Blackfish

Blackfish is a wonderful documentary that talks about the killer whale, Tilikum. Now, I have already talked about Tilikum before but this documentary goes more in-depth and an understanding how people feel about the issue of keeping orcas in tanks. Gabriela Cowperthwaite directs the film and she has done a fabulous job of showing the world this problem.

When I was younger, I used to want to dream of becoming one of Sea World's orca trainers. My mind quickly changed because of this documentary. I became more aware and realizing that things are not what it seems. Killer Whales are still my favorite animals but they deserve to be free and not spending years in a tank.

Blackfish shows the views of former trainers of Sea World and their opinions. I have had the same dreams they had but stuff happens. The trainers admit that they have felt embarrassed by what they have had to say or do. The trainers do not own the whales, the company does which makes it hard for trainers to do anything because they can't do anything. Its like you take care of an animal for so long and when the real owner comes to take them away, you can't do anything to protect them because the real owners have the papers to prove they own them. I don't believe that trainers are to blame. They have created bonds just like with any other pets. When whales come to Sea World, trainers do not know of any history that came with the whales. Sea World blames the trainers of what orcas do to the trainers themselves.

The video also talks about Tilikum's trainer, Dawn Brancheau. The film shows some parts of the case that affects Sea World and the trainers. The film also shows clips on how people caught orcas. Cowperthwaite interviews the people that caught orcas, and how they felt about catching the orcas.


Tilikum endured so much as a young orca. He was trained in a vicious way that may have started to develop a psychology problems at Sea Land. There was a film in the 70s called Orca which gives a different view on orcas, The are the exact opposite and are one of the friendliest and smartest animals in the world but just like any other wild animal, they can be dangerous. People need to be aware of this and not taken for granted.

Blackfish opens your eyes to what the world is like. The people that work for certain companies have to make hard decisions because they don't want to leave the orcas alone.  It is a very hard ethical decision that people/trainers have to make. As a trainer, you believe it is wrong to keep using an aggressive whale so you leave, but when you have worked with this whale for so long and knowing that the whale will still be in that situation is hard to make the decision to quit. You can watch Blackfish on Netflix. I hope you get a chance to watch this and keep an open mind. My wish is that Sea World only uses the orcas in order to rehabilitate them and then release them.