Rhetorical Analysis Of Blackfish

Director, writer, and producer, Gabriella Cowperthwaite, in her documentary, Blackfish, describes the shameless hunting and treatment of killer whales. Cowperthwaite’s purpose is to persuade us into opening our eyes to the reality of what we are doing to killer whales by confining them in captivity. She invents an emotionally wrenching tone in order to transmit to the adult viewers that living in captivity may not be acceptable life for the whales. The film effectively showed that the whales should not be kept in captivity by giving the audience examples of their signs of aggression and displays of emotion.

In 2013, the documentary called Blackfish was released, a story about a killer whale that over the years at SeaWorld killed several people. It highlighted some of the major problems with animals in captivity. SeaWorld, known for having several different animal attractions; Dolphin Cove, Dolphin Nursery, Orca Underwater Viewing, Shark Encounter, Wild Arctic (Habitat) and many more. The organization first started with the intention of learning more about animals in order to educate the public about different behaviors of each animal. Trainers at Seaworld are offered the opportunity to get hands-on training with animals and are eventually are allowed to entertain the public with the skills they have acquired. Over the years there has been controversies with the way SeaWorld treat the animals and the type of behaviors animals portray as a result of its enclosures. SeaWorld's defense of capturing

In her work “What’s Wrong with Animal Rights,” Vicki Hearne challenges common beliefs of animal rights, arguing that animal rights groups do very little to actually benefit animals. She argues that

Doctors are infamous for their unreadable writing; Richard Selzer is not one of those doctors. A talented surgeon, Selzer has garnered critical acclaim for his captivating operating room tales, and rightfully so. A perfect exhibition of this is The Knife, a detailed illustration of a surgery. What may seem like an uninteresting event is made mesmerizing by Selzer’s magnificent account of the human body and the meticulousness that goes into repairing it. The rhetorical appeals, tone, and figurative language that Selzer uses throughout The Knife provide the reader with a vivid description of the sacred process of surgery.

In her essay “Living Like Weasels”, Annie Dillard explores the idea of following a single calling in life, and attaching one’s self it this calling as the weasel on Ernest Thompson Seton’s eagle had. Dillard presents her argument using the analogy of a weasel and how the; “weasel lives as he’s meant to, yielding at every moment to the perfect freedom of single necessity” (Dillard). In constructing her argument, however, she often contradicts herself undermining the effectiveness of her argument and leaving the reader confused. Dillard primarily uses ethos and pathos to support her argument and concerning both, the reader discovers; inconsistencies in her character, and conflicts between her perceptions

In the essay, “The Death of the Moth”, Virginia Woolf uses metaphor to convey that the relationship between life and death is one that is strange and fragile. Woolf tells the story of the life and death of a moth, one that is petite and insignificant. The moth is full of life, and lives life as if merry days and warm summers are the only things the moth knows. However, as the moth enters it’s last moments, it realizes that death is stronger than any other force. As the moth knew life seconds before, it has now deteriorated into death. The moth which had been so full of life, was now dead, showing that the line between life and death is one that is fragile and easy to cross without intention, or expectance.

When the two sides come together, the argument boils down to one major point, should we “Free Willy?” Those who side with the whales, whether their reasons be emotional or defended with welfare standards, feel that the whales should be released back into the wild or into private coves3. The opposing side makes valid arguments against the release of the currently captive whales. Currently captive whales were either removed from the wild at a young age, albeit in a cruel way, or they were bred in captivity11. The point in discussing this issue is not to address the cruelty of taking an animal from the wild, or to argue whether or not breeding programs are successful or appropriate. What needs to be addressed regarding the release of captive whales is their survivability in the wild6. Many killer whales are bred in captivity now, and thus have depended on humans for the entirety of their lives7. If a captive bred whale were released into the wild, it is likely that he or she would approach humans which could be dangerous for both the human and the whale. Captive bred killer whales would also likely have difficulty hunting, as their food was always provided for them by humans.

The lobster is a disgustingly beautiful creature, known for its delicate taste, menacing shell and controversy. In his essay, “Consider the Lobster”, David Foster Wallace describes the events and festivities of the Maine Lobster Festival and the history of the lobster to deliver a poignant message about the moral implications of killing and eating animals. Wallace is able to develop his position and vividly capture the audience’s attention through a strong use of humor, deliberate tonal shifts and a unique structure.

Blackfish (2013) is an American documentary film directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite and produced by Manuel V. Oteyza. The documentary primarily concerns the controversy of captured Killer Whales at the theme park Sea World, primarily that of Tilikum, an Orca responsible for the deaths of 2010 SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau and two other individuals. The documentary begins with this incident but goes as far back to the 1970 's show the audience how young Orcas are captured in the wild and taken from their families and natural environments. Since its release at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival Blackfish has achieved both critical acclaim and caused controversy regarding SeaWorld 's treatment of its animals as well as retaliation from SeaWorld as to the legitimacy of the film 's claims.

In 2013, a documentary called Blackfish was released to the public. This film was produced, written, and directed by a lady named Gabriela Cowperthwaite, as a way to show the world how poorly whales are treated and why they do not belong in captivity. Blackfish also shows how little people really know about the beautiful and highly intelligent orca whale itself. Her film was seen by many, and touched the hearts of a lot people, taking the debate of the topic to a higher level. The movie hits on a lot of main issues about captivity, told by reliable people, along with proven statistics to go along with them. That makes this sources extremely dependable for my final paper due to all the good information it gives.

Disney movies are really well known for teaching kids valuable life lessons in a way that they could understand. Finding Nemo teaches the importance of family and how to face your fears for those that you love. The movie focuses on two fish, Marlin and Dory trying to find Marlins lost son Nemo after fishermen took him. Since Nemo is the only family Marlin has he is very protective over him, and before he was born he grabbed on to, what was only just an egg at the time and said, “I will never let anything happen to you”. Marlins biggest fear is loosing the only person he has left, and once he does, something like coming face to face with a shark

In Animal Farm, George Orwell warns how power will often lead to corruption. Napoleon was placed in a position of power after Major died, and he slowly starts to lavish in his power and become addicted to the lush life of a dictator. When Napoleon first becomes a leader, he expresses how everyone will work equally, but as his reign goes on, he shortens the work hours. At the very end of the novel, the observing animals even start to see that pig and man had become the same. The irony present in the above example, illuminates how regardless of how much a ruler promises to maintain equality and fairness, the position of power that they hold, will corrupt them. It is seen that the power rid of Napoleon’s conscience, and created a ruthless dictator.

Ever since wild animals such as Killer Whales have been captured and kept in theme parks and zoos as amusement, there have been issues on whether they should or shouldn’t be kept in captivity. Killer Whales, otherwise commonly referred to as Orcas, have regularly been taken away from the sea at a very young age so they can be trained, raised and kept in theme parks for exhibition. Although theme parks no longer capture whales from the wild, they are still bred in captivity for public display at marine parks such as Sea World (Gorman). Sea World and other theme parks confine whales to tanks that, for them, are about the same size as a

In 2013, Gabriela Cowperthwaite directed the documentary Blackfish. This documentary is about Tilikum, an orca from SeaWorld that has taken the lives of many trainers. The documentary makes the claim that orcas should be freed from captivity. While in captivity they are causing harm to both themselves, humans, and the other orcas. Blackfish is a great example of an argument that can be rhetorically analyzed because it has pathos, ethos, and logos.

The documentary Blackfish, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite released in July 2013, explores the mistreatment of killer whales and the relationship between the killer whales and trainers as well as the significant problems of the sea-park industry, with a focus upon SeaWorld. Cowperthwaite positions the audience to feel sympathy towards the killer whales by making deliberate choices in sound, visual, language, and structure through the representation of trainers as unprofessional, and whales as mistreated, also experts as reliable information source.