9/5 A Must See Movie
Last month I wrote a post about a new documentary that I was anxious to see called Blackfish. It is a chilling documentary about the fascination with and dangerous ramifications of keeping majestic Orcas (Killer Whales) in captivity for entertainment purposes. The film centers around the widely publicized story of Tilikum, the performing Orca that has injured and killed several people, most notably the 2010 death of a well regarded Sea World Orlando trainer, Dawn Brancheau. 
The movie walks the audience through the revelation that holding one of the largest mammals on earth in a fish tank for the majority of its life is not only horrifically inhumane, but can and does damage them psychologically enough to make them uncharacteristically aggressive to humans and other whales in captivity.
The thing that I found so interesting about this movie is that I had never even considered the possibility that keeping trained whales in captivity was inhumane because I had never thought about it at all. Who knew that Orcas may travel up to 100 miles a day in their natural habitat, so the several hundred feet of enclosed tank is nothing short of an aquatic prison? How could we have known female Orcas in the wild can live up to 100 years, but in captivity they are lucky to make it to 30? I simply didn’t have all the information and didn’t seek it out. It is hard to let in the idea that things we have participated in, enjoyed, allowed to go on, turned a blind eye to or just never even thought about could be terribly cruel and inhumane.
Human beings don’t want to feel that way and will go to great lengths not to. With the absence of information or knowledge of it …we don’t have to look at what we are really doing to other beings. We don’t have to act on something we assume is humane simply because we haven’t been told otherwise. By the time the movie was over I had the type of oh my god, this is so blatant, I can not believe we allow this to go on sort of feeling. The interviews and footage they were able to compile will blow your mind.
From the haunting conversations with former Sea World trainers, to eyewitness accounts of an early death in Tilikum’s history, the movie presents frame by frame insight to the excitement behind seeing these giant mammals and the blatant disrespect for their lives in captivity. As a result of Brancheau’s highly publicized death, Sea World was subsequently sued and lost a battle with OSHA, which now requires that a physical barrier exists between trainers and Orcas in their sea parks. But, the truth is much bigger than just protecting the humans, it is equally about the necessity of protecting and honoring these highly developed mammals, something that remains unaddressed until this movie.
Blackfish is currently playing all throughout the United States, U.K. and Canada. Click here for a link to see if it is playing in your neck of the woods.
Please see it and have a delicious day.
Tags: animal advocacy, Blackfish, Blackfish movie review, Blackfish the movie, vegan experience, vegan wannabe
