Blackfish

     The documentary "Blackfish" took the world of animal lovers and families by storm in 2013. The ex-employee stories, footage, and interviews showed the mistreatment of specifically "blackfish" or orcas within the SeaWorld business. Proving and narrating how these whales should not be in captivity and showing the reality of trainers is the main goal throughout the entire film. Bias, sources, and the nature of exposes all play a part in the ultimate goal: convince others.

    Sources are everywhere in this film through interviews and footage mainly. These are used to move stories and information along. Such sources are considered secondary, meaning they are through the eyes and lenses of something other than the direct source, in this case, SeaWorld. While these are reliable, they have more bias than if you were to directly talk to the owner. Having interviews with actual trainers, scientists, and family members, make the film more reliable and believable to the audience. 

    When creating anything, keeping in mind your personal bias is key. It is clear from the beginning that the creators of "Blackfish" have a bias towards the correct treatment of orcas due to the purpose of this documentary. While this is not a bad bias to have in a film exposing the mistreatment of orcas, it puts a narrative into the audience's heads. Having a predetermined narrative allows the audience to receive a biased perception of what is being shown whether that is in the footage or simply the narration. The explicit bias in this documentary affects the viewpoint of the reader in favor of the producer's biases.

    Propaganda has main aspects that make or break the title. The biases that the producers had and were fully aware of affected the entire documentary. Persuading and convincing the reader of something with the help of clear biases is never proper. Throughout the documentary, interviews were shown to include clear descriptions of what the producers were trying to show and expose. Informing the public to rebut and refrain from attending SeaWorld was the call to action "Blackfish" wished for. 

    "Blackfish" is a documentary created to expose the truth behind SeaWorld's orcas. From the origins to the blames put on trainers for their own deaths, the film covers it all. Through specifically the biases with the creators, "Blackfish" is propaganda. Propaganda cannot always be a bad thing though. This propaganda has done more good by showing more of the truth, even if it is biased. Since the owners would never do anything to hurt the company, having groups that rival the company's own bias towards itself does allow the consumer to see multiple viewpoints.

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