Blackfish

blackfishmovie.com

‘Blackfish’ successfully made a wildlife documentary into a thriller. Experts psychoanalyzing, witnesses testifying, video evidence... all pointing to one deranged killer, protected by a 1.4 billion dollar corporation - the 5.6 ton killer whale, Tilikum, owned by SeaWorld Entertainment.

hommage-orca.skyrock.com

The film follows Tilikum from his capture in 1983 when he was just 2 years old. Orcas share a similar lifespan to humans and at just 2yrs old he was already 13feet long. His first new home was a tiny cement tank in Hafnarfjörður Marine Zoo, near Reykjavík, Iceland. He was then transferred to Sealand, a 100x50ft pool where he regularly endured painful attacks from two female orcas, not helped by the fact that trainers were withholding food. At night he was forced into a tiny metal shack with the two vicious females and emerged with bloody wounds and scratches.

Dawn & Tili - greenglobaltravel.com

He was transferred to SeaWorld, after the death of trainer Keltie Byrne, in 1991 after she fallen into the whale pool. Although I’m not convinced the attack from the whales was malicious, I know for sure that it would not have happened at all, had the whales not been in captivity in the first place. In 2010, Dawn Brancheau, an experienced trainer, was dragged from the poolside and held underwater. Her bones were broken, her head scalped and her skin mauled. This time, it was the whale that came to the trainer, not the other way around. We cannot argue that THIS time, the attack was not malicious. However we wish to frame orca captivity and convince ourselves that it has been researched and facilities are sufficient, every human can see that a tiny pool in the US can never match up to the world’s ocean. It’s cruel, however we wish to change that image for our moral conscience and however much we convince ourselves that it’s ok because it’s in the name of entertainment.

examiner.com

I felt on edge every time we watched footage of trainers interacting with the whales. I was waiting for them to pounce, waiting for them to drag the next victim to the bottom of the pool as 'Kasatka' did with Ken Peters, who miraculously managed to stay calm and save his breath. It was like watching a tiger play with its food and all I could think of was the Jaws theme tune as my heart rate raced to match.

It's not often that I watch documentaries about animals, mainly because I don't believe that any nature observing documentary can beat Planet Earth, but 'Blackfish' is different. It explores one of our largest mammals almost as a human. It analyses his behavior, it points the finger towards all those times that SeaWorld SHOULD have stopped trainers getting into the water with the orcas, before the worst happened. But they didn't. They had all the warning signs but money meant more to them than the lives of all their orcas and their trainers.

seaworldofhurt.com

There was an incredible amount of footage from personal video cameras, showing some of the most intimate, and scary episodes of the Tilikum story. Yes, the film is edited so that sometimes, other whales are shown in Tilikum's stead, whilst the narrator is still talking about him. But they identify that the audience is intelligent enough to tell a bent fin from a straight one. It’s a remarkable amount of archive, and I’d like to know more about its sourcing. As much as the film may be bias against SeaWorld, there is no doubt that Tilikum’s years in captivity, whether he is representative of all orcas or just himself, has left his behaviour unpredictable and therefore dangerous.

melissasmith.hubpages.com

In the wild, orcas can travel up to 100 miles a day, which of course, no pool in any location can ever match up to. No pool is sufficient enough to hold these mammals, and to make them perform, is probably the only freedom they get. But is it right? Did we not learn anything from Free Willy? (I'm joking – although you should read this article about how the film casted it the same year as Keltie’s death: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/26/world/americas/orca-trainer-tilikum-keiko/ ). The argument of the film is not that orcas, or even Tilikum, are inherently bad, no, in fact it's clear to see that many of the orcas have real bonds with their trainers. It is that man-made captivity frustrates them, and pressures them into the unpredictable. Wouldn't you get a little bit angry being dragged from your family and put in a tiny pool when you are used to the freedom of the ocean. Will it ever really be safe for trainers to swim side by side with whales in captivity?

outsideonline.com

The film does a great job of pulling together the facts of SeaWorld’s neglect, through some emotionally driven interviews with those who knew the whales and the victims. There is a particularly moving account from the mourning fiance of Alexis Martinez, a trainer murder by a SeaWorld killer whale, at Loro Parque, renowned for its poor facilities and lax training requirements. She reveals that she was told Alexis was fine, before stepping into the morgue and seeing his body, with his chest completely deflated from the attack of orca Keto. I cannot imagine what that must have been like.

(in red) Tilikum's enclosure after Dawn's death

There are well-researched extracts from the courtroom transcript, personal video recordings, an interview with a whaler, images of the enclosures, SeaWorld advertisements AND the revelation that after multiple opportunities to comment, SeaWorld declined the offer to have any involvement with the film. They say actions speak louder than words – and the effects of this film, carry that message quite profoundly.

thewire.com

It’s not as clear cut as the internet suggests. It seems that everyone has a vested interest in either liking or disliking the film. Many people have challenged ‘Blackfish’ for inaccuracies and accused it of exploiting and sensationalising tragedy- of which I do agree on the premise of Keltie’s death but not on a wider scale. I also disagree with the stance taken on Taku as he 'tries to crush' SeaWorld trainer, Sam Davis in 2005. there is no evidence that it was done out of malice... how is  a 5 tonne whale supposed to know that splashing about with a human might crush him to death? Similarly, people have slated SeaWorld and accused it of concealing tragedy without truly understanding the facts. We know that SeaWorld has since, taken action. Michael Scarpuzzi, the vice president for zoological operations and trainer for SeaWorld San Diego said in 2013, 

‘"We have altered how we care for, display and train these extraordinary animals. We have changed the facilities, equipment and procedures at our killer whale habitats. The care and educational presentation of these animals at SeaWorld has been made safer than ever’.  

So there are faults and misconceptions on both sides of the argument.

huffingtonpost.com

My opinion still stands that as a film, ‘Blackfish’ was brilliant. It may not have been directed brilliantly, due to it mainly being made up of contributor response and archive, but it was well put together. I find it hard to deny that you will ever be more moved or opposed to animal captivity than after this film. You end up loving and hating the killer at the same time and despite internet comments stating that it is an insult to Dawn’s death, I came away with a  remarkable respect for the trainers that work with these animals and with an awareness that perhaps what we sacrifice in the name of entertainment, may not be as magical as we'd like to believe. In my view it’s a ‘must-watch’ regardless of which side of the fence you sit on.

More on 'Blackfish':

Here's SeaWorld’s reaction to the film: http://blackfishmovie.com/news/blackfish_seaworld_bites_back/15297?seaworld_reacts_button

Here's a blogpost about how the film is misleading: http://melissaasmith.hubpages.com/hub/blackfish-film

Read more about Tilikum’s Story here: http://www.seaworldofhurt.com/features/30-years-three-deaths-tilikums-tragic-story/

Here’s a report on Tilikum’s Treatment: http://bc.ctvnews.ca/new-video-unearthed-of-unacceptable-killer-whale-treatment-1.1962379

Here’s some information on the death of Alexis Martinez: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-zimmermann/death-at-loro-parque-the-_b_902863.html

And finally, here's a much more extensive review of the film 'Blackfish': http://www.rellimzone.com/2013/12/movie-review-blackfish-2013/ 

Are We At War?

dezeen.com

Of course not, you might say. Officially, I guess not. But I'm talking about another kind of war. A war that sees innocent people forgotten about and cartoonists who dedicate their lives to making caricatures of those they disagree with, make worldwide news. 12 cartoonists are shot, and everyone's Charlie Hebdo but not once is anyone raising their hand to say anything about any of the hundreds and thousands of deaths that are happening around the world to people who have never said a word against anyone. Yes, the deaths are tragic and the killing is completely unjust. Yes, it is upsetting. Yes, free speech is important. Yes, the fact that Paris is closer to home is likely to cause a larger outpour of 'sympathy' and 'outrage' but whatever the reason for such a huge response to the Paris attack and the complete lack of response to anything else, even if that reason may seem compelling with the addition of a hashtag and more followers... IT'S WRONG.

mirror.co.uk

And David Cameron, where does he stand on all of this? Well yesterday he marched side by side with 3.5million others demonstrating their strength of feeling towards free speech and today, he decided that actually, all of that was bollocks and instead he's going to ban whatsapp.

Britain is at a turning point in modern politics where the likes of Russell Brand drive more public interaction with the subject than any politician of our time. It's a time where Twitter drives votes and UKIP is the go-to party for voters who are bored with the way things are - but then at least they bother to turn out and vote in the first place. The leaders of the parties are exasperating ridiculous ways to win public adoration, with Cameron's latest threat of refusing to appear on television debates without the presence of the Green party, either a wonderful stab at appearing to be a just and equal opponent or a step towards the naughty corner when broadcasts go ahead without him. It doesn't matter how bigoted, how ignorant or how wonderful the education at Eton was... the point is, that something is wrong with British politics and if we don't start looking for alternative ways to fix it, we're in trouble.

theguardian.com

I don't pretend to have the answers to everything, or anything in fact but I think a good place to start is the voting system. Of course, it would help if we had candidates we actually WANTED to vote for, not just ones we prefer over all of the others. But our 65% voting turnout is shameful. Almost 100yrs ago women fought for the right to vote which also caused the voting age of men to be lowered too. People lost their lives in that fight and now, most can't be bothered. Call it disillusionment, but those who don't vote allow the room for votes towards radicalism to rise. So why does the option to vote online not exist, to make it easy for them? People have jobs to go to and no time to spend queueing in a polling station. Online votes need to happen soon - either that or election day is made a public holiday for us to cast our votes, or we are allowed to take time away from work without the threat of no pay - as in some US states (California). It's a suggestion, which is far better than our current system, in MY opinion. We need to make it easy for voters.

123rf.com

As I say, I don't have an answer for anything. But I see that there is a problem and I see the worth of free-speech more than ever. There are people around the world who hate the ways of the West and hate our politics. If I'm honest, I'm beginning to hate our politics too and banning whatsapp is certainly not the way to go about changing that. 1 in 6 of our population are over 65 and by 2050, that is predicted to rise to 1 in 4. Is this society the one we want to see our elderly relatives grow old in? The one that threatens the UK's position as a haven for those in need, for refugees and for asylum seekers. The one that values bigotry over equality. The one that will vote UKIP out of indecisiveness and naivety?

In my opinion, we are at war - with morality - and somewhere along the line, we have to start voting for it. We have to stop jumping on the bandwagon of the next Twitter hashtag and look around for other issues. Issues that we might ACTUALLY care about, might ACTUALLY rally to change and change people's minds in the process. Who knows, you MIGHT even solve it, someone's got to, coz it's not looking likely to be Cameron any time soon. After all, democracy means 'power belongs to the people', so let's remind our leaders just that...just a suggestion.

'American Interior' - Gruff Rhys

Whilst suffering the norovirus over Christmas (brilliant) moving from my mum's sofa was not an option. So I decided to pull out a pre-Christmas purchase from HMV and boy am I glad I did.

guardian.com

'American Interior' is a multi-media idea that follows the journey of two men: John Evans as he sets off in 1792 from Wales to America, and his great great grandson Gruff Rhys who embarks on a series of investigative concerts to discover what really happened when his ancestor set out to find a long lost Welsh tribe - The Madogwys - on whom the hopes of the nation rested.

brooklynvegan.com

Gruff is wonderfully original with his ideas, taking along with him a puppet version of John Evans, a powerpoint presentation, a camera and of course, his music. It isn't about pushing his music, or about his show, or even just about his journey, it follows a very interesting journey of a man of the 18th century and we meet some intriguing living characters along the way. Who knew so many people spoke or had an interest in the Welsh culture over in the US? And perhaps most magically, in a tale shown only in black and white, we as an audience remain to see through to a truly colourful existence through endearing comedy and storytelling.

american-interior.com

As well as being a celebration of the path of the Missouri river and America's native history, Gruff manages to capture a love for the Welsh language and stimulate a feeling of pride for legend-loving Wales, that it has this story to share. As John Evans set out to find this long-lost Welsh tribe, he encountered many great things along his journey. He was the first man to map (most of) the Missouri river, which was the basis of the map drawn by Lewis and Clark, which continues to be the map we go by today. He wrestled with river reptiles and hunted bison with the Omaha tribe. He defected to the Spanish and was tasked with bargaining and mediating with the natives to claim territory, annexing North Dakota from the British. For a poor boyo from the valley (and boyo he was, at just 17 when he set off), it's not a bad adventure! The Great Plains and Nebraskan mountains of his trip may not have held the beckoning call of the Snowdonian summit, but John Evans really did make the US his home, living out his life until his death in St Louis. And as Gruff follows in his footsteps on his concert tour, we are delighted to meet existing members of tribes like those he may have met, such as the Mandan tribe.

londoncitynights.com

I feel that without even meaning to, Gruff has emanated a great celebratory feeling of discovery, of language and of culture. The Mandan tribe has only one fluent speaker left of the Mandan language and we meet a young man trying to learn as much as is possible before it is lost forever. With that man, dies the language and with only 500,000 Welsh speakers left in Wales, Gruff feels the threat is not only applicable to the tribe. (As a twice removed descendant of Wales I would absolutely love to learn the Welsh language, particularly if Gruff is teaching it - the next album maybe?)

It's a feel good film, one that doesn't proclaim to be anything more than it is, but that leaves you feeling as though it's a whole lot more. It's enchanting because it feels as though we are discovering the story with Gruff as he shares scrawled lyrics of half-finished songs with audiences along the way. It's a charming film with an equally grounding soundtrack, one that you can almost hear echoing around the black & white valleys of the Missouri river. It's exploratory spirit left me truly inflated with the big dreams of ordinary men.

undertheradarmag.com

And what's more, is that although I've told you half the findings, there is so much more to see and to explore and to learn!

An album, a hardback, a paperback and e-book, an app, a film - is this quite literally the best multi-platform/multi-media idea I've seen yet? Probably yes! (I think Sky Arts have missed the boat on this one) And one you should most definitely read, watch, listen to or respond to in any way that satisfies Gruff's next original idea. 

For more info on all these, head here: http://american-interior.com/film/

And be sure to look out for Gruff's valentine's day release 'Married 2 Me'!!!

Waiting for 'Superman'

Director Davis Guggenheim has been endlessly praised for his 2010 title 'Waiting for 'Superman'. The title swept the awards ceremonies clean, picking up 14 awards amongst 25 nominations. I feel however, I should have learned by now, not to trust awards when it comes to choosing documentaries to watch.

flaglerlive.com

Waiting for 'Superman' is of course a documentary that will have captured the hearts of American film festival judges, not just for bureaucratic reasons, but because they can relate to the story within the film. For us, as an audience (an overseas audience at that), it is less of a documentary, more of a visual proposal, a presentation of far too many statistics for any one person to take in first time round. Perhaps the most fitting award nomination the film received then is this one (IMDB):

Alliance of Women Film Journalists 2010

Nominated EDA Special Mention Award

Movie You Wanted to Love, But Just Couldn't

http://www.dvdbeaver.com

Mainly I wanted to challenge the unnecessary inclusion of archive of 'The Simpsons', and 'School of Rock' that seemed to attempt to break up the endless narration that never actually arrived at a solid conclusion. Surely it's just a waste of money. Then I remembered Guggenheim made 'An Inconvenient Truth' and probably still has the money to spend on idle content. If the point was to highlight that bad education had become so much a part of the US education infrastructure that it was even embedded within popular culture, then ok, I get the link. But Guggenheim instead could have spent the time and money showing us real representations of the issues. I wanted to hear personal accounts, testimonies, not just watch yet another persons fictional interpretation of the system. Is that what the issue is, fictional?

http://www.dvdbeaver.com

It just didn't move me to want to make a difference, nor did it make me feel as though there was a way I could help at all. Although Guggenheim's graphical finale supports that no big changes have ever started in the White House, they have started with people, started with you... I felt there was nothing willing me to support the cause, nothing compelling me to do so.

The film consisted of far too many accounts of failure, far too many interviews, far too much description and narration and nowhere near enough visual evidence. I read somewhere that a good documentary will have the power to persuade you of it's cause by images alone, and 'Waiting for Superman' just didn't. I felt, nothing.

Michelle Rhee - nytimes.com

It may have taken us through some of the attempts to alter the US education system with some nice archive of Michelle Rhee in her battles against angry parents. But I had no real emotional attachment to any of our featured children that allowed me to really feel for them at their acceptance/rejections into better schools at the ever anticipated 'lottery'.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com

The film wasn't completely elusive, it had some great graphical elements and held at least one memorable moment with young Anthony who is already planning for the future of his children as his own is still being decided. But I don't think that Guggenheim completely succeeded in humanising the statistics flooding out of the academic sinkholes of the US.

graphical elements - http://www.dvdbeaver.com

Many say it's well made, others say it's an important documentary to watch, some say it compels change... I disagree. I think to compel an audience to act, they need to SEE real people's experiences, not just HEAR them. In this I don't think Guggenheim did as well as he could. It's a commentary, not a documentary. On the subject of commentary, for a film about children, I also wanted to hear a lot more from them than I did. For a film about education, I wanted to see a lot more REAL on-location footage in classrooms, like the shot of Anthony holding his hand up, rather than just that single token shot. That single shot, did not lay down a narrative of reality for me, the visuals were not enough to convince me. But that's just me. Who knows, you might think differently. 

Waiting for Superman is available on Amazon for the modest UK price of £2.86 so why not decide for yourself! http://www.amazon.co.uk/Waiting-For-Superman-Davis-Guggenheim/dp/B004OBZLO6

World Press Exhibition

Peter Holgersson, Sweden

The female form has always been the subject of many photographers, artists and film-makers. Yet this exhibition, truly showed how it's no longer just about the bodily form, but about what women represent. In this exhibition, they shone through as representations of anything and everything.

Markus Schreiber, Germany

We had women as objects of sexual desire in the Legends Football League which shows women playing football in lingerie (which has to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of). We had women as the victims of abuse in a series of photographs of a young girl, her child and her partner. We also had women as symbols of remarkable strength and willpower, particularly in the heptathlon photos of Nadja Casadei who was diagnosed with cancer yet still kept up her vigorous training programme whilst undergoing chemotherapy. And there was one image of a woman with such sadness in her eyes it brought tears to mine, as she'd waited and waited whilst access to see Nelson Mandela's casket was closed.

Fred Ramos, El Salvador

It wasn't just women though, it was great representation of humanity as a whole, bad and good. The photos leaked creativity and insight into stories from across the world, which obviously got my documentary blood pumping. There were some images that really stood out to me as I walked around the Royal Festival Hall.

One was this one, the clothes of victims of homicide showing us just how futile attempts to discover who those who once wore these clothes might be. It showed also just how unremarkable we are as humans as we disappear into the ground and leave nothing behind.

Taslima Akhter, Bangladesh

Another, was the image of the collapsed Rana Plaza building with two people, a male and a female, embracing one another as they are photographed dead amongst the rubble. No-one knows what the relationship between the two people was, but I think it shows a lot about human strength and hope, amidst a disaster that shows humanity's flaws simultaneously.

Danila Tkachenko, Russia

The next group of images really spoke to me as someone who enjoys her own company perhaps a little too much. There was a group of photos showing three men who have secluded themselves from the world and where they live. I'd be interested to know what people's reactions were to the images as to me, I felt a real sense of envy and appreciation for their freedom but I know others might have walked past and coined them 'weirdos' and that's that.

Robin Hammond, New Zealand

 The next image that stood out to me, were the images of men chained to posts and walls, forced to live outside or in the darkness of shacks with locks on, in various African countries. When I wandered nearer to read the description of why they were chained up, was met with the explanation that they were suffering from mental illness or disability and were treated this way in order to heal them. I was appalled and at the same time intrigued as to how very different cultures and understanding can be across the globe.

Peter Van Agtmael, USA

The final images that stuck out were those of Bobby Henline. As he walked down the street our photographer captured the very moment that those around him realized his disfigurement. I feel as though in this picture, each face tells a story. You can almost hear the thoughts in their heads. A frizzy haired mother looking on at him confused, a distracted father and daughter, an older brother oblivious to Bobby's presence who looks ahead to his next antic, a younger brother looking both in wonder and in fear at this bold man walking down the street. Bobby, knowing people will stare and trying to continue to walk boldly with his head held high. It really captures a story in just one second.

Carla Kogelman, The Netherlands

Goran Tomasevic, Serbia

There are so many more that really spoke to me. There were pictures of two blonde girls who had complete freedom and made me wanted to run faster than ever back to my home-town and back to my childhood. There was an image of a swimmer doing backstroke where I couldn't quite decide which part of the body was which and that strangely made it more beautiful. There were the blind albino boys in the school in West Benghal and the diver surrounded by a dark sea abyss of nothingness that was both beautiful and disconcerting simultaneously. There were pictures of the Boston marathon bombs, of wrestlers and their mothers, of organized murders in Mexico, of families taking cover on the ground of Nairobi's Westgate Mall during the massacre and incredible shots of Syrian rebel fighters taking cover from Syrian army amid debris. The images really were incredible and showed the full range of human experience. I could spend hours staring into the eyes of these timeless pictured moments.

The exhibition could really do with some video coverage, asking the viewers which photos stood out, which told a story, what they thought of certain photos. It could make a great video by engaging audience members with the photography and really making them think, just as the photographers intended.


There are so many images I couldn't include in this blog that completely broaden your perspective on life so explore them all for yourself. If you missed the exhibition at the Royal festival Hall, then visit: http://www.worldpressphoto.org/awards/2014