Blackfish, 2013
Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite
SYNOPSIS:
Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.
Blackfish was easily one of the most anticipated films at this year’s Sundance London with its screening selling out quickly and tickets becoming harder to get hold of than rocking horse droppings. Delving into the inner workings of SeaWorld and their captivity of killer whale Tilikum, Blackfish certainly doesn’t shy away from its grim subject matter to create a captivating (if a little flawed) documentary.
Opening with a disturbing 911 call relaying a killer whale attack at SeaWorld, director Gabriela Cowperthwaite wastes little time in putting her case forward and showing her audience the true horror of keeping these creatures locked up. Much of the films opening third is spent with whale experts who go into detail about how keeping killer whales contained is not good for their psyche as they are more emotionally evolved than us humans. It’s a good way of setting up the rest of the documentary as it instantly puts you on her side against SeaWorld’s business methods.
However the more interesting portions of the documentary are spent with the former SeaWorld trainers who give their impressions on how the company is run and what it was like to work with these potentially dangerous mammals. It’s in this portion where we deal with the real ‘meat’ of the documentary – the three deaths caused by Tilikum and the Spanish trainer killed by one of his offspring at a SeaWorld-esque park in Tenerife. The latter tale in particular is tear-jerking to say the least as the story is re-counted by his fiancée, mother and a video operator who saw the whole thing coming due to the inexperience of the trainers and the poor facilities the park had on offer. These deaths (including footage of the attacks) are also used as a way for Cowperthwaite to point fingers at SeaWorld as the evil corporation who spin deaths so that they don’t appear to be negligent bad guys who only care about taking money from dumb tourists.
But sadly this is one of the faults with Blackfish: it only presents one side of the argument.
Much like Michael Moore, Gabriela Cowperthwaite ignores the other side of the coin to solely present hers. She doesn’t look at the benefits of theme parks like SeaWorld in terms of entertainment and generating tourist revenue for their State or how they actively raise interest in young children about these creatures and is instead more concerned with painting SeaWorld as a Saturday morning cartoon villain who hides behind corporate cover-ups. It’s clear that the argument would fall flat as her case against SeaWorld and their treatment of killer whales like Tilikum is very strong and a damning indictment against them, but by having a one-sided ‘exposé’, Blackfish feels a little on the nose and quite preachy – particularly in the closing moments where some of the trainers watch whales who are free in open waters.
Balancing issues aside, Blackfish is a gripping, emotional and fascinating watch that will certainly have you questioning your next trip to not just SeaWorld, but zoos in general. Despite the documentary having a very unbalanced argument and Cowperthwaite’s preachy point of view is forced down your throat, it’s hard to deny that Blackfish is an incredibly engaging documentary.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Luke Owen is one of Flickering Myth’s co-editors and the host of the Flickering Myth Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @LukeWritesStuff.
Originally published November 22, 2013. Updated November 7, 2019.
