It all started with one movie. The Blackfish documentary blew the lid off of SeaWorld’s treatment of Orcas, creatures we know have deep family bonds and high intelligence, yet have been taken from the wild and turned into entertainment for unworthy humans. Public pressure from high profile celebrities and hundreds of thousands of activists has forced SeaWorld to face up to what they’ve done in the name of high profit. They’ve been forced to end their breeding program and now have announced they will stop making these wondrous creatures “perform” for the masses. They will now show their whales in a “more natural” setting. It’s a hell of a start. They won’t be able to take whales from the wild, and they can’t breed them, so all they have remaining are these poor whales who will have to live out their miserable lives in semi-peace. If it were me I would turn SeaWorld into a sanctuary for abused whales worldwide and turn my company into one that helps free other Orcas from captivity around the world. No, they can’t just let them loose in the wild but they could find a way to help them rehab back into the wild. Hopefully they will.
Supposedly they’re ending the shows in 2017. They should be ended today. The whole thing should be shut down.
It all started with Blackfish, the most powerful documentary I’ve ever seen that had such a direct impact. The Academy could not be bothered to nominate the film (of course) but it remains a major success story for the power of cinema nonetheless.
