By: Heather
Hardison, PhD.
This is
more than a film review. This is A Call to Action
As a human being, I was outraged and heartbroken over this emotionally
driven film. As a psychologist, I was horrified, but not entirely surprised, to see the
psychological toll this animal entertainment industry has taken on these
beautiful creatures. In my psychological private practice, I see firsthand the
devastation that can be caused by depriving a being from their true nature.
Humans and animals are not all that different in that regard. We all experience
depression, a lack of enjoyment and a loss of joy when we are kept from our
natural surroundings, our comfortable routines and the socialization of family
and friends. Isolation turns in to severe depression, which leads to the loss of
the will to live. This film, along with many other documentaries on animal captivity,
show these Orcas and other captive animals are depressed, frustrated and
lonely. It is not surprising that they give up and often end their own lives.
In fact dolphins become so stressed out from the capture and prolonged captivity
that they often develop ulcers and either die from the stress or commit
suicide. In other animal documentaries trainers discuss frequent turnovers with dolphins in shows because they
struggle to keep them alive.
Seeing the majestic male Orcas with collapsed dorsal fins is gut
wrenching. In the wild they have beautifully straight fins but 100% of the
males in captivity have the collapsed dorsal fin. This is indicative of the
loss of joy and contentment in life that usually comes from living free in their
natural environment. They are lost and depressed due to being stuck in chlorine
filled pools and small holding pools where they can barely move. Even when performing in shows for audiences the larger pools are nothing compared to their natural environment. At best they only have enough room to swim short laps for the
amusement of others. Orcas give up their vocal calls in captivity which are such
a large part of their social life in the wild, and there is no joy in their
jumps as they are only animals for hire now. Seeing an Orca swim in the open ocean holds no comparison to their demeanor in their "jail cells" at aquariums.
It is clear that we are killing these beings by depriving them of everything that makes them Orcas. We deprive them of all of the wonderful stimulation of the ocean that keep them interested and engaged. Instead we blast them with loud music, surround them with crowds of screaming kids and demand that they perform on cue for several shows a day, every day of their life until they succumb to the stress or depression. Orcas only live at most to 25-30 years in captivity while their free brethren live 50-70 years. Most captive Orcas die around 10 years in captivity according to stats gathered on this site http://www.orcahome.de/lifeexpectancy.htm
It is clear that we are killing these beings by depriving them of everything that makes them Orcas. We deprive them of all of the wonderful stimulation of the ocean that keep them interested and engaged. Instead we blast them with loud music, surround them with crowds of screaming kids and demand that they perform on cue for several shows a day, every day of their life until they succumb to the stress or depression. Orcas only live at most to 25-30 years in captivity while their free brethren live 50-70 years. Most captive Orcas die around 10 years in captivity according to stats gathered on this site http://www.orcahome.de/lifeexpectancy.htm
The more we learn about dolphins and orcas the more we see how
intelligent and empathetic they are. We can no longer sit back and tell
ourselves that they don’t understand what is happening to them and that they
don’t know what they are missing in the wild. These animals are extremely
intelligent, and they grieve for their families even years after they are captured
and separated. The orcas do not forget their traumatic captures, and they will never fully adapt to their
new confining surroundings. In fact there is a high rate of animal suicide with captive dolphins and orcas. They have to take conscious breaths every minute,
and once they lose the will to live, they can decide not to take that last
breath. Cathy, the dolphin who played Flipper in the popular 1960’s television
series died in her trainer’s arms when she held her last breath and then sank
to the bottom of the sea aquarium she had been held in. She had deteriorated so
much from captivity that she could no longer endure this treatment. This
experience impacted her trainer so deeply that he was transformed into one of
the biggest advocates for dolphins, as he felt guilty for starting this love
affair with dolphins which spawned the emergence of the marine parks in the
first place. The stress and trauma that these corporations are putting these
animals through for greed is never worth the massive price these magnificent beings are paying. These highly intelligent animals easily grow bored of these
mundane routines and grow frustrated and exhausted by this constant abusive
environment. And yet we as the adoring public allow this to continue for the
sake of our amusement.
Psychologically,
when humans and animals are not allowed to fulfill their destiny or feel that
their true purpose is not possible to achieve, they begin to shut down
internally. Parts of ourselves die off and eventually we give up completely.
This is true for humans and animals. This film effectively shows all of the
consequences that occur when humans mess with the natural order of this planet.
Not only are the animals paying a steep cost, but human lives are cut short due
to this unnatural set up. Blackfish chronicles the loss of 3 human lives
including a trainer in Sealand by Tilikum in 1991, a young male who snuck in to
Tilikum’s holding pool at night, and Dawn Brancheau in 2010(shown above). Dawn was an experienced and
charismatic SeaWorld trainer who gave over 15 years of her life training orcas
and was pulled into the pool by Tilikum and drowned, scalped and had her arm
ripped off and swallowed by the massive 13,000 lb captured orca. Most of the
film follows Tilikum’s story from the time he was tragically captured in 1983 to the
present time where he is still performing shows at SeaWorld even after these confirmed
fatalities. He has also been bred countless times over the past 20 years and it is estimated that he has fathered 54% of the current SeaWorld
captive orcas. Some experts expressed concern that his sperm continues to be
used given his aggressive nature. Many believe that Tilikum is kept at SeaWorld despite his aggressiveness simply because his sperm is worth a great deal of money.
One
of the most powerful aspects of Blackfish is the fast that several former SeaWorld
trainers emotionally deliver their personal stories and journeys with the
whales they cared for. They also stand up for their fellow trainer, Dawn, whom
they believe was not at fault for her death, despite SeaWorld’s insistence that
she made a mistake, which they labelled trainer error. These trainers love the
whales they care for and many stated that they stayed at SeaWorld despite the
horrific conditions they witnessed simply because they feared what would happen
to the whales if they were not there to look after them. One trainer stated
that they learned to compartmentalize their feelings
because “if I leave, who will take care of Tilly.” “I stayed because I felt
sorry for Tilikum.”
These trainers truly love their whales. Their hands are tied by a larger more powerful corporation that controls and dictates the conditions the whales are kept in. The trainers who spoke on camera in Blackfish were brave to speak out on what they experienced over the years, and their emotional attachments to these orcas was apparent. One trainer stated “I’ve been with this whale 17 years, I’ve seen her have all four babies. We grew up together.”
These trainers truly love their whales. Their hands are tied by a larger more powerful corporation that controls and dictates the conditions the whales are kept in. The trainers who spoke on camera in Blackfish were brave to speak out on what they experienced over the years, and their emotional attachments to these orcas was apparent. One trainer stated “I’ve been with this whale 17 years, I’ve seen her have all four babies. We grew up together.”
Several
trainers witnessed acts of aggression by other whales, which could also lead to
further frustration and learned helplessness. This bullying from other whales
most likely contributed to future acts of aggression towards their human
trainers. The whales can only take so much bullying and mistreatment before
they break psychologically and start to act in ways that are far removed from
their natural temperament in the wild. Trainers witnessed Tilikum being attacked viciously when he arrived at SeaWorld.
He was ganged up on and attacked by the established dominant females at the park.
The trainers explained that the whales are all “squeezed in close proximity.”
They stated that Tilikum had no where to escape to when he was being attacked.
SeaWorld responded by keeping him in constant isolation “for his own
protection.” He is kept in the back pool and brought out for the end of show for “the
big splash.” Then he has to return to his “jail cell” as stated by his former
trainer. Tilikum had to be isolated much of the time as the females would not
tolerate him in the pool with them.
Female orcas are the dominant whales in the ocean. In the wild this isn’t a problem as they have plenty of room to spread out even when traveling together in their large pods. However, in captivity they are all confined to such small spaces and this creates a very hostile environment, especially for male whales. This aggression often leads to the deaths of whales by other whales. The whales also have a practice called “raking” where the whales scrape their massive and sharp 48 teeth along the backs of other whales, which is a painful and traumatizing experience for the orca. Photo below shows raking up close.
Female orcas are the dominant whales in the ocean. In the wild this isn’t a problem as they have plenty of room to spread out even when traveling together in their large pods. However, in captivity they are all confined to such small spaces and this creates a very hostile environment, especially for male whales. This aggression often leads to the deaths of whales by other whales. The whales also have a practice called “raking” where the whales scrape their massive and sharp 48 teeth along the backs of other whales, which is a painful and traumatizing experience for the orca. Photo below shows raking up close.
It is not hard to understand how these human deaths could have occurred
after you explore how traumatized these whales are. The film reveals how the baby
orcas are targeted and chased down by hunters to be snatched away from their
mothers and their pods forever. The disturbing images of bombs being dropped by
aircraft to frighten and disorient the whales and the speed boats pursing these
babies was immensely upsetting. The orca mothers did everything they could to
save their babies, and they even devised an intelligent plan
to break from the rest of the pod to keep the babies safe, hoping that the boats would follow the rest of the pod. Unfortunately, the
aircrafts spotted the detour from the air and they notified the speedboats to
swoop into the cove and corner the mothers and offspring. It was a lost cause
for the orcas at this point. Nets were cast, babies were ripped from their
mother’s sides and airlifted to aquariums across the globe. One particularly
heart wrenching scene filmed the mothers hovering close to the boats calling
out to their babies even after they were airlifted out of the water. It is truly heartbreaking!
One of the hunters spoke on camera describing this as “the worst
thing I have ever done.” He stated that it felt like kidnapping a child
from their loving family. He revealed that this has haunted him since. He was
choking back tears as he explained that he was instructed to cut open the
babies that died due to the stress of the capture and he was ordered to fill them with
rocks to sink them as hunting orcas was illegal and the evidence must be destroyed.
Animal behaviorists and marine biologists interviewed for this film pointed to
this type of traumatic capture as the first psychological trauma suffered by
the whales and went on to explain the further trauma that they suffer once they
are housed in the aquariums. Former trainers at Sealand reported that the orcas, including Tilikum, were stored in a module only 20 feet
across 30 feet deep. They were locked in this dark, metal pool for two-thirds of
their life. Trainers tearfully admitted that they were ordered to lock them up
from 5pm til 7am. “It didn’t feel good. It was just wrong.” Food deprivation
was also used for training purposes as holding back food
would create starvation and that was strong motivation to get them to enter the
training pool and to cooperate in training sessions. When the new whales would
resist or not cooperate, the trainers were told to use the whales against each
other and would punish both whales until the cooperative whale realized they would
not receive a reward until the new whale started cooperating. This caused the whales
to become aggressive with the uncooperative whale until they broke down and
submitted to the trainer’s will. This breaks an animal’s spirit and creates
what we call learned helplessness. This is when the animals begin to give up
and realize that there is no escape and that they are stuck in this situation
no matter what their efforts are. This is psychologically scarring and leads to
depression and hopelessness. Some experts in the film spoke about a psychosis that the orcas may be experiencing due to this mistreatment. They believe it may lead to their aggressiveness with humans. Photo below shows an orca pulling this trainer down to the bottom of the pool and keeping him there for a minute at a time. This continued for several minutes until the trainer got away and swam over a net to pull himself out of the pool.
The mistreatment of the orcas is precisely why it is not surprising that whales
would turn aggressive out of frustration. This is when human casualties will
occur. There are no known instances of orcas harming a human in the wild. SeaWorld
likes to publically state that Tilikum is not dangerous; however, former
employees have spoken in news stories about the “Tilly talk” that they are
given during their first week at work. They are told not to enter the water
with Tilikum because “if you get in the water with him you will come out a
corpse.” SeaWorld also tries to down play his involvement in the murder of the
trainer at Sealand before they acquired him. They officially state that he was not involved; however,
eye witnesses positively identified him as the whale that pursued her and held
her down. SeaWorld purchased Tilikum from Sealand after this very public death,
and they did not warn their trainers and employees at that time. This put
hundreds of people in danger daily and ultimately ended in 2 further deaths by
Tilikum that could have been avoided.
SeaWorld has responded to the release Blackfish and tried to save face by
stating that they have not captured their orcas in 35 years and that they treat
their animals with the best care. However, they are missing the point that any
whale in captivity is being mistreated and abused by the very fact that they
are lonely, isolated, deprived of food, separated from their family and
controlled in every way. Orcas are extremely social and they only bond with
members of their own pods. Mixing members from different pods, as SeaWorld does,
is unnatural to them and they never adapt. The experts explain that all pods
speak their own language with very unique dialects, and it is like they are from 2 different nations with
different languages that they do not understand when they are thrown together. SeaWorld calls them their collection. Orcas are so social that their sense of self is considered to be wrapped up entirely in social roles. Thus, removing them from their social world basically destroys them.
What this film does beautifully is to show us how majestic these
animals are, especially in the wild. The film educates us on what it means to be
an orca. They are designed to roam free and travel great distances. They are
highly verbal and social. They interact with their pods more than humans do on
a daily basis. They only thrive when they are surrounded by their family. They
grow depressed and lonely when isolated as they are in captivity. The isolation
quickly breaks them down psychologically. One animal behaviorist in the film
stated that 100% of the captured whales are traumatized and psychologically
damaged from this mistreatment.
SeaWorld states that they are playing a vital role in marine
biology by educating young children about wildlife. Their position is that allowing
children to see these animals up close fosters an interest and admiration in these
younger generations that will lead to a desire to help protect marine life in
the future. While that may be so, the price of captivity is too high. We should
love and admire these animals from afar in the wild as nature intended. If you
want to view orcas up close then spend the $100 you would have spent on a SeaWorld
ticket and take a chartered boat excursion off of Vancouver Island to see them
in their natural habitat as they were truly meant to live. Seeing animals in
captivity whether at SeaWorld, aquariums or local zoos should make us feel
uncomfortable. No matter how well the trainers take care of them, nothing can
compare to their natural environment. Anything less is robbing them of what it
truly means to be an animal in the animal kingdom.
If a 2 year old child was kidnapped from their family, held
captive for the rest of their lives and forced to perform for their abductor’s
entertainment, then society would be outraged. When the abductor was found,
they would be shunned from society, locked up in prison for life and the abused
child would be reunited with their family. Until now most people did not give the slightest thought to how the orcas are captured and how that separation from their family
negatively impacts them and their pod. Thanks to this thought provoking film we
see just how devastating this is for all involved. For decades, society was
oblivious to the animal’s suffering and their true emotional and physical condition in
captivity and now we cannot sit in denial anymore. It is time to make a change
and that will have to come about through the work of the general public. It
looks as if SeaWorld will not make these changes on their own since there is a
multibillion dollar industry at stake. If you have ever enjoyed a day at the
parks and enjoyed the orca and dolphin shows, then now is the time to pay them back
that appreciation by helping to free them from this life of torture and isolation.
Times have already started to change as the government will
not allow trainers in water with the orcas anymore. It has been deemed too
dangerous and too unpredictable for the humans. On May 30, 2012 a judge ruled
that during shows, SeaWorld trainers must now remain behind barriers, separated
from the orcas. The film not only covered deaths at the parks but documented
numerous encounters with whales pulling trainers under water and holding them
underwater for minutes at a time, nearly drowning them. The orcas are seen grabbing,
pushing and slamming into trainers aggressively, often injuring them. The film states that there are
70 plus killer whale/trainer accidents/encounters officially on record. By the
looks of these documented encounters, many of these trainers are very lucky to
be alive.
In a recent interview, the filmmaker, Gabriela Cowperthwaite, stated that it was not her
goal to shut SeaWorld down. She wants SeaWorld front and center of the
evolution of the animal entertainment industry. She stated that she would like
to see SeaWorld step up and build sea aquariums for the whales still in
captivity. It is often too dangerous to release them back in to the wild as
they have become too conditioned to receive food from their trainers for tricks
and they might not be able to hunt and feed themselves. Also, they might not be
able to reunite with their pod of origin, and orcas rely on the pod for
food and survival. They work as a team for hunting, traveling and protection
from other dangers. It seems the most humane thing to do for them now is to
retire them from work and from the chorine pools into larger restricted areas
within the sea. This way they are still protected and allowed to swim in their
natural environment for the last years of their life. The idea is to let these
captive orcas and dolphins rest and not have to perform for their food anymore. The goal that
activists have in mind is to phase out the captive animals from the
entertainment industry. This will take years and would involve not continuing
to breed orcas in captivity and not to capture them from the wild anymore. As
concerned members of society, we need to make sure this is the last generation
of captive whales.
SeaWorld will have to make a decision. They can either get on board for
this evolution of the industry or they can refuse to help and continue to state that there is
nothing wrong with holding these whales captive. If they chose not to be part
of this inevitable change, then they will eventually be forced to close their doors. They
have been a huge part of this problem and the only way they can try to salvage
some of their reputation would be to get involved and advocate for the animals
they publicly claim to love so much - the very animals that put those massive profits in
their pocket and the animals that they are continuing to torture. They need to
retire these whales, and they need to throw their power and money behind stopping the
dolphin massacre in Taiji, Japan where 23,000 dolphins are brutally slaughtered
every year. One of the main reasons that keeps this hunting practice in place is
the fact that Japanese fisherman get $150,000 per dolphin that the trainers
chose to take back to their aquariums to train for shows. The rest of the
dolphins are brutally murdered and sold for meat to unsuspecting locals even
though the meat contains toxic levels of mercury. Check out the documentary The
Cove for more on this issue. The fisherman claim that they will continue this
practice as long as money is coming in from trainers at these aquariums including SeaWorld. There
is a lot at stake here and we have to rise up and demand that this brutality
stop right now.
Even though this powerful film wasn’t eventually nominated for
an Academy Award, it is expected to have a lasting impact on viewers. Hopefully
it will ignite a movement that will forever change the animal entertainment
industry. This film gave a clear message, and that message is that this is a
problem that we can solve. It is a call to action. We have the ability to bring about change here, and it is our duty to these fellow mammals to follow
through as they cannot help themselves out of this mess. The human race has
tortured these animals long enough, and it is time that we take a stand for
them. One thing is very clear from this film – this must stop!
Note to the
filmmaker: In order to spread this message to as many people as
possible to fuel this movement, I believe children will be the key to real and
lasting change. However, as a psychologist, I am hesitant to condone showing
young children and even young adolescents the entire Blackfish film, as it
could be very upsetting and traumatic for young minds. It seems like it would
be healthier for them to see a shortened version of the film. My suggestion is
to edit a special version of the film and cut down the current film to maybe 30
minutes that only shows the conditions they live in and how it impacts the
whales physically and psychologically. If the scenes where the animals killed
the trainers and the scenes that chronicle the brutality of the capture of the whales were
cut out, then the shortened film can be shown to children and hopefully in
schools, churches, and homes across the country. I believe the children will be the
key to making a difference here. It is easy to convince adults to boycott or
speak out, but the children are the reason that families attend SeaWorld in the
first place. Let's not forget that children were the reason for freeing Keiko in real life. Keiko was
the captured whale who played Willy in Free Willy. Children banded together and
raised money across the country in classrooms and took in $100,000. They didn't
want him to live in this misery and they wanted him reunited with his family in
Iceland. Children made this possible and got the attention of wealthy
businessmen who donated the rest of the money needed to return Keiko to the
wild. Children are a powerful force and could give this movement the momentum it needs to put an end to this whole operation.
*Special Note - Due to the fact that SeaWorld was stating that Blackfish
presented some false statements about their treatment of their captured whales,
I explored this issue of animal capture and captivity in several related documentaries before
writing this review. Everything was consistent in each documentary. Thus, I
feel the information in this blog is accurate and well researched. Here is a
list of related documentaries. I encourage others to keep researching this
issue for themselves.
The Whale Trailer
The Cove Trailer
Saving Flipper Trailer
Frontline: A Whale of A Documentary
Lolita Slave to Entertainment
Keiko The Untold Story Trailer
Blackfish Trailer
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars: It was powerful, emotionally stirring, intense and gripping. Your inner activist will be unleashed!
