Final Doc Review
Grizzly Man and The Cove both share a common, fascinating theme: humans’ relationship with the wild lives and the nature world. Both films centre on this theme but The Cove explores the slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan while Grizzly Man focuses on Timothy Treadwell’s attempt to live with grizzly bears. Both have a certain tragic plot about them, The Cove because of the cold blood slaughter and Grizzly Man because of Treadwell’s death. Both choose to focus on one species, for The Cove its dolphins, Grizzly Man, its grizzly Bears. They may be both focused on the same topic but are they’re both fantastic explorations of the same idea. The Cove combines the personal relationship between a man and dolphins and expands it to
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Treadwell was someone who felt a connection to the bears and through a misguided sense of justice felt that he was protecting them too. In The Cove, a team of activists hatched a plan to expose the truth of what is happening in that secretive cove in Taiji. Treadwell, on the other hand considered himself to be a one man army, protecting the bears from harm. It is made very clear from the 13 summers worth of video footage that Treadwell left behind after his death that he not only distrusted the park rangers who he frequently dealt with but outright despised them. It’s clear from the video footage shown during the film that Treadwell saw himself as a protector of the bears and it is this ideology that would eventually cost him his …show more content…
The enemies in The Cove are obvious. They’re the committees set up to bring about change but who get so caught up in legislation that they create little progress. They’re the fisherman and multi-million dollar companies who feel their livelihood threatened by the activists determined to make a difference. With all these enemies for the activists to face, it’s good that we have a hero to root for and in this film it’s Ric O’ Barry. For years, O’ Barry was known as the best dolphin trainer in the world, having trained many of the dolphins who appeared in the Flipper TV series. It was this particular job that convinced him that dolphins were not meant to be kept in captivity but to be free in the
Documentaries are a form of genre in the film industry that aims to discuss a certain topic in the world, often trying to prove a point or persuade the audience towards a particular cause. The cove (2009), directed by Louie Psihoyos, is about the annual dolphin slaughter in Tai Ji that happens every year in Japan. It shows the ventures of the activist Ric O’ Barry who tries his hardest to expose the injustice within the industry. Blackfish (2013), directed by Gabriela Cowpertha is about the captivity of Orca Whales in public wild life parks such as Sea World. Very much like The Cove, Blackfish attempts to expose a certain dark side of what seems to be a harmless company and show the world that captivity can be dangerous for whales and even
A documentary is film dedicated to recording an aspect of reality for informational purposes. Documentaries can cover a wide variety of topics, such as the wildlife in the world. A major topic that has become relevant is the discussion of endangered species and the human impact on their lives. In the movie, The Cove, the portrayal of Ric O’Barry creates pathos and ethos to gives the audience a sense of urgency to help the fight against the slaughtering of dolphins in Taiji, Japan. Ric O’Barry, in the 1960’s, was a famous capturer and trainer of dolphins for the popular TV show, Flipper.
In the documentary, The Cove: The Oceanic Preservation Society, also known as OPS, is introduced by the cofounders Ric’ O Barry, and Louie Psihoyos. They shine a light on the injustice of dolphins in Taiji, Japan. In this area, the local fisherman brutally captures the dolphins using the animal’s hearing against them, then slaughters them ruthlessly, as long as they are not picked up to be sold for commercial use. “23,000 Dolphins are killed annually. ”-
Blackfish (2013), a mesmerizing, psychological documentary with 7 film awards and 38 nominations, presents an extensive look into the negative effects captivity has on Orca whales. The director and writer Gabriela Cowperthwaite calls her audience to action, similar to documentaries such as Food, Inc., The Cove, and Super Size Me. In all of these documentaries, the director and writers reach out to an audience that is not fully knowledgeable on a certain topic, in order to persuade them into taking a stance on a certain topic. In Gabriela’s film, she illustrates the story of Tilikum, a performing Orca who killed many people while at SeaWorld, Orlando. Though at times graphic, the film investigates the harmful effects captivity has had on these wonderful creatures and their trainers. Blackfish uses credible interviewees, powerful voice-overs, and influential outside evidence to persuade those who are un-informed of the negative effects of captivity on killer whales. The ultimate goal in doing this is to urge these individuals to take a stance against aquatic captivity.
The documentary Blackfish was debuted by CNN in 2013, shortly after the death of SeaWorlds’ orca trainer Dawn Brancheau. That, and other strange “accidental” deaths, brought up a controversial issue debating whether or not seaworld is telling the truth or just covering it up. In the film, director Gabriela Cowperthwaite reveals the problems within the sea-park industry, human relationship to nature, and how little has been learned about these highly intellectual
Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s documentary Blackfish explores the harm captivity causes to whales and their trainers. Throughout the film the orca whales undergo a transformation from defenseless creatures into molded killers. The orcas in the film are portrayed as intelligent and caring creatures who are capable of grief. Through this character the development the documentary has affected how these animals are treated, as well as the public’s opinion on the issue.
Through a collection of research, commercials, and interviews, the documentary, Blackfish, reveals the possible reasons for the number of recent killer whale attacks. Blackfish argues that killer whales experience frustration and abuse when held in captivity. In addition, many theme parks, like Sea World, withhold information about the treatment and natural history from both employees and tourists.
In the truth revealing documentary “Blackfish”, the film reveals what these killer whales in entertainment parks such as SeaWorld go through, along with the trainers who work with them. The documentary shows clips and pictures of the killer whales mauling the trainers, and whales fighting each other resulting in
events, as well as the basic nature of the issue which involves a mesmerizing animal and its
In 2013 a documentary called “Blackfish” (a documentary explaining the illnesses of orcas and the weaknesses of seaworld) was released to inform the world why seaworld was not all fun and games. In fact after the release seaworld lost $31.6 million the second-quarter income. Just one of the many things “Blackfish” told us is that capturing the orcas doesn't always go as smoothly
In the documentary “Blackfish”, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, she discussed the harmful events that have occurred when keeping killer whales contained for show and entertainment purposes. Cowperthwaite argued the fact that the killer whales become aggressive when held captive in an area too small for them and separated from their families. Throughout the documentary there were many horrifying stories about the attacks told by people who had saw the tragedies first-hand.
One of the most effective strategies that the director amplifies in the film is pathos. Pathos is shown by phone calls that have been made to dispatch when attacks occurred, actual footage from attacks and baby orcas crying when they were separated from their mothers. This allows the audience to see and hear all of the incidents regarding the killer whales and be able to feel more connected. When the director uses pathos the appeal is to have the sympathy directed for the killer whales. A claim that ties in with all of this is in the documentary when they are saying killer whales are normally peaceful in the wild, and they only attack while in captivity. Detailed facts about how the whales are to an extent, tortured and become agitated with no outlet support this reasoning, since there are documented reports and footage of this as well.
Werner Herzog directed a documentary film called Grizzly Man to show viewers how much interest Timothy Treadwell demonstrated towards human nature and how he demonstrates human nature through himself. Timothy Treadwell spent thirteen long summers in Alaskan Peninsula. He went to go portray his love and protection to the wild life and grizzly bears, which lead him to his miserable death. Herzog creates a sequence of scenes, comments, and interviews from people who is well connected directly or indirectly with Treadwell. His purpose of directing the Grizzly Man documentary through Treadwell’s own film was to convey the viewers the difference of human beings and the wild life animals. Herzog’s main effective argument was to convey how courageous and how insane Treadwell was to spend thirteen summers in the wild life of grizzly bears.
Before the introduction of the bill titled “Punishment for the Crime of Lynching” (S.1978), previous attempts to introduce antilynching legislation at the federal level had met with no success. By 1934, changed attitudes toward the role of the government encouraged people to think that antilynching legislation would now be successful. Bill S.1978, which later became known as the Costigan-Wagner bill, was drafted and introduced by Senators Edward P. Costigan (D-CO) and Robert F. Wagner (D-NY) as an attempt to implement federal law intended to “assure to persons within the jurisdiction of every state the equal protection of the laws, and to punish the crime of lynching.”
Blackfish is a documentary based on killer whales who are captured to serve as performers, confined to small spaces, and mistreated while in captivity. The film features Tilikum, a male killer whale who not only has displayed disturbing behaviors but has also injured and killed people throughout his lifetime. The film also focuses on Sea World who despite their attempts to appear as a safe, and nurturing environment for these animals fails to provide proper training to their employees, accurate information to its guests, and mediocre living conditions for their animals. We meet several former Sea World trainers who recall the personal and emotional struggles they faced during their time at SeaWorld, and the incidents they witnessed which caused them to question not