1. Documentaries Effecting Change
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2. Vocabulary
Demeanor
Socialize
Inhumane
Invalidate

3. Discussion Questions What is a documentary and what is its purpose?
What documentaries have you seen and what were their messages?
Have you ever made/been in a film before? If so, what are you thinking about most when “directing” it?
When was the documentary Blackfish released? What was SeaWorld’s attendance the year before? What was it three years after its release?

4. BlackFish Questions to answer DURING the film:
1. What was the behavior exhibited by the young whales and their pods during the time of capture from the ocean?
2. Describe the environment that Tilikum lived in during his time at Sealand in British Columbia.
3. What evidence did the Sealand trainers have that Tilikum was being picked on by the other orcas?
4. When the trainer was killed at Sealand, who was blamed?
5. Why was SeaWorld Orlando so interested in buying Tilikum when Sealand closed?
6. What were the SeaWorld trainers told about Tilikum’s past behavior when he arrived?
7. During a typical performance at SeaWorld, what activities do the orcas do?
8. The day that Dawn Brancheau died, trainers say that Tilikum was off his game. What behavior did they witness that was caused them to be concerned?
9. How exactly did Dawn Brancheau die?
10. After Dawn’s death, what happened to Tilikum?

5. Blackfish Questions to reflect on AFTER the film:
11. This documentary is mainly told through the viewpoints of 5 former SeaWorld trainers. Why did the filmmakers not include testimony from current SeaWorld employees?
12. SeaWorld declined to comment on the documentary. How do you feel about that?
13. SeaWorld is currently appealing a court ruling that makes trainers stay a certain distance away from whales to ensure their safety. Do you believe that SeaWorld should be fighting that decision? Why or why not?
14. There is a huge movement by PETA and other organizations to have all the whales in captivity released into the wild. Do you believe that is a viable option?
15. SeaWorld no longer captures orcas from the wild. Instead, they collect semen from males and artificially inseminate females to produce offspring. How do you feel about that practice?
16. SeaWorld trainers would tell people watching the orca shows that Tilikum’s dorsal fin was flopped over due to a genetic disorder. Others say that the dorsal fins flop over on animals kept in captivity due to their proximity to the water’s surface and the exposure to the sun.
Which of those two arguments do you believe and why?

6. Blackfish
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Go to the links above. Ready and pull out five of the most “convincing” arguments SeaWorld has against the movie Blackfish.
How effective was the Blackfish documentary? How effective are SeaWorld’s responses? Which side do you fall on now?
What specifically made it effective? Think of the tone, the music, the editing, the imagery, etc. BE SPECIFIC.
Write a 1-page response explaining what made the documentary so (or not) effective, and whether or not you feel a documentary is the best way to affect change. What other documentaries you may have seen, and what made it effective (or not).