# anyone seen Blackfish? Orca documentary **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 7, 2013, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seen-blackfish-orca-documentary/668244 "2013-09-07T12:18:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2013, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seen-blackfish-orca-documentary/668244/1 "2013-09-07T12:18:03Z")
I haven’t seen it but I really want to [Link](http://blackfishmovie.com/). I’ve watched a few interviews with the woman who made the film and seen clips. it’s about the whale who killed 3 people, the latest in 2010 at Seaworld and how his life in captivity lead to this. just based on interviews with former Seaworld trainers I don’t think these whales should be living this way, certainly not taken from their families as babies.:mad: [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=553570&highlight=blackfish) is the dope thread about the 2010 killing. I have only read a couple posts in so far but have already read things that were NOT TRUE - the spin Seaworld put on it. has anyone seen the movie? ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Stilettos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Red\_Stilettos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Stilettos)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2013, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seen-blackfish-orca-documentary/668244/2 "2013-09-07T12:34:04Z")
I saw it a few weeks ago. It’s a great movie and I highly recommend it. It’s not really about Tilikum. They just use his story as a frame for discussing the problems of captivity for orcas. If you’ve read about Tilikum or Seaworld’s problems with orcas, there probably won’t be much in the movie that you didn’t already know. But, it’s worth it just to hear the interviews with former trainers. Needless to say, I will not ever be visiting Seaworld or its brethren again. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2013, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seen-blackfish-orca-documentary/668244/3 "2013-09-07T12:34:16Z")
[clip](https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=3472607271196) from the movie from the facebook page ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2013, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seen-blackfish-orca-documentary/668244/4 "2013-09-07T12:38:31Z")
> [@](#): > > It’s not really about Tilikum that’s what the filmmaker said in an interview - she made it tightly focused on him on purpose, to show you how conditions are for the whales in general. she also said there was a LOT more she could have put in but only showed things that were 100% provable fact. she is a mother who took her kids to Seaworld and wanted to find out and then show the truth - she didn’t start out as anti-captivity and go from there. ---
**Author:** ![MyMack\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MyMack\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyMack_1)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seen-blackfish-orca-documentary/668244/5 "2013-09-08T16:46:11Z")
I looked at the link and want to see it now. It will probably depress the hell out of me though… ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seen-blackfish-orca-documentary/668244/6 "2013-09-08T16:53:45Z")
FYI, CNN will be airing the film next month. ---
**Author:** ![Deadhead\_Dave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@Deadhead\_Dave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deadhead_Dave)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seen-blackfish-orca-documentary/668244/7 "2013-09-09T20:10:00Z")
I saw it last week. The takeaway is that Seaworld is an underwater “Jurassic Park.” ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seen-blackfish-orca-documentary/668244/8 "2013-09-09T21:32:21Z")
> [@Deadhead\_Dave](#): > > I saw it last week. The takeaway is that Seaworld is an underwater “Jurassic Park.” so, the Orcas we find so cute and beautiful are really Velociraptors? 😕 well - you’ve seen it & I haven’t but I was thinking the message was that Seaworld is a circus (spectacle that masks cruelty) as opposed to a enlightened zoo that conducts scientific research with a little bit of performing on the side…or some such. > [@](#): > > It will probably depress the hell out of me though… but maybe change can happen, if enough people see it > [@](#): > > FYI, CNN will be airing the film next month. thank you, Voltaire ---
**Author:** ![Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Long_Time_First_Time)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seen-blackfish-orca-documentary/668244/9 "2013-09-10T17:20:09Z")
The last time I was at Seaworld (which was quite some time ago), it was very jarring to have all the things animals did in their acts termed “behaviors” by the trainers. “Here’s the seal exhibiting the behavior of balancing a ball on his nose. Her he is showing us the behavior of honking a horn.” It was pretty obvious they did this to make it sound more natural, not because what they asked the animals to do was any more realistic. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seen-blackfish-orca-documentary/668244/10 "2013-09-12T16:42:39Z")
I’m shocked that anyone is surprised by this. Did any of you really think that the orcas and other animals at Sea World were there enjoying themselves? Like the circus or the zoo, when you take an animal out of its intended world and shove it in front of a bunch of clapping people while it walks/runs/swims/jumps in a funny suit meant to provoke laughter from the audience, not build the animals self-esteem, it really surprises me that anyone would think these places are anything but great for the animals. All it does for most animals is remove them from the food chain. Or, as a top predator like an orca, he no longer needs to hunt for food and face starvation or a bad winter. But that’s the only trade off that benefits the animal. Human companionship is NOT something animals need or seek out (domestic animals excluded, of course… Except for the house car) When one of the white tigers attacked that guy in Vegas (was it Roy?) I was shocked that it took so long. An orca killing a trainer is not surprising to me either, and it shouldn’t be to anyone else. They are born to kill… That’s what they do. And they are VERY good at it. Very smart, sometimes brilliant behaviors have been witnessed by orcas to get a meal, including creating a wave to knock a seal off of a piece of floating ice. It’s beautiful to watch. I am just surprised that the OP and anyone else would think that an organization like Sea World, which makes its profits out of controlling animals, would be cruel to those animals that don’t act the way they want them to. No new outrage has been generated by this for me. And I wouldn’t stop going to Sea World, either… If I lived close to one, that is. I’m a sucker for penguin acts. ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seen-blackfish-orca-documentary/668244/11 "2013-09-12T19:14:01Z")
Having worked for SeaWorld in close proximity with the orcas, I can assure you the trainers and staff I met care deeply for the welfare of the animals. And yes, all the “tricks” the orcas do are built on natural behaviors — its delusional to think an orca can be made to do anything they don’t want to do. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seen-blackfish-orca-documentary/668244/12 "2013-10-24T20:28:49Z")
FYI: \*Blackfish \*will be airing tonight on CNN at 9pm, then again at 12am & 3am. (Eastern time) ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seen-blackfish-orca-documentary/668244/13 "2013-10-25T00:54:21Z")
Courtesy bumpage, since it starts in a few minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seen-blackfish-orca-documentary/668244/14 "2013-10-25T01:13:37Z")
Watching now. My friends from **The Cove** have been pushing it on FB, so I figure it’s worth a little of my time. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seen-blackfish-orca-documentary/668244/15 "2013-10-25T13:19:31Z")
> [@Brains are the new Snack](#): > > Watching now. My friends from **The Cove** have been pushing it on FB, so I figure it’s worth a little of my time. I’d love to hear how it was, I don’t have CNN. hopefully I can get it on Netflix or online at some point. (I’ve seen so many clips of the movie I feel like I have seen a lot of it) ---
**Author:** ![Clawdio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@Clawdio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clawdio)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seen-blackfish-orca-documentary/668244/16 "2013-10-25T13:37:16Z")
I saw this when it played in the theaters here a couple of months ago. I’ve always felt kind of uneasy about zoos/captivity but this was pretty eye opening. The most fascinating thing to me was when they talked about how the different communities of orcas in the wild have very distinct launguages, so when they put orcas from different places around the world together they seem to have difficulty interacting (communicating) with each other. My main take-away from the movie: the world is a weird place and i’ll never understand why people do the things they do (though i know the answer is “to make money”) ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seen-blackfish-orca-documentary/668244/17 "2013-10-25T14:30:10Z")
> [@Clawdio](#): > > I’ve always felt kind of uneasy about zoos/captivity but this was pretty eye opening. I’m not the hugest philosophical fan of keeping animals in strange and unnatural captivity, but I think that ultimately, a bigger threat is that if we don’t have zoos and SeaWorlds, etc… that “Out of sight, out of mind” will apply to more voters and legislators the world over, and that’ll be a bigger tragedy for the species in question and the world as a whole than whatever happens to a tiny number of individual animals in captivity. I wonder how many biologists and wildlife conservationists were first inspired by a trip to the zoo? I can’t help but think that zoos are that particular field’s equivalent of space launches for engineering and video games for computing/IT for getting young people interested and involved. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seen-blackfish-orca-documentary/668244/18 "2013-10-25T15:18:25Z")
I would also take this with a grain of salt. This is not made by a person with magical, alltruistic motives. The filmaker is chasing a buck just as much as Seaworld and knows outrage sells. Why do you think CNN has been pimping it all month? ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seen-blackfish-orca-documentary/668244/19 "2013-10-26T13:23:45Z")
> [@](#): > > The most fascinating thing to me was when they talked about how the different communities of orcas in the wild have very distinct launguages, so when they put orcas from different places around the world together they seem to have difficulty interacting (communicating) with each other. yes! and then Seaworld tells critics that their whales are with their families, and it’s no such thing. it’s the opposite of science. > [@](#): > > think that ultimately, a bigger threat is that if we don’t have zoos and SeaWorlds, I am guessing you haven’t seen it since you lump Seaworld in with zoos - it’s a circus: intelligent animals kept in unnatural conditions and trained to do tricks for audiences. a good zoo is nothing like that. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seen-blackfish-orca-documentary/668244/20 "2013-10-26T21:32:04Z")
> [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > yes! and then Seaworld tells critics that their whales are with their families, and it’s no such thing. it’s the opposite of science. That’s what really hit me in the gut, in watching this enthralling documentary: the extent to which SeaWorld just flat out lies, in large things and small. (The montage of SeaWorld guides telling guests that orcas live longer in captivity than in the wild was chilling. The truth is the opposite. Do the guides know that they’re lying? Do they care?) This is really worth watching. The sequence of videos showing attacks on trainers is particularly damning. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seen-blackfish-orca-documentary/668244.md?page=2)