“When you look into their eyes, somebody’s home. Somebody’s looking back at you… but it may not be what you think.”
Remember the 90s? Better yet—remember SeaWorld? That “magical” place that used to get you SO excited, because who doesn’t love eating a bunch of junk food and spending a day watching some of the world’s most giant sea creatures swimmin’ around all cute? And well, yeah, it all seemed nice. But the SeaWorld corporation has been held accountable for a lot of serious incidents involving their whales—some even resulting in death among whale trainers worldwide—due to the fact they’ve basically disrupted the animal’s natural habitat, its life cycle. In turn, SeaWorld’s whales in particular suffer serious psychological conditions held in captivity, aka the parks.
It’s a bit complicated: first, the corporation hired people to STEAL orcas roaming free in the Atlantic back in ’81 with big scary boats (you can watch a snippet of what it was like looking back on getting paid to do such an awful thing). Then, (pretending like they didn’t commit a heinous crime) named the whales, one being the notorious Tilikum, whose sperm is essentially worth millions (yes, they bred them). But you see, orcas are giant 15,000 pound animals that travel at speeds of 35 miles per hour—you can find them peeping in and out of the vast Atlantic, in groups called “pods” led by the mother. And when SeaWorld greedily stole these precious, precious babies, they disrupted an innateness of a kind, social animal. Can you imagine being six tons and forced to sleep in a 30×60 dark space every night? Alone? The results are catastrophic…
In Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s shocking film Blackfish your soul will be crushed. Learning Tilikum’s story (his name literally translating into “friends, relations, tribe, nation, common people”), how he was taken away from his habitat due to a corporation’s sickening plan to gain billions, makes you think twice about all those “fun” times at SeaWorld (and boycotting that place forever!). I was shocked to hear the main Orlando park was even still OPEN (the corporation’s exec’s refused to provide commentary, go figure), and I’m hoping this film will spread the word to let these beautiful giants back in the ocean where they belong…
(photo via Magnolia Pictures)