Blackfish (2013)
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The film explores the controversial captivity of Tilikum, an orca involved in the deaths of three people.
The story
The documentary examines the captivity of Tilikum, an orca held by SeaWorld, and the broader consequences of keeping such animals in captivity. The film details Tilikum's capture in 1983 off the coast of Iceland and his purported harassment by fellow captive orcas at Sealand of the Pacific, arguing these incidents contributed to his aggression. It features testimonials from the Nonhuman Rights Project and former SeaWorld trainers, while addressing SeaWorld's claims regarding the lifespans of captive orcas.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The documentary explores the captivity of Tilikum, an orca involved in the deaths of three people, and the consequences of keeping orcas in captivity. It covers Tilikum's capture in 1983 off the coast of Iceland and his purported harassment by fellow captive orcas at Sealand of the Pacific, which the film argues contributed to his aggression. The film includes a testimonial from Lori Marino of the Nonhuman Rights Project and interviews with former SeaWorld trainers like John Hargrove. Cowperthwaite argues that wild-caught orcas experience extreme stress when captured as juveniles, and that a lifetime in aquaria being forced to perform and breed leads to aggression toward humans and other orcas. The film features footage of Tilikum's attacks on trainers and other captive orcas as well as interviews with witnesses. It also challenges SeaWorld's claims that the lifespans of captive orcas are comparable to those in the wild.
- First release year
- 2013
- Runtime (minutes)
- 83
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Gabriela Cowperthwaite
- Writers
- Gabriela Cowperthwaite · writer; Eli Despres · writer; Tim Zimmermann · writer
- Genres
- documentary
- Themes
- animal rights; captivity; environmental ethics
- Tone and mood
- aggressive; impassioned
- Premise and plot tags
- documentary; animal rights; marine life
- Reception
- The film received universal acclaim, with a 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes and an 83/100 on Metacritic. It was described as an aggressive and impassioned documentary that changed perspectives on performance killer whales.
- Awards and nominations
- BAFTA Award · Best Documentary · nominated
- Production trivia
- The ending of Finding Dory was revised after the director and chief creative officer saw Blackfish.; The film inspired the animal rights themes in Jurassic World.; The film's release led to a $15.9 million loss for SeaWorld.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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