Our Final Thoughts

Blackfish is an emotional rollercoaster; much like the rollercoasters featured at SeaWorld but with less fun and more crying. As we watched the documentary and researched it, we realized how important this documentary was to changing the way SeaWorld treated their orcas. Even though SeaWorld still has many, many steps that need to be taken to improve the conditions of their sea creature’s habitats and care, they have changed some of their policies because of the mass media and news coverage surrounding their park. This would not have become such a prevalent issue if it weren’t for the release of Blackfish.


This blog was created by Taylor Williams, William McDonald, Jillian Martin, and Elle Magee.

Beyond Blackfish

Blackfish is almost an anomaly, it’s one of the few films that gets the appropriate audience response on the content. Blackfish was pretty obviously “environmentally” focused. But even other environmentally focused movies don’t get the kind of response that Blackfish did. This raises the question of how do we get the response that we need from audiences? Blackfish specifically focuses on something that hits most ordinary people pretty hard. Most Americans have been to SeaWorld at least once, and of course the reason to go to SeaWorld is to see Shamu. So who’s really to blame here? Is it SeaWorld for capturing and exploiting these animals? Or, is it us, the consumers? We buy the tickets to go to the park, we buy the $5 drinks and $10 food. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt, right? This is our mindset. But in doing all of this we are only supporting the problem. After watching Blackfish and doing this project, I’m sad to say, I wanted to go to SeaWorld to see the orcas. After all the research that I read, I still wanted to go to the park and, consequently, support the problem. This is a major way that Blackfish was able to get that audience response. They simply focus on the problem, they never say, “this is your fault because you go to SeaWorld.” Blackfish appeals to our emotions; watching the film automatically makes us feel guilty for going to the park. This is where change comes in. The audience started speaking out, they stopped going to the park. The media attention of the problem forced SeaWorld into making changes. It forced politicians into making changes.

The Creators on Blackfish

According to Tim Zimmerman, co-writer of Blackfish, when they set out to create the movie they weren’t trying to change SeaWorld, they simply wanted to explain why Tilikum killed his trainer Dawn Brancheau. Director, Gabriela Cowperwaite, claims she was never all that into the environment and that she questioned the worth of creating this film over something that is much more prevalent, such as the events in Syria at the time, but she felt that this story was better told by someone from the outside. Someone who had no previous experience with this field would be able to tell the story in a more relatable and important way. Zimmerman says that everyone involved is surprised by the extent to which it has encouraged viewers to speak out about this issue. In a 2014 article with National Geographic Zimmerman himself begs the question, how far will the Blackfish effect go? Beginning with celebrity tweets and high schools raising awareness the movement caught on pretty quickly. PETA later protested SeaWorld’s float in the macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and New Year’s Day Rose Parade in 2014. And the issue took off on social media. A change.org petition was started to get the Barenaked Ladies to cancel a gig at SeaWorld in February 2014. The success of that petition led to at least 9 other musical acts pulling out of gigs at SeaWorld. Zimmerman’s article concludes saying that ultimately, change will come when SeaWorld realizes that it is more profitable for them to stop the killer whale entertainment business than it is to continue it. Cowperthwaite says that Blackfish remains a part of her, but she doesn’t feel she’s the best spokeswoman for the whales. She feels the need to keep steering the movement in the right direction but really she wants to move on to the next project and lend her voice to other important causes. This calls into question how one changes their image after being the face of a particular issue for so long. Almost asking is it right for her to just leave this issue and move on, but at the same time, it her choice what she wants to do. This movement was pushed a lot by the viewers reactions and not the documentary itself. So, why would it be necessary for her to continue to spearhead the issue. Summary? Blackfish’s impact has exceeded the filmmakers’ expectations. A huge movement sparked by viewers of the film, social media especially, has aided in creating change and increased awareness of the issue.

Blackfish law

In May of 2014, following the release of Blackfish, 38 congressmen signed a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack citing regulations protecting orcas and claiming that current laws do not reflect “updated science.” Two representatives of the representatives, from California, say our regulations regarding sea mammals in captivity should be informed by “sound modern science,” but, the USDA hasn’t acted in nearly 2 decades, putting the animals and humans in danger. Also, in September of 2016, California became the first state to ban breeding killer whales and the use of them for entertainment purposes. Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill, which goes into effect in 2017. With this new law, orcas in captivity can remain but only for “educational purposes.” The law also encourages releasing the animals back to the wild, if possible, but SeaWorld San Diego plans to retain the 11 orcas currently in their care.

Beyond SeaWorld

Blackfish’s impact goes far beyond SeaWorld. After the release of the film, the, at the time upcoming, film, Finding Dory, went through some changes. Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter and Dory director Andrew Stanton sat down with Blackfish director Gabriela Cowperthwaite in April after the release of the documentary. The plot of the film was changed, and at the end, the animals had the choice to leave the marine park. Pixar did not comment on this but Cowperthwaite confirmed screening the film. Also, the film Paper Towns had tweaks after Blackfish’s release. In the book, written by John Green, the characters break into SeaWorld Orlando as it was the only theme park she had yet to break into. But, in the film version, they never go to SeaWorld, instead, they complete their night with a trip to Orlando’s SunTrust building.

Who Rallied Behind the movement

Perhaps the biggest group to rally behind is People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA. We found that they were actually involved in a court case involving the treatment of orcas in 2011, two years before Blackfish was released. PETA got together with marine-mammal experts and two former orca trainers to file a lawsuit claiming that these orcas that were captured from wildlife and required to perform for shows were being held as slaves, which is unconstitutional according to the 13th Amendment. Although they did not win this case, it was a big deal because this was the first time anyone had filed a lawsuit using the 13th amendment to defend the freedom of nonhuman animals. This case got more attention since Blackfish came out because people, like us, decided to do some more research on this subject after watching the documentary. PETA used this attention to their advantage and created the website “SeaWorldOfHurt” where they explain how SeaWorld treats their orcas and encourages people to boycott SeaWorld in every way possible.

Impacts on SeaWorld

As we looked more into how SeaWorld was being struck by this outrage, we found that Blackfish was released on July 19, 2013 and very soon after people could start to see how it was affecting SeaWorld, the formerly-loved amusement park that is known for its sea creatures, and more specifically, its orca shows. They were then seen in a completely different light and it started to hurt their image, reputation, and profit. As if the documentary wasn’t heartbreaking enough, a year after it aired, a video of a pregnant orca that was caught in a gate and struggling to get out was found and shared. What might even be worse is that SeaWorld shook it off as “gate play” that occurs pretty frequently. SeaWorld defended itself in every way possible and that outraged people even more. Even big artists such as Willie Nelson, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, and many others that were scheduled to perform at the park canceled their gig to join the protest against SeaWorld and show their support in protecting and saving the beautiful sea creatures. This also empowered the ordinary people to join the protest and stay away from SeaWorld. According to dailymail.com, within only one year, attendance dropped from 2.2% and SeaWorld lost $25.4 million. By August of 2014, their stock was greatly affected. It plunged down more than 30% after they released their second quarter earnings. By December of 2014, Jim Atchison, CEO of SeaWorld stepped down from his position because of all the negativity he was facing. Shortly after his resignation, 300 people were laid off of their staff. At around the same time as all of this was going on, many people started petitions against the park, asking its biggest partners to stop working with them, knowing that SeaWorld relies heavily on them to have the money to continue their orca programs. These petitions reached some of their partners, and some of them even caused real change. Major airlines such as Virgin America Inc, Southwest Airlines, and British Airways all ended their partnership with SeaWorld. There are even cases of kids who petitioned in their classes to cancel their field trip and high school students who petitioned against having their prom at SeaWorld. With everyone talking about Blackfish, and these poor, detained orcas, SeaWorld was hit heavily and very quickly after the documentary was released.

The "Blackfish Effect" Part 7: Specific Goal

The final element of the Blackfish Effect is the ability to determine the effects of a movement (or film, speech, demonstration, etc) upon the intended issue. In the case of Blackfish and SeaWorld, it was very easy to measure the overwhelming negativity flowing towards the park. Stock value plummeted, attendance dropped, and revenue teetered. And although the documentary by itself cannot be credited as “the cause” of the change in society’s view toward captivated Orcas, the film was certainly the catalyst for the success of the movement. If it weren’t for such objective data, however, it would be very difficult to determine the documentary actual impact on SeaWorld’s later decision to begin plans to shut down the Killer Whale portion of its entertainment. By suggesting a specific goal (change in the treatment of Orcas in SeaWorld), Blackfish made it very easy to see whether or not the animal rights movement was succeeding in its desire to shut down the gross abuse of Killer Whales. Biggest take? Missions must have clearly communicated objectives; otherwise the movement becomes disjointed and incohesive. Blackfish provides a beautiful example of clear and highly effective communication, as we can see by its impact upon the study of social movements and the widespread recognition of the Blackfish Effect.

The "Blackfish Effect" Part 6: Emotional Appeal

Undoubtedly one of the most powerful drivers of human action and change is an effective pathos argument. You and I are emotional creatures, and when presented with a deeply moving story of suffering and pain, we are immediately inclined to do something to fix the problem. The Huff Post article quotes psycologist Paul Slovic: “When it comes to eliciting compassion, the identified individual victim, with a face and a name, has no peer...But the face need not even be human to motivate powerful intervention.” And so Blackfish presents us with the tragic story of one particular Orca, Tilikum. As the documentary unveils the sometimes unbelievably heartbreaking tale of gross mistreatment, the audience is struck with empathy and anger at the deepest part of their being. Instead of merely quotes facts and statistics about poor treatment in the hands of SeaWorld, Blackfish walks us through the shocking reality of pain that is the life of so many Orca Whales. The passions that stir within us upon watching the documentary are natural and good, and judging by the tremendous outcry raised against the theme park after the film aired, the appeal was successful. Our takeaway? Emotions are powerful; if you want an injustice to be remedied, the most efficient way to spur change is often to begin with a direct message to people's’ emotions.