and food starvation is a 'training method' Seaworld employees quite heavily so you'll probably enjoy the documentary, since you mentioned just that in your post.

Don't take my disagreement with you on cats as confrontational; it's just respectful disagreement.

the part that really got me was when they interviewed one of the divers, the old dude with tattoos, when he broke down recalling the moment when they captured the young ones, and the whole fam just kept communicating to the whale, all helpless watching their kid get taken away, that really hit me hard.

No doubt, man. The old dude with tattoos sounds like his story is interesting, I'd love to read more about him.

[dinosaur]

Personally, I never call an animal 'cute' or say 'awwww'

I challenge you to come to my house and meet my buddy Gandalf ;)

[GS8]

Don't take my disagreement with you on cats as confrontational; it's just respectful disagreement.

Not at all. I guess I'm just speaking from my personal dealings with house pets.

I don't have any myself but many of my friends do. I found it incredible how quickly they would bond with me. The irony is I am never the one to run up to them, yell 'Awww' and talk to them like they are a retarded baby.

I remember my friend's Siamese rolled onto her back after knowing me for only 40 min. I thought she just wanted a rub. Turns out cats expose their bellies to those they most trust as the stomach is the most sensitive part of their body.

Most other animals I've interacted with are very friendly with me despite my non embracing nature. Usually I'll go up to them, looking at them in the eyes. Then I'll hold my clenched fist out and let them sniff around. Typically, they'll walk away. From there, we'll slowly interact with each other. I use body language and hardly ever open my mouth and in short time, they remember me. My other friend's cat would follow me after I would leave my friend's place. Couple of times he actually followed me out the door, shit scaring my friend, lol.

Maybe I just hold too much respect for animals that it offends me to see them portrayed in such ways (FB photos) since they don't have control of the situation. Now I just block the people who spam them and now my newsfeed exudes some class (whatever class FB has left) :suspicious: .

[jing]

I'd recommend giving this a watch if anyone can spare the time. Always wanted to go to SeaWorld but my gf and I both agreed that we'll choose not to support such an organization .

[Lomac]

I challenge you to come to my house and meet my buddy Gandalf ;)

You mean Grid hasn't spit roasted him over the BBQ yet?

[MindBomber]

Maybe I just hold too much respect for animals that it offends me to see them portrayed in such ways (FB photos) since they don't have control of the situation.

Interesting. In taking this position, you suggest non-human animals have inherent publicity rights. In perspective, most countries consider humans to have only limited legal publicity rights. It's quite the leap to suggest non-human animals have them.

I'd recommend giving this a watch if anyone can spare the time. Always wanted to go to SeaWorld but my gf and I both agreed that we'll choose not to support such an organization .

Whale watching's a rad experience. I went during a trip Victoria. A good ethical alternative to SeaWorld?

[dinosaur]

You mean Grid hasn't spit roasted him over the BBQ yet?

hahahahahaha, no not yet...he just rolls his eyes and mutters expletives ;)

[sloansabbith]

Documentaries: Presenting biased opinions, one highly edited cut scene at at time. :p



Not saying that's the case in this situation, but it's something to always keep in the back of your mind when watching this type of film.

I think it is so important to be mindful of the fact that ALL visual culture fed to us are framed in a way to guide our discourses. That said, we are part of a vetting culture. With the internet being so vast, with forums like this, we are able to approach things with a critical eye. I'm sure if someone was really passionate about a subject, let's use Blackfish in this case, one could just go beyond the documentary and do more research.

I think that's a better way to look at documentaries and other variants of visual culture that spark discourse. They're the catalyst. The sick feeling we get when we finish the film, that gut wrenching cloud that lingers days later...all of that amounts to an emotional push to either do something about what we've learnt, or to learn more.

Another example of excellently edited scenes would be the Kony campaign. That went viral with very little information in the actual footage shared via YouTube. So you're right, documentaries present biased opinions, perfected cut scenes and emotional evoking soundtracks. The important thing is to understand WHY these elements are in play, and how we as the audience receive it, and what we can do about it.

[MindBomber]

Seaworld's not fairing to well post-Blackfish.

Eight out of ten musical acts have canceled.
.38 Special becomes 8th concellation for SeaWorld - Orlando Business Journal (http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/morning_call/2013/12/eighth-concellation-for-seaworld-only.html)

And there's this..
Something's fishy with this SeaWorld/'Blackfish' poll - Orlando Business Journal (http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/blog/2014/01/somethings-fishy-with-this.html)

[ilovebacon]

there's nothing we can do.. the corporation is too wealthy and powerful for anyone to do anything about it

[Manic!]

there's nothing we can do.. the corporation is too wealthy and powerful for anyone to do anything about it

There wealth comes from the average Joe spending $82 on a ticket. People stop going they won't be so wealthy. Look what happened to Sealand in Victoria.

[VR6GTI]

I will never attend seaworld after watching blackfish.

[Gary Oak]

just watched it on netflix after this thread.
It is a good watch and really shows how misleading the media and seaworld is.