With such deliberate placement, the writer seeks to exemplify insight of the article by providing historically iconic dates in cetacean captivity, particularly those which have made an impact in media coverage of the topic. By searching through news articles of these dates, the student is immediately able to locate cover stories and breaking news videos of various attacks. Along with dates, statistics can also be found within the entry. Several times throughout the pages, the whale Tilikum appears in association with three deaths in the past years he has been held in captivity, and his being the largest whale in captivity. This means that Tilikum has a violent past, and can easily overcome a trainer. Another statistical factor that is referenced is that of Mean Duration of Captivity, or MDC. “Based upon the MMIR data, and represented in Appendix A, we have calculated the mean duration of captivity (MDC) to be less than nine years. This is regardless of whether an orca was extracted from the ocean, or born at a theme park.” This statement emphasizes that orcas live shockingly short lives while held in captivity, due to less-than-ideal living conditions. The statistics provide the student with a grasp of exactly of much or how many ways the actions of the parks have an effect on the animals living in captivity. It provides concrete evidence on which we can rely for an image of things such…
In the essay, “Consider the Lobster,” David Foster Wallace describes what it is like to attend the Maine Lobster Festival. He also goes off on a tangent about the history of the lobster and how the delicacy has evolved. He not only describes the atmosphere but talks about the range of people attending, and how some of those attending raise the question of whether cooking a live lobster poses a moral dilemma (2004).…
The documentary entitled Blackfish directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite uses a few rhetorical approaches to reveal the disturbing hardship that orca whales experience in captivity. The film follows the shocking story of a killer whale named Tilikum and the three human deaths that he is responsible for. Cowperthwaite uses interviews with concerned former trainers and whale experts as a device to explore the difference between SeaWorld’s public image and its intense reality. Researchers find that the wild orcas can be described as highly socialized and intelligent creatures; these gentle animals are then compared to the whales pictured in footage from SeaWorld’s marine parks. Whales kept at SeaWorld are mistreated, restrained to dark cages, and live in small concrete pools that cannot be compared to the hundreds of miles that they would routinely swim on a daily basis. To this day, many admire SeaWorld for its broad assortment of marine animals. As a documentary, Blackfish takes on the immense task of trying to alter the audiences’ perceptions of SeaWorld. While Blackfish employs all three forms of rhetoric to accomplish this mission, it predominantly attracts the emotion of its audience using a combination of stock footage and interviews.…
In the documentary Black fish, Gabriella Cowperthwaite (2013) illustrated the truth behind SeaWorld. The director uses Logos, Ethos, and Pathos to persuade the viewer to think twice before attending SeaWorld and viewing it as a haven for orcas. SeaWorld may have changed and updated some of their safety precautions now, but it used to be a concrete prison that confined several orcas in and inhumane and misunderstood environment.…
Ethos refers to the way which that presenter can convince the audience by his/her character. Credibility, honesty, authority, and motive should describe Ethos, which is the character of the presenter. Authority is given when you have a clear knowledge about the matter in question. It also depends on the title it has in society that gives it authenticity. For example, the picture (1) presents to…
Blackfish, the 2013 documentary about the attacks of killer whales provides a profound look on the miserable lives of orcas that are being held against their will. However, the film focuses on more than the “Free Willy” longings. This film is extremely emotional and somewhat graphic as it visually shows why killer whales, at numerous SeaWorld and marine parks, attack the trainers and why these whales should not be held in captivity.…
One way Nicholas Carr persuades the reader by using Ethos is that he mentions a person who is well versed in the topic about media in general. In paragraph four he mentions Marshal McLuhan and how he provides brief details about the media and how it changes the way we think and comprehend information (Carr 2). This is an example of Ethos because Marshal McLuhan…
In awe, I stared at the tv watching yet another entrepreneur exit the shark tank without a deal. Sitting down on the couch, I imagine myself participating in the show. I present my product to the sharks while answering questions all in an attempt to secure a deal. After hard negotiations, I accept an offer consciously knowing that my life was about to change. This event of pure enumeration has been occurring since I was twelve and continues to occur every time I watch the show.…
In the stride of greed in this world human beings have been thriving off of almost anything to get what they believe is obtainable. Within the human endeavor to acquire currency some actions taken by SeaWorld are morally wrong and discerning. The ethical dilemma of the exploitation of wild orcas at SeaWorld has become a controversial topic with the idea of freeing the orcas to be the most morally understood solution. SeaWorld has repeatedly displaced orcas from mothers for different attractions or to ship to other parks. This occurrence is followed by the mother producing disturbing long range calls to attempt to locate her baby, described by a neuroscientist in Blackfish. The conditions these majestic orcas endure can only damage their…
In 2013, one documentary changed the world for animals in captivity forever. Blackfish, premiered in the Sundance Film Festival and was immediately picked up by Magnolia Pictures and CNN Films. Director Gabriela Copwerthwaite and her team spent years investigating and creating one of the most controversial and inspiring documentaries the United States has seen. Over the past year, Blackfish has made over two million dollars at the box office, making it one of the most popular documentaries of our time. Not only does Blackfish inspire people to reconsider going to Sea World, it generates people to try to make a change for the animals in captivity. Blackfish is a documentary that centers on the life of the killer whale Tilikum, most famous for his large structure and his collapsed dorsal fin. The documentary begins explaining the attack of three different whale trainers while employed by Sea World. Ironically enough, Sea World was not the only common thread among these deaths. All of these victims also shared the same cause of death: Tilikum, the…
The makers of The Cove effectively use ethos, logos, and pathos, as a call to action to end the annual slaughter of twenty thousand dolphins in Taiji, Japan. Though faced with many challenges due to the perverse Japanese government the filmmakers were able to portray the nightmare these dolphins endure. Through the use of ethos, Ric O’Barry, Louie Psihoyos, and the Oceanic Preservation Society put together a brilliant film that shows the world the horrors that take place in this small town. The use of logos captures the loss of innocent lives exclusively for human amusement. Psihoyos also plays on pathos as a way to show the tranquil nature these creatures normally obtain in the wild but lack when put into captivity.…
In the Documentary of Blackfish, it shows the how sea world makes money off the Killer whale and how they are trapped in there instead of being free in the oceans like they were supposed to. The story tells us how they are kidnapped and taken away from their natural habitat, in soul propose for human entertainment. It also tell us how that has a physiological effect on the whale as well as the trainer that work with them. The documentary explores the attachment between the trainer and the whale and how they are connected. However, it also exposes some incidents that have occurred over the years where the whale attack the trainer killing them. Sea world is a big company making millions of dollar off this endangered species of killer whales therefore,…
The story in the documentary “The Cove” had a very strong and heartfelt story. It touches on how there are more dolphin’s killed during dolphin hunting season than there are whales killed in the Antarctic. The dolphins are lured into a cove in the National Park at Taiji, Wakayama and killed by dolphin hunters by spears over the side of their boats and nets. This documentary fell under the category of a social documentary in my eyes. The anti-dolphin hunters are trying to make the people of Japan aware of the dolphin traps and raise awareness for the matter at hand.…
There are many instances where peoples’ beliefs reflect upon their actions. If someone does not believe in love, they may never get married. If someone believes there is no God, they may never attend church. If someone believes whales are insignificant, they may kill them as a sport. If someone believes whales should be respected, they just may be willing to die for them. In Herman Melville’s novel, Moby Dick, a ship sets sail searching to kill an infamous whale named Moby Dick and in the movie Whale Rider, directed by Niki Caro, people from the Maori culture put forth all their efforts to rescue washed up whales on the shore. Both of these storylines revolve around whales…
People usually view animals and other living organisms as toys, entertainment, or just things. For example, in Sea World, they have many shows which attract thousands of people every year. Everyone enjoys the show and enjoys the performances from the killer whales. However, most of them do not know the story behind the scenes. The documentary film “Blackfish” of Gabriela Cowbethwaite reflected the true story of those killer whales lived in Sea World San Diego. Tilikum, a “main character” in the film, was captured from the ocean in 1983 when he was a baby. From that moment until he died, he had to live in the small pool with the limited space for him to swim. The food was also limited due to his training. They forced him to perform every day and couple times a day. As time went on, his behavior and attitude totally changed. He became more aggressive to others and ended up killing his trainer. He had the collapsed dorsal fin as well as other killer whales in the pool which never happened to those who live in the nature. As we can see, people only know that they pay the money for those whales to entertain them without knowing the terrible truths behind. Nobody cares about those whales are slowly dying in the pool. In fact, this is exactly how people treat animals and other living organisms. In order to see them as same as humans, people need to sympathize with those living organisms. They have emotions; they can feel the pain and suffer from the pain as same as humans. Moreover, they are very important to the universe. They provide a lot of benefits to humans and nations. It is difficult to view those as mankind; however, they deserve to be treated like…