Blackfish

Blackfish was an interesting documentary in many ways. As someone who travels to Orlando, Florida often I have often been bombarded by advertisements for Sea World and all its supposed "splendor." I do admit as a child often thinking that it would bee cool to see a giant killer whale perform before me, however the thought of something being a killer was frightening to me and as such I was always leery about asking my parents to take me. It turn out, my fears may not have been too far off.

It is shameful the way the trainers at Sea World are put in danger often, under the guise simply that it's part of the experience. By this I mean guests are given the illusion that these trainers are safe with these animals regardless of anything the animal does. Also, it was simply disgusting to find out the way some of the animals have been treated. Both the way they captured and accidentally killed a number of killer whales when building Sea World and of course the sad trainer deaths filled me with immense sadness. I was also filled with anger at the fact that Sea World did not even bother to comment on anything in the documentary at risk of bad publicity (which clearly has backfired).

In all, Sea World boasts itself as a place of joy and fun, yet I see now that it is far from it. While their guest experience may be in a good state (if one can call just at par that), it it just as important in these establishments what goes on behind the scenes. It is that comfort and lack of hidden information that makes experiences at places heavily featuring animals like WDW's Animal Kingdom or Mystic Aquarium all the more enjoyable. On a side note about this documentary, it seems that it has had such a profound affect that the upcoming PIXAR film Finding Dory has needed to reassess certain elements of the story involving the characters and a fish-based amusement park akin to Sea World. We must wait until 2016 sadly to see what changes have been made and how profound an impact the negligence of Sea World has had on something as innocent as a sequel to Finding Nemo.