Richard O'Barry was the man who captured and trained the dolphins for the television show "Mi amigo Flipper" (1964). O'Barry's view of cetaceans in captivity changed from that experience when as the last straw he saw that one of the dolphins playing Flipper - her name being Kathy - basically committed suicide in his arms because of the stress of being in captivity. Since that time, he has become one of the leading advocates against cetaceans in captivity and for the preservation of cetaceans in the wild. O'Barry and filmmaker 'Louie Psihoyos (I)' go about trying to expose one of what they see as the most cruel acts against wild dolphins in the world in Taiji, Japan, where dolphins are routinely corralled, either to be sold alive to aquariums and marine parks, or slaughtered for meat. The primary secluded cove where this activity is taking place is heavily guarded. O'Barry and Psihoyos are well known as enemies by the authorities in Taiji, the authorities who will use whatever tactic to expel the two from Japan forever. O'Barry, Psihoyos and their team covertly try to film as a document of conclusive evidence this cruel behavior. They employ among others Hollywood cameramen and deep sea free divers. They also highlight what is considered the dangerous consumption of dolphin meat (due to its high concentration of mercury) which is often sold not as dolphin meat, and the Japanese government's methodical buying off of poorer third world nations for their support of Japan's whaling industry, that support most specifically at the International Whaling Commission. (Huggo)
The Cove is a very powerful documentary. It's extremely graphic and it exposes the massive dolphin slaughter carried out annually by the Japanese. However, the intense footage makes you internalize how profound and real this situation is. I had just turned 18 when I first saw this film. Since the slaughters footage started I started crying all the way to the end. It really struck me and made me feel guilty and ashamed in many ways. I felt so guilty of promoting captivity when I went swimming with dolphins in Key West. Then I felt even worse just thinking about my summer vacations in Sea World. I cried and cried and cried a little more. Then I stopped crying and said to myself I WONT BE PART OF IT! It made me really angry for a while. I became sort of addicted to researching and watching videos an posting them too. Then I realize people don't give a... about dolphins, whales, or any animal in general. So I accepted the fact I can't change people's way of seeing things, but I sure can try to educate them on the unknown.
The Cove gave me wake up call, a change in perspective. Sea World is no longer a happy place for me. The real name should be KILL WORLD instead of Sea World. My viewpoints on captivity are now extreme. I don't believe in it AT ALL. Not even for "helping endangered species", unless it’s a reserve. I just hope people take the time to think and rethink on issues like this so someday the statistics change.
Huggo. "The Cove (2009)." Plot Summary for The Cove (2009). n.d. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1313104/plotsummary?ref_=tt_stry_pl>.
Here are some link with more info on The Cove:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySeQNLrcyBM
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1913757,00.html
The Cove is a very powerful documentary. It's extremely graphic and it exposes the massive dolphin slaughter carried out annually by the Japanese. However, the intense footage makes you internalize how profound and real this situation is. I had just turned 18 when I first saw this film. Since the slaughters footage started I started crying all the way to the end. It really struck me and made me feel guilty and ashamed in many ways. I felt so guilty of promoting captivity when I went swimming with dolphins in Key West. Then I felt even worse just thinking about my summer vacations in Sea World. I cried and cried and cried a little more. Then I stopped crying and said to myself I WONT BE PART OF IT! It made me really angry for a while. I became sort of addicted to researching and watching videos an posting them too. Then I realize people don't give a... about dolphins, whales, or any animal in general. So I accepted the fact I can't change people's way of seeing things, but I sure can try to educate them on the unknown.
The Cove gave me wake up call, a change in perspective. Sea World is no longer a happy place for me. The real name should be KILL WORLD instead of Sea World. My viewpoints on captivity are now extreme. I don't believe in it AT ALL. Not even for "helping endangered species", unless it’s a reserve. I just hope people take the time to think and rethink on issues like this so someday the statistics change.
Huggo. "The Cove (2009)." Plot Summary for The Cove (2009). n.d. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1313104/plotsummary?ref_=tt_stry_pl>.
Here are some link with more info on The Cove:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySeQNLrcyBM
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1913757,00.html
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