- published: 03 Jun 2013
- views: 1839541
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Blackfish is a 2013 documentary film directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite. The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2013 and was picked up by Magnolia Pictures for wider release.[1]
Blackfish focuses on the orca Tilikum and dangers of keeping the species in captivity.[2]
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The documentary focuses on the captivity of the killer whale Tilikum, who was involved in the deaths of three individuals, and the consequences of keeping such large and intelligent animals in captivity. The coverage of Tilikum begins with his capture in 1983 off of Iceland and shows how he was harassed by fellow captive whales and left in dark tanks for hours, which Cowperthwaite argues contributed to the whale's aggression. Cowperthwaite also focuses on SeaWorld claims that whales in captivity live longer, a claim that the film argues as false.[2]
Cowperthwaite began work on the film after the death of Tilikum's trainer Dawn Brancheau and claims that the whale had targeted her due to her wearing her hair in a ponytail.[3] Cowperthwaite argued that this claim had been conjecture and that "there had to be more to this story".[3]
Critical reception for the documentary has been mostly positive,[4] with the Deseret News calling it "a gripping example of documentary filmmaking at its finest".[5] Twitch Film and The Hollywood Reporter both praised Blackfish, with both review sites arguing that the film gave "a persuasive case against keeping the species – and by extension any wild animal – in captivity for the purposes of human entertainment".[6][7] Film School Rejects gave the documentary a rating of B-, writing that it "never really offers anything new, but what it does feature is extremely important" and that it was "slanted in it view [sic]".[8]
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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.
Keywords: 911-call, aggression, amusement-park, animal, animal-advocate, animal-attack, animal-capture, animal-in-title, animal-park, animal-trainer
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