Blackfish
Composite Score: 84.57
Featuring: Tilikum, Dave Duffus, Samantha Berg, Dean Gomersall, John Hargrove, Mark Simmons, Kim Ashdown, Carol Ray, John Jett, and Dawn Brancheau
Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Writers: Gabriela Cowperthwaite, Eli B. Despres, and Tim Zimmermann
Genres: Documentary, Nature
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for mature thematic elements including disturbing and violent images
Box Office: $2.30 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
Blackfish is Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s documentary about the treatment of orcas in captivity, specifically at SeaWorld, focusing on the treatment and actions of the orca Tilikum, who was involved in three separate deaths over the course of his career. The film’s scathing critique of the amusement park and its methods made it an instant hit in 2013, tanking SeaWorld’s stock in the process. As far as influential documentaries go, you’d be hard-pressed to find one in recent history that accomplished more in the public sphere than Blackfish has. It was nominated for the BAFTA for Best Documentary and remains one of the most powerful nature documentaries of the 21st century.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
I don’t know that there’s any reason to actually not watch Blackfish, so much as there are issues with the film that could have made the film better or even more impactful. For starters, there’s an extended sequence in the back half of the film that talks about breeding being the primary reason for keeping Tilikum at SeaWorld that features extended footage of SeaWorld employees collecting semen from the orca that I personally could have gone without seeing and still been just as impacted by the film’s message. There’s also the sensational nature of the film, capitalizing on the highly publicized death of Dawn Brancheau to muster a greater impact while certain aspects of the case were still in dispute. None of these pieces make the film unwatchable, though, and it should be something that most people partake of at some point in their movie-watching careers.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
Impact alone has earned Blackfish a pedestal of greatness in the documentary filmmaking world, but its message and methods go beyond that to earn it a place in film history and a spot on the list of Greatest Films of All Time. This is documentary filmmaking in the style of investigative journalism, seeking to present the facts of the case in such a way that the audience can’t help but be stirred to activism, and the film does just that. By tracing Tilikum’s history and giving the audience a specific orca to latch onto in the process, the film creates an emotional bond and history with the audience that drives them to passion where the animals are involved. This bond allows Cowperthwaite and her fellow filmmakers to make a broader statement about the captive orca industry and, hopefully, enact lasting change thanks to the emotional response of their audience. Blending firsthand accounts, expert testimony, and archival footage of the orcas in captivity with their trainers helps cement the film’s impact by providing audience members with evidence to back up the emotions that they are feeling and push them to a state of frustration with business executives who either haven’t seen or are willfully ignoring the truth that they now know. It is these methods that have allowed Blackfish to leave the lasting legacy that it has in the world of marine theme parks and related areas.
Expert documentary filmmaking practices that combined emotion with factual evidence helped Blackfish exert an undeniable influence on the industry that it brings into the limelight while also helping cement the documentary’s spot in cinematic history. While every aspect of the film might not be completely ingenuous or even necessary, on the whole, it is a moving piece of filmmaking that delivers a truth that needed to be spoken and now needs to be acted on. This film is currently streaming on many platforms, including Hulu and Amazon Prime Video, for anyone who hasn’t yet watched the impactful documentary.
