Castillo Munoz 1

Pedro Castillo Munoz

Professor Haas
Writing 37
March 9th, 2015
Killer Humans in Blackfish: Revealed Through Rhetorical Techniques
After watching Shamu perform at SeaWorld as a child, Dawn Brancheau was inspired
to become a SeaWorld trainer and promote her love for marine life. In an interview hosted by
the local press, Dawns older sister, Diane Gross, said that Dawn loved whales like they
were her own children (Dawns Story). Despite Dawns love for and years or experience
with orcas, the documentary Blackfish, uncovers that the inhumane imprisonment and
treatment of orcas can lead to devastating tragedies, in this case Dawss death. The use of
rhetorical principles plays an important role in this documentary because it dramatically
changes societys viewpoints on what is being done with the orcas at SeaWorld. More
specifically, Gabriela Cowperthwaites documentary, Blackfish, tells the story of Tilikum, a
killer whale that was first captured on 1983 off the coast of Iceland; it also illustrates the
orcas frustration caused by roughly twenty years of imprisonment. Cowperthwaite uses the
appeal to ethos by telling the story mostly through the lenses of former SeaWorld trainers,
which accounts for the documentarys credibility. In addition, Cowperthwaite puts an
emphasis on the footage of the orcas, both in the wild and in captivity, to appeal to the
viewers feelings and persuade them that keeping orcas in captivity, regardless of the
conditions in which they are reserved, is inhumane and yields negative consequences on the
orcas and humans.

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In the beginning of Blackfish, former personal trainers share their side of the story to
establish credibility and ultimately tear SeaWorlds public image down. The documentary
opens up with one-on-one interviews with John Hargrove, Dean Gomersall, and Samantha
Berg, all of which are former SeaWorld Trainers; they talk about their source of inspiration
and how they became part of the SeaWorld Inc. These interviews inform the audience that
SeaWorld was hiring people that were not necessarily experts on the field. In one of the
interviews, former SeaWorld trainer Kim Ashdown mentions that she thought that one needed
a Masters degree in marine biology in order to become a trainer. A couple minutes later into
the documentary, Dean Gomersall says that I [Gomersall] never trained animals in my life,
but he still went and try out and got the job right away (Cowperthwaite, Blackfish). Right
away the documentary displays SeaWorld in negative way by revealing information about
their vague hiring process. In addition, the documentary simultaneously shows actual
SeaWorld commercials that describe the hiring process for the job differently from the way
Kim Ashdown and Dean Gomersall described it. More specifically, by portraying the
trainers studying texts, possibly marine biology books, and working out the physicals
collectively in the commercial, it is clear to see that SeaWorlds attempts to make the audience
believe that a lot of experience, training and preparation is needed to become eligible for the
position of trainer. Although the requirements that they mention and illustrate are true,
according to Ashdown and Gomersall, trainers do not necessarily follow this hiring protocol.
By showing SeaWorlds fake illustration of their hiring process and comparing it to the real
requirements the trainers had to meet in order to be hired, Blackfish convinces the audience
that SeaWorld is not taking the correct approach of the situation, thus damaging SeaWorlds
credibility.
These interviews with former trainers also appeal to the audience in a way to make
them feel concerned about the human trainers wellbeing. Aristotle tells us that exhibiting

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these aspects of character in your discourse can play a large part in gaining credibility for
your ideas (The Three Artistic Proofs). Despite the fact that Cowperthwaite had multiple
alternatives of how to uncover all this information hidden by SeaWorld, she chose to use
actual trainers that had first-hand experience and could tell unbiased stories in order to follow
Aristotles principles of rhetoric. For instance, Cowperthwaite includes the testimonies of
Samantha Berg and Jeffrey Vetre, in which they explain their knowledge of the accident that
involved trainer John Sillick, age 26, being seriously injured on November 21st, 1987 when a
whale performing during a show stunt flipped in the air and landed on Sillick (SeaWorld
President Fire in Aftermath of Whale Accident). In the interview Berg clarifies that even
though I [Samantha Berg] have been working at SeaWorld for six months, I had no idea that
that had even happened and never even heard that story. Moreover, Jeffrey Ventre mentions
that we [new SeaWorld trainers] werent told much about it other than it was a trainers
error (Cowperthwaite, Blackfish). This interview completely breaks SeaWorlds credibility
apart by demonstrating that their first priority was not the safety of the trainers.
Cowperthwaite sought to damage the credibility SeaWorld had established over the years by
revealing credible information from these trainers, which, as a result, places all the credibility
on the documentary and its main argument. In the end, this action appeals to the audiences
emotions by making them feel worried for the trainers because they are exposed to great
dangers when in the water with these large animals. Even if there is a chance to survive an
accident involving orcas, without having the necessary skills and experience to react in a case
of emergency, the trainers are subject to be injured or even killed. Cowperthwaite knew,
however, that in order to get her point completely across she also needed to include the
animal perspective on the issue.
Furthermore, the tone used throughout the interviews conveys an idea of simplicity in
the issue, which contributes to the viewers negative opinion of Sea World. Samantha Berg,

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for example, tells the story of when she first rode a killer whale and says that one day they
were like, Ok Sam you are ready to go. You are gonna get on top of the whale, you are gonna
jump off the whale and the whale is going to pick you back up (Cowperthwaite, Blackfish).
This is ironic because one would guess that riding a whale takes more than just following
three simple steps. Jenny Mairot, animal training supervisor, in a interview in behalf of
SeaWorld says that it takes time, the most important thing is the daily interaction with the
animals. In this interview it is also mentioned that it takes a new trainer at least three years
before he/she sets foot in the water with Shamu (Killer Whale Training). Cowperthwaite
uses Samantha Bergs testimony to show the irony of the issue because SeaWorld is not
following the guidelines they tell the public they follow in their commercials and open
interviews. Consequently, by allowing the former trainers to use a silly, happy tone during the
interviews Cowperthwaite is damaging SeaWorlds reputation. These tone in these interviews
make the audience understand that although the trainers seem to be comfortable and happy
with the performances, they are not completely safe and subjected to negative results. By
using this specific tone, the real danger behind the good side of the story is uncovered;
however, the use of this tone makes the viewers wonder what the real issue is, thus making
them want to keep watching the documentary.
Coweperthwaite uses footage strategically in order to show viewers what the orcas
have to endure, thus making the audience feel their pain. According to the Defenders of
Wildlife, orcas are very social animals that travel in groups called pods. Although pods can be
consist of up to one hundred whales, they tend to be very hierarchical and united (Basic
Facts About Orcas). About ten minutes into the documentary, Cowperthwaite shifts the
direction of the film in order to make the audience understand that Dawns death didnt just
happened (Cowperthwaite, Blackfish). More specifically, the film describes the story of how
Tilikum was captured. It shows a small pod of roughly fifteen whales being chased by

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humans that have been hired by SeaWorld to capture young orcas and export them. After the
hunters have achieved their goal, which is to capture the young killer whales, Cowperthwaite
decides to include footage of the rest of the orcas in the pod that clearly illustrates their
reaction to the fact that their babies are being taken away. The rest of the pod, although set
free, does not leave and stay close to the nets that trapped the baby orcas. The audio is very
clear and one can hear the orcas crying out loud and communicating back and forth.
Following this shocking scene, diver John Crowes expressed his grief in an interview: I lost
it, I just started crying is like kidnapping a little kid away from his mother. Once the
hunting was over, Crowe explains, they found three death whales on the net. Crowe says that
he was instructed to cut the whales open and put rocks inside them in order to sink them to
the bottom of the ocean. He claims that this is the worst thing I [John Crowe] have ever
done (Cowperthwaite, Blackfish). The inclusion of this footage is very shocking because the
audience can clearly see that immoral treatment this orcas received. Despite the court orders
that expelled the hunters from Washington, where they initially hunted, they did not hesitate
to find other areas to capture whales and break their pods apart. The exposure of the audience
to this footage makes it impossible to agree with this treatment, regardless of what the
purpose is, entrainment, money, experience, etc. Providing this different perspective
establishes a cloudy environment, which appeals to the feelings and emotions of the
audience. Seeing the mother whales cry for their baby offspring being taken away could
evidently be compared to the kidnapping of a child in our present society. Cowperthwaite
uses this footage in hopes of persuading the audience to sympathize with the whales and to
change their minds about keeping whales in captivity and utilizing them for the entertainment
and money industry.
In conclusion, the documentary Blackfish uses numerous rhetorical devices in order to
uncover the crude reality that hides within the pools of SeaWorld. The director of the

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documentary, Gabriela Cowperthwaite, includes very emotional testimonies of former
SeaWorld trainers that reveal a lot of information that contradicts human laws and moral.
Furthermore, footage of orcas is used in an appealing way so that the audience can look at the
issue from the animals point of view. Through the use of this rhetorical techniques, the
documentary accurately transmit a message that calls humans to understand that we cannot
push natures limits because it might yield negative results, as in the case of Dawn
Brancheau. Despite the fact that this trainers are driven by passion and love for the animals,
they are exposed to very harsh and dangerous conditions and they do not deserve to be
uniformed nor misguided with incorrect information. We have been presented with the facts
and the real story, now is up to us to make the right decisions.

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Work Cited
A General Summary of Aristotles Appeals. Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. N.p., n.d. Web. 20
Feb. 2015.
Basic Facts About Orcas. Defenders of Wildlife. N,p. 03 Apr. 2012. Web. 19 Feb. 2015
Blackfish. Dir. Gabriela Cowperthwaite. Magnolia pictures, 2013. Film.
Dawns Story. The Dawn Brancheau Foundation. The Dawn Broncheau Foundation, n.d.
Web. 21 Feb.
Gabriela Cowperthwaite Director . Blackfish Official Film Site. Blackfish Official Film
Site, n.d. Web. 21 Feb.
"Killer Whale Training." Animal Planet Killer Whale Training Comments. SeaWorld San
Diego, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
Kraul, Chris, and Greg Johnson. SeaWorld President Fired in Aftermath of Whale
Accident. Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 02 Dec. 1987. Web. 21 Feb. 2015
Sasse, Jeffrey. Dawn Brancheau SeaWorld Trainer Killed. CBS News. CBS Interactive, n.d.
Web. 21 Feb.