Blackfish presents many arguments against captivity but no solutions. And it doesn't help that some people involved like Lori Marino, are known extremists.
One of the biggest issues with Blackfish is that there are no interviews with family members of the three people whose deaths involved Tilikum. Perhaps they are bound by settlement agreements. I don't know why they are not interviewed. In the case of Dawn Brancheau, it seems that her family is against Blackfish.
It seems like the interview with the fiancée and mother of the man killed at Loro Parque in the Canary Islands is meant to shift the viewer's attention off the lack of interviews with family members of other victims.
There are also no interviews with other people involved in killer whale attacks that were not fatal. At least one, Ken Peters, does still work for SeaWorld. But are the others who are not still employed bound by agreements or is something else going on? There is no given answer to that question.
The film makes sure the viewer knows that SeaWorld refused to comment. But what about the former employees who survived attacks or family members of the people who were killed by Tilikum. Why is there no mention of their refusal?
I also didn't like that the viewer is not told when the former trainers interviewed started working at SeaWorld and when they left SeaWorld. Many had not worked there for 12+ years before the death of Dawn. It seems implied that some left because of her death, but many left had left long before. I also have a problem with the director not disclosing that Jett was demoted and that Gomersall and Ventre were both fired. Many of these trainers never worked with Tilikum and some barely worked with the whales at all.
Many of these former trainers described incidents that they did not witness but claim knowledge of to analyze. I found the critique of Dawn's final performance to contain a lot of victim blaming. They say that food was running out, but that is false. There are always more buckets of fish handy.
There are numerous times when Tilikum and other whales are referring to as psychopathic but that doesn't track with the relationships those whales have with other whales. Tilikum has always done well with his children, Orkid gets along with most whales in San Diego, and Kasatka is a good mom and matriarch.
The attack on Ken Peters is presented without context. The film acts like it is not known why it happened, but it is known. Once Peters dove into the water be heard Kalia, a then 2 year old calf of Kasatka's, give out a cry. But Kalia was in a different pool. So it happened because Kasatka wanted to go check on her daughter. It is worth noting that Peters still works with Kasatka, but none of the parks do water works anymore with the killer whales.
Kelly F. Clark's testimony during the OSHA hearings is also edited to make her seem evil. But they omit where she acknowledges that the whales at Loro Parque are owned by SeaWorld, and make it seem like she lied. Their also omit her saying that she is not the best person to ask about business related questions because her experience is related to animal care and training.
Another issue I had was the omission of Taima, a female whale, Tilikum had numerous calves with, but died during birth in the months following Dawn's death. They also don't mention that he apparently got along with Takara, before she was moved to San Antonio. Given how the concept of whales feeling loss is mentioned in regard to mother and calf separation, it feels odd to not mention that Tilikum would also be lethargic due to loss of companions. At present he spends at least some of his day with Trua, a grandson. You can see videos of them performing together and in the underwater viewing area if you look on YouTube. But he is separated from other children and grandchildren that reside in Orlando. He used to spend time with Malia, a daughter, but they are believed to have not been grouped together in recent years, possibly to prevent inbreeding.
One of the biggest issues with Blackfish is that there are no interviews with family members of the three people whose deaths involved Tilikum. Perhaps they are bound by settlement agreements. I don't know why they are not interviewed. In the case of Dawn Brancheau, it seems that her family is against Blackfish.
It seems like the interview with the fiancée and mother of the man killed at Loro Parque in the Canary Islands is meant to shift the viewer's attention off the lack of interviews with family members of other victims.
There are also no interviews with other people involved in killer whale attacks that were not fatal. At least one, Ken Peters, does still work for SeaWorld. But are the others who are not still employed bound by agreements or is something else going on? There is no given answer to that question.
The film makes sure the viewer knows that SeaWorld refused to comment. But what about the former employees who survived attacks or family members of the people who were killed by Tilikum. Why is there no mention of their refusal?
I also didn't like that the viewer is not told when the former trainers interviewed started working at SeaWorld and when they left SeaWorld. Many had not worked there for 12+ years before the death of Dawn. It seems implied that some left because of her death, but many left had left long before. I also have a problem with the director not disclosing that Jett was demoted and that Gomersall and Ventre were both fired. Many of these trainers never worked with Tilikum and some barely worked with the whales at all.
Many of these former trainers described incidents that they did not witness but claim knowledge of to analyze. I found the critique of Dawn's final performance to contain a lot of victim blaming. They say that food was running out, but that is false. There are always more buckets of fish handy.
There are numerous times when Tilikum and other whales are referring to as psychopathic but that doesn't track with the relationships those whales have with other whales. Tilikum has always done well with his children, Orkid gets along with most whales in San Diego, and Kasatka is a good mom and matriarch.
The attack on Ken Peters is presented without context. The film acts like it is not known why it happened, but it is known. Once Peters dove into the water be heard Kalia, a then 2 year old calf of Kasatka's, give out a cry. But Kalia was in a different pool. So it happened because Kasatka wanted to go check on her daughter. It is worth noting that Peters still works with Kasatka, but none of the parks do water works anymore with the killer whales.
Kelly F. Clark's testimony during the OSHA hearings is also edited to make her seem evil. But they omit where she acknowledges that the whales at Loro Parque are owned by SeaWorld, and make it seem like she lied. Their also omit her saying that she is not the best person to ask about business related questions because her experience is related to animal care and training.
Another issue I had was the omission of Taima, a female whale, Tilikum had numerous calves with, but died during birth in the months following Dawn's death. They also don't mention that he apparently got along with Takara, before she was moved to San Antonio. Given how the concept of whales feeling loss is mentioned in regard to mother and calf separation, it feels odd to not mention that Tilikum would also be lethargic due to loss of companions. At present he spends at least some of his day with Trua, a grandson. You can see videos of them performing together and in the underwater viewing area if you look on YouTube. But he is separated from other children and grandchildren that reside in Orlando. He used to spend time with Malia, a daughter, but they are believed to have not been grouped together in recent years, possibly to prevent inbreeding.