Documentary analysis of ‘blackfish’

1. Documentary analysis of
‘Blackfish’

2. Mixed - Uses a combination of
interview, observation and
narration to advance the argument.
Narrator is within the frame and
this style is most common in news
reporting.
Type of documentary

3.  Orca whales
 Death
 Captivity
 Entrapment
 Suffering
 Concealing the truth
Themes

4.  The narrative does not follow chronological order, as the
documentary quickly swaps between present footage and
footage from the orca whales and trainers at sea world.
 I think that the documentary was left both open and
closed. It is closed as we are informed at the end of the
documentary that seaworld no longer allow the trainers
into the pool with the killer whales. However it is also left
open, as another predicament that the documentary
presents is the poor living conditions of the orca whales.
To this day, the orca whales continue to survive like this.
Narrative structure

5.  Various shot types have been used throughout
the documentary, to ensure that the viewer
receives the documentary from a variety of
perspectives. This could perhaps link into Stuart
Hall’s Encoding/decoding model of
communication. An example of these shot types is
zoom out. Perhaps the camera is constantly
panning out to demonstrate how the
documentary itself is panning out to the bigger
picture of what actually happens regarding the
treatment of the orca whales in seaworld.
Camera work

6.  The mise-en-scene pictured in this
documentary reinforces the reliability of the
information. This is because a lot of the
environments that the viewer observes are
from Seaworld, as the majority of the
documentary is made up of real-life footage. In
addition to this, it demonstrates trainers in
seaworld uniform, again reinforcing that the
people being interviewed have worked at
seaworld.
Mise-en-scene

7.  Blackfish employs the usage of aural signifiers when
Tilikum is mentioned, this creates an association for the
audience regarding the whale, causing them to feel a
mixture of fear/anxiety.
 The most effective appeal to ethos in the film is through
the testimony of previous Orca trainers at Sea World. This
makes the audience trust what they have to say about the
correlation of captivity and aggression in killer whales. This
usage of diegetic sound encourages the viewer to believe
that the information is reliable.
Sound

8.  Quick cuts are made to demonstrate the differences
of wild orca whales and those held in captivity. These
rapid cuts emphasise the inhabitable conditions that
the Seaworld orca whales are surviving in, thus
provoking a sense of pathos from the viewer. Binary
opposition is also used when a sign about how
“Captivity Kills” is juxtaposed with the footage of
Shamu dolls; this emphasise show so much money
has been made via the cruel and vicious treatment of
Orcas.
Editing

9.  Adverts of joyful families advocating
Seaworld are juxtaposed to real-life
footage of both trainers and orca
whales in danger. This links into the
theme of concealing the truthy, as
Seaworld manipulate information in
order to advertise their company in a
positive light.
Archive material

10.  Blackfish makes use of a number of animations in
order to satisfy the audience’s visual needs when
actual footage is not available/suitable.
 In Fig. 4, an animation is used to represent Seaworld
Head Trainer Kelly Clarke giving testimony at an
OSHA trial; by using text and not showing her face,
Cowperthwaite constructs a persona around the
trainer that she is vindictive and uncaring, causing
the audience to take a negative view on her. Also the
lack of images regarding her face makes the trainer
appear inhuman, which could reflect the inhumane
acts that Seaworld inflicted upon their orca whales.
Graphics

11.  This documentary fits into the uses and gratifications
theory by Blumler and Katz. It fits into this through
the concept of surveillance, as the audience is
obtaining information and knowledge from the
documentary. It also demonstrates the
socioeconomic model by interviewing a variety of
men and women in different occupations.
Theories