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Term 1 - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Manufacturing and industry produce emissions, mostly from burning fossil fuels to produce energy for making things like cement, iron, steel, electronics, plastics, clothes and other goods. Mining and other industrial processes also release gases.
    - - Cutting down forests to create farms or pastures, or for other reasons, causes emissions, since trees, when they are cut, release the carbon they have been storing. Since forests absorb carbon dioxide, destroying them also limits nature’s ability to keep emissions out of the atmosphere.
    - - Generating electricity and heat by burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas causes a large chunk of global emissions. Most electricity is still produced from fossil fuels; only about a quarter comes from wind, solar and other renewable sources.
    - - Most cars, lorries, ships and planes run on fossil fuels. That makes transportation a major contributor of greenhouse gases, especially carbon-dioxide emissions. Road vehicles account for the largest part, but emissions from ships and planes continue to grow.
  - - - Water degradation is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, in such a manner that negatively affects its legitimate uses. Water pollution reduces the ability of the body of water to provide the ecosystem services that it would otherwise provide.
    - - Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of human-induced processes acting upon the land. It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable.
    - - Atmospheric degradation is the alteration by humans, directly or indirectly, of atmospheric conditions having significant deleterious effects of such a nature as to endanger human life and health and the Earth's natural environment.
- - - - The ‘Blackfish’ documentary released in 2013, explores and reveals the life of tilikum the infamous 22-foot, 12,000-pound male orca. The director of the documentary Gabriella Cowperthwaite shows Tilikums life from capture to controversy. The documentary uses interviews to discuss switch between the different issues in the documentary, the interviews are also used to discuss the interviewees thoughts about the issue, and it is particularly relevant that the interviewees are former SeaWorld trainers and have firsthand experience with the issues at hand. The issue of animal captivity especially that of orcas is discussed throughout the documentary, and the awful ways it affects the orca’s held captive, while also attempting to persuade the viewers of the negatives of keeping animals in captivity as well as what it does to their health. The documentary also explores the death of Dawn Brancheau who was a SeaWorld trainer killed by tilikum as well as the deaths and injuries of other trainers.
        
        -Footage
        
        Throughout the documentary there are multiple examples of footage that being shot exclusively for the documentary or being gathered and placed throughout the documentary.
        
        Footage example 1- 10:07 Capturing of Orcas in 1970 at Puget Sound, WA
        
        The footage of orcas being chased into coves by boats, planes and bombs sounds like it’s out of a movie, but it’s actually a real process used to take young orcas away from their pods. The saddest thing is that orcas figured out a way to save their youth by letting the mothers and young dive deep and turn away while the males continued into the cove, human technology however prevented this strategy from working and young orcas were still kidnapped none the less. The archival footage shown really shows the viewer how wrong of a process the abduction of young animals from their mothers really is especially considering the mothers are sat idle watching their youth get taken 20 metres away from them never to be seen again.
        
        Footage example 2- 44:41 The making of believe trailer
        
        This advertisement which is archival footage shows an orca swimming in deep blue water majestically twirling amongst the blue of it surroundings. This scene depicts SeaWorlds fantasy of Orcas in captivity happy and healthy, while also staying and feeling free inside of the really small concrete pool they are really trapped in. The things that stand out for me in this piece of footage and all advertisement footage is that all the orcas have straight dorsal fins, not one advert shows an orca with dorsal collapse which represents an unhealthy animal. Which I find very interesting considering that SeaWorld say more than 25% of orcas in the wild have dorsal collapse but they aren’t willing to show dorsal collapse in their adverts.
        
        Footage example 3- 50:41 The Ken Peters incident
        
        The footage of Ken Peters repeatedly being dragged under by Kasatka who a 5000-pound killer whale is is really disturbing to watch. Not only does it show how little power we have against these huge, majestic creatures. Ken Peters in the footage really does do well to maintain composure as he surfaces each time to ventilate, he doesn’t struggle, doesn’t splash, just stays calm and doesn’t try to anger the whale even more. In my opinion the scariest part was when he actually escaped and started to swim away while Kasatka chased him to the edge of the water.
        
        Footage example 4- 1:00:59 Whales getting an endoscopy at Lora Parque
        
        An endoscopy is a procedure used in medicine to take a look inside the body. The endoscopy procedure uses an endoscope to examine the interior of a hollow organ or cavity within a body. Unlike many procedures endoscopes are inserted directly into the organ, this can be seen in this footage where the whale’s mouth is opened, and a long tube (endoscope) is inserted down into the whale’s stomach. The orcas at Lora Parque needed this procedure as the pools were not ready for the whales this caused the whales to eat them, and this caused the issues withing the orcas’ stomachs.
        
        Footage example 5- 1:16:41 Tilikum floating motionless
        
        After the death of Dawn Brancheau Tilikum’s mental state seemed to completely disappear because he had killed dawn, he had been put in isolation in one of the back pools where he floated motionless for days on end, it is said that he only was bought for shows to do a couple of bows and make a big splash and other than that lived in isolation. Such an intelligent and majestic being floating in isolation with an already shattered mental state really does make you feel bad for the animal and opens one’s eyes to the effects of animal captivity.
        
        Text
        
        The documentary had few uses for texts throughout, they instead used footage and interviewers as a substitute for when they could use text and I thought they did this pretty well, however when text was used it was used to further on the points made by the footage shown throughout. The main point text was used was in the court case recreations of SeaWorld vs OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration).
        
        Reason 1- OSHA vs SeaWorld Court Case recreation
        
        The text is used because the case was not allowed to be recorded however, I feel that having text in place of actual footage works well because it helps portray the lifelessness of SeaWorld and how little they actually care about their trainers and their animals. This really helps put the viewer in a position against SeaWorld especially when Kelly Clarkson says “I know you are capable of rape” when asked if SeaWorld knew what tilikum was capable of. Its not only the case for Kelly Clarkson whenever someone appears on screen from that court case text always appears telling us who they are and what they said, the documentary not giving us an interview with them inclines us to believe they don’t really care about the animals in their care or the trainers they are responsible of looking after.
        
        Reason 2- Dawn Brancheau’s autopsy
        
        While Dave Duffus is reading Dawns Brancheau’s injuries from her autopsy the camera rolls through a copy of the official report. Not only do we hear the significant number of injuries that ultimately led her to her death, we see each individual one roll through in front of us showing just how much poor Dawn went through before passing away. The way the documentary highlights each of the injuries it really impacts the viewer by making an uneasy feeling almost making one sick just making them think about how much damage there really is to one human body.
        
        Reason 3- Police interview Thomas Tobin
        
        Similar to reason 1, the documentary uses this typewriter effect to show the interview happening, however unlike reason 1 the writing has a voiceover which is the actual recordings from the interview. The interview is about the state of Dawn Brancheau when she was discovered and the pool. The text creates an ominous feel which works well with how disturbing the things being said are. The background is dark and allows the words to pop as they each appear making it easier to see as well. What works the most in this scene is how when “The arm?” pops up, “He swallowed it” stays up as well really telling us that Tilikum isn’t a joke and that this was scary and serious.
        
        Interviews
        
        The interviews in the documentary had the most important role as there was no narration the interviews acted as a narration for certain scenes which was really effective. The interviews also opened our eyes to how little SeaWorld actually showed and informed them about what was going on around them.
        
        John Jett (former SeaWorld trainer)
        
        John Jett is a former SeaWorld trainer who is now the lab coordinator for the Department of Biology and a visiting research professor who tries to protest against SeaWorld and animal captivity. John was very good throughout the documentary, and I felt he probably was one of the more influential people when it came to talking about animals in captivity. When it comes to the future, he doesn’t want his daughter grow up in a world where animals as smart as orcas are trapped in concrete pools. His opinion on Tilikum is also very interesting because it seemed he had a bond with the orca for example when he says “That’s why I stayed, I felt sorry for Tilikum, I mean if you want to get down to the nuts and bolts of it, I stayed because I felt sorry for Tilikum”, it really shows that he created a bond with tilikum and truly did want the best for him.
        
        Mark Simmons (former SeaWorld trainer)
        
        Mark Simmons who is an author and animal behaviourist expert (director of the animal behaviour team for free willy) was a very interesting character because he sounded very against the main issue of the documentary that being animal captivity but when taking a look at his background you can understand why he had this stance. Mark Simmons released a book called killing Keiko which is about an Orca named Keiko who coincidentally happens to be the orca from free willy. However, Keiko succumbed to trying to adapt to his new surroundings in Iceland back in 2003. The one point that I do not agree with though is when he says, “Captivity makes animals crazy”, this has been scientifically proven that any creature left in isolation for an extended period of time will develop some sort of zoochosis (animal becoming crazed). He then goes onto talk about the world without zoo world and how that would affect the public’s perception about ocean wildlife when in reality I don’t think it would really change that much.
        
        Dave Duffus (OSHA expert witness and whale researcher)
        
        Dave Duffus talks like he has lots of knowledge and I found when he talked, I really paid attention, in my opinion he had lots of valid points about not only the issue of animals in captivity but SeaWorld as well. Dave was usually used as a kind narrator because his voice was over the top of many scenes like when whales were depicted in the wild, Dawn Brancheau’s autopsy, and many other scenes. He often pointed out the lies SeaWorld told like the stats of Dorsal collapse and the lifespan of the orcas. The main one that really showed the disappointment of Dave though was he talked about both the Kelti Byrne case and the Dawn Brancheau case, “Nothing. Not a damn thing. We have not learned a damn thing for something like that to happen 20 years apart.” This was what really put the nail in the coffin for me to believe SeaWorld is really the big bad who doesn’t care about the animals or the trainers.
        
        Jeffrey Ventre (Former SeaWorld trainer and rehabilitation specialist)
        
        Jeffrey had many valid points and was one of the more connectable interviewees. He seems to very strongly be against animal captivity and seems to have taken the activist kind of role, he is also very emotionally affected by the animals and a key moment that shows us this is the end where he is seen breaking down when looking at wild orca’s, which makes him easier to connect with which really impacted and helped reinforce that animals out of captivity is a good thing and that captivity is a bad thing.
        
        Music
        
        Music 1- 50:05 list of attacks
        
        Throughout the documentary there are multiple occasions where this music is playing and it really is interesting because it’s not the music you would put when going over the list of every orca attack that’s been recorded, the music has this quizzical feel about it and makes want to know what’s coming next. Which when looking at the grand scheme of things it makes us want to know the future and the future of these whale attacks and whales in captivity in general.
        
        Music 2- 1:10:20 Footage of Tilikum before attacking Dawn
        
        The music has a low rumbling sound almost like a tugboats horn, but its very ominous quietly in the background behind John Hargroves voice then switching over to a louder more direct sound. It then changes again when showing a young girl crying with before becoming this horror movie esc sound that really makes Tilikum seem like this scary unstable monster, which is then what the media makes him out to be.
        
        Music 3- 3:08 Trainers getting the job
        
        While the trainers reminisce on getting the job at SeaWorld this happy country type music plays, it slowly turns into this single instrument playing a happy beat letting the different trainers reflect on the first moments of their jobs. The music goes really well with the scene, but it completely contradicts the documentary, because it is before we learn and they the dark truths of SeaWorld and what they are hiding from these young hopeful trainers.
        
        Music 4- 39:56 Orca bowing to audience
        
        This piece of music has a grand feel to it and with the camera directly pointing at the orca. It really highlights how much of a regal and majestical animal an orca is, the music cranks up before coming to an end as a boy is placed on the animal almost showing how we ultimately own these animals and have power and they are just the show. This really gets back down to the issue of these wonderful creatures being trapped in concrete pools and being emotionally and mentally damaged.
        
        Facts
        
        Premature Orca deaths
        
        Because the lifespan of Orcas in captivity is much shorter that being 25-35 years, SeaWorld like to say that they actually live this long and that they actually live much longer than they normally would because of the veterinary care they receive from doctors and “professionals”. In the documentary Howard Garret said that by 1980 we already knew that they could and often do live the equivalent of a human lifespan. Facts like this one really do contribute to the lies told by SeaWorld, especially how significant of a difference captivity can cause to the lifespan of an Orca. Which really does emphasise how big of an issue animal captivity is.
        
        Dorsal Collapse
        
        One of the most obvious and well know lies SeaWorld has told is that dorsal collapse is relatively normal for orcas, a lady shown in the documentary says that 25% of whales have a fin that bend as they get older. The documentary then switches to Jeffrey Ventre who says that less than 1% of all wild Orcas, he than says that 100% of all captive male orcas have a collapsed dorsal fin. In reality when an Orcas dorsal fin collapses it is often a sign of poor health and often a sign of emaciation (the state of being abnormally thin and weak). For that to happen to 100% of all male orcas is disgraceful and for them to blatantly lie about it is worse.
        
        Family
        
        SeaWorld say that the orcas are in their families and pods but in reality, as said by Howard Garret its “an artificial assemblage of their collection or however management decides they should mix them, and which ever ones happen to be born or bought and brought in”. We even see at the start of the documentary how young orcas are kidnapped from their real families and how their mothers watch their young get ripped away from them by machines and people. “Animals from different cultural subsets, that have been bought in from various parks. These are different nations, these aren’t just two different killer whales these animals have got different genes, they use different languages.” This statement by Jeffrey Ventre couldn’t be truer, these animals are smart and unique groups all over the world have different ways of interacting, communicating just like us humans. This really helps us viewers feel bad because we can imagine being placed in a room with strangers let alone live with these strangers we can’t understand for the rest of our lives.
        
        Tilikum isolation
        
        Tilikum experienced isolation even before he killed Dawn Brancheau, he was often attacked by smaller more agile females and him being massive and slower resulted in him getting injured and beat up as mentioned by John Jett. Samantha Berg says SeaWorld claim that he’s always in with the other females, she believes that he only gets put in there for breeding purposes and doesn’t spend a lot of time with the other whales. Jeffrey Venture then mentions that he is often left in the back pool and only bought out to be the “Big Splash”. Once again, the documentary highlights because animal captivity is so bad having poor tilikum locked away within being locked away for his own safety is mind-boggling and heartbreaking.
        
        ‘Blackfish’ used all 5 of the aforementioned techniques well to really demonstrate the issue of animal captivity. The documentaries use of interviews works really well and is a very good replacement for having a voiceover narration, the way it lapsed over footage and effectively showed the opinions of the interviewees who had firsthand experience with the issue was really impactful and allowed the viewers to engage with their comments. Most of the significant persuasive moments came in scenes that included the interviews, that being when talking about the issue directly or talking about subjects related to the issue of animal captivity. On the first viewing of the documentary the issue really hits hard and opens one eyes to the amount of damage we do to orcas and animals kept in captivity in general, it makes us feel sorry for the orcas and Tilikum, but the ending of the documentary is where it really hits home, showing us some of the former SeaWorld trainers who have been interviewed and placing them on a boat watching free wild orcas swim in the world gracefully, the impact it has on the former SeaWorld trainers even though they’ve been surrounded by orcas their whole careers breaks them and it shows that they knew the beauty of the orcas but the real beauty couldn’t be seen because they were trapped in concrete pools and used for the entertainment of people. The ending works really well to document and portray the difference between what a wild orca looks like majestically gliding through the open sea with long straight dorsal fins contrasted to that of a captive orca barely moving with a bent dorsal fin.