If you were absent for our fishbowl discussion on Friday, 12/16, you must respond to the following:
1) What is your reaction and response to The Cove? You may discuss anything– specific parts, economic/political/ cultural issues, the way the film was created, what the film made you wonder about, what you wish they would have included, etc. Write a lengthy response.
2) One aspect the film did not include– that would be an interest especially to Americans– is Sea World’s point of view. Here is their response to the film: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32274599/ns/travel-news/t/dolphin-hunt-film-sparks-dilemma-tourists/
Read the article and write a paragraph-long response.
** If you would like to join the conversation (and earn some extra credit) you can respond to #2 above or #3 below (or both):
3) Go to The Cove’s website and look around. Discuss something interesting you found there. http://www.takepart.com/cove
To be honest, after that movie I would be more than content with all the fisherman and people eating dolphin dying from a slow miserable death due to mercury poisoning. Also “Private Space” needed to be punched in the face, because he was a fool. It is sickening how those Japanese people can be so ignorant to this issue and see nothing wrong with killing dolphins. They obviously don’t see dolphins true beauty, and have never peacefully interacted with them in the wild. That was the third time that i have seen “The Cove” and with every time that i have seen it, I get more and more angry over this issue. one scene that really bothers me is when they are showing the underwater camera, and the water is all beautiful, and then it just goes red with the slaughtering of such a majestic creature. I really liked how the congressman stood up against the govt. to not put dolphin meet in the school lunches. I liked part where Rick shows the head of fishing, the video of the dolphin slaughtering, and it looked like the guy was holding back tears; however, it irritated me how even though he new he was wrong, he still was being a D@#K for being ignorant to the issue Rick was bringing up. Also “part of our culture” my #*s, what is going on in that cove is outrageous, and most Japanese probably don’t even eat dolphin, unless they are being lied to by false labeling of food!!! I applaud everybody that is willing to go and confront this issue such as Rick and his team do.
The Cove was a very adrenaline rushing yet informative documentary which should be brought up to the high authorities of our world to stop this corruption. The most interesting part of the documentary that i can recall would have to be how Japans government knew about the slaughtering of the dolphins, the outrages mercury poisoning in the dolphin meat, and how the leaders of japan were basically poisoning every child in the nation by substituting dolphin meet for regular meat in the school cafeteria because of how unreal this typically sounds and also by how you could poison your “own” nation without caring or worrying about it. I am Japanese and do have my pro’s and con’s about the situation such as the way the Japanese slaughtered the dolphins was very unnecessary and disgusting, although in America we hunt for wild life because it is recommended to be a “game” to us whilst in Japan hunting for sea life is the same thing by how Japan is ocean dominated. The Cove has expanded my minds information about what we as humans have to done to these poor creatures and how we can stop them.
1:
This documentary called “The Cove” is actually one of the few that have truly made their point with me. This film actually got through to me. The entire film was powerful, but he footage of the small dolphin trying to escape really struck me as the most powerful part in this movie. Another scene that I found to have helped the films direction in action was the scene when the director spoke of his story with ” Flipper.” The entire film is/was powerful and it does make one think of the terrors in the hunt for these animals; and how we (in a way) support the slaughter of dolphins when we continue to attend shows at “Sea World.”
2:
Sea world admits to have taken captured animals into their care. But they do not approve what the documentary is saying about their parks. Sea worlds representatives say that they take these animals into their care after being brutally beaten while in others captivity. I mean, I do understand that capturing these animals is bad but what Sea world does just so happen to be a little better. Sea world cares deeply about their animals, but the question is; do their animals care for the trainers as they do them? Not to long ago “Shamoo” killed its trainer (which they found to be done purposefully) so that adds: Should these animals be kept in total captivity. This question does not attack Sea World but it simply protects their park, workers, and fellow animal ” friends.”
1) That was the first time i saw the cove and i have to say that i liked the whole thing from star to finish. The whole documentary is shot like a spy movie. Certain parts it goes back and forth to what they are doing and how dolphins became so precious for these poachers. I believe what made the whole movie credible is that they had the right people for this job. The main guy was the guy who started the flipper show and made the world fall in love with dolphins and now he is here to stop the slaughter of these precious creatures. he was the one that made this film possible because they say that countless people tried to film dolphins being killed in that cove. Also through out the film the switch to the political aspect of this controversial topic. during half way of the film it felt like Fast Five were they assemble a team to expose the horror of the cove. What was Different but better for the documentary was that they didn’t focus on the film that they acquired from the cove until the very end to make it more powerful and it clearly worked. All in all the documentary was really cool to see that people do this for a living.
2)So basically the article is all about Sea world, A company that is based on animals captivated for show, trying to defend themselves. They are trying to defend their empire saying that they knew all that was in the movie and that they don’t partake in that in buying animals. Obviously when you are being pointed out in a controversial topic you are going to fight back. Sea world goes an says that what they do in tajii has been done for centuries not because of the entertainment business. And that 80% of their animals are already born in captivity. They are blind to the fact that they can stop it if they wanted to because Sea Worlds voice is bigger than Me or you in that situation.
3)Something that I found on the website that was kind overlooked on my part in the movie was the whole mercury in the dolphin meat. That the seafood you can harm you because of the mercury that is consumed because of our pollution in the ocean. So its kind of a full circle that fish are harming us.
The Cove caught my attention from the very beginning with its night vision and guerrilla-like filming. The scenes showing the crew installing cameras and trespassing by the cove create a sense of suspense and I found myself confusing the activists with spies on a secret mission. This was my second time seeing The Cove and it wasn’t any less emotional this time around. I sympathize with O’Barry because he spent 40 years building up the dolphin industry only to realize its cruelty and try to shut it down. One thing that really stuck with me is when O’Barry explains Kathy the dolphin’s self-awareness when watching Flipper. O’Barry goes on to explain how Kathy took her own life while in his arms in one of the films saddest parts. One aspect I was going to bring up in the fishbowl is Sea World’s part in this industry. The Cove shows footage of Sea World dolphins being fed fish containing antibiotics. The dolphins need medicine because they develop ulcers from all of the noise and stress they are around on a daily basis. The movie even explains that the dolphin’s smile is “natures greatest deception” because it paints a picture of false happiness which spectators are quick to believe. After seeing The Cove I noticed many of my fellow classmates were angered over what was happening to these innocent animals. However, when I asked one of my friends if this would stop her from going to Sea World, and she said it wouldn’t. After reading Sea World’s response, I learned that 80% of their animals were born in captivity or rescued. While this is far better than obtaining animals from a “drive hunt,” I still find it hard to support animal captivity in any way. Whether they were born in captivity, rescued, or hunted, these dolphins still undergo large amounts of stress and noise, not to mention the concrete pools they live in which don’t even begin to look like the ocean, nor do they give the dolphins much room to swim. On The Cove’s website I noticed how easy they make it for every day people to write to our leaders and call for change.
Im not going to lie, I was crying like 5 minutes into this movie. It was really emotional for me just because i really feel almost guilty for going to Sea World. The Cove was very persuasive. I loved how clever they were with coming up with the diffrent camera ideas. I couldnt believe how jerky those stupid fisherman were; its like they had no heart. All they were worried about was making money. i feel like that was the main cause of this slaughter was that the fisherman and companies wante to make money, and they were by gathering the dolphins. I must say though, that last scene was my favorite! The guy just totally walked in their with the t.v. strapped to him and reeale the footage. i honestly dont see how they can allow the dolphin slaughter to continue after that. Also, after reading that SeaWorld article, its hard for me to know what to believe; do the SeaWorlds we attend recieve their dolphins like those in Japan. Its hard to know who to believe in these circumstances, but its like I want to believe that the dolphins are treated with respect and arent captured cruely like in Taiji, but you can never be certain until you go out and discover it yourself. I also found interesting about how much mercury was found in fish. On The Cove’s website, i liked how they had the little mercury calculator for all the diffrent types of fish, especially since I am one that eats fish often. Over all, this film was very touchy and made me wonder about all these amusment parks with animals. Do they belong in captivity? After watching that film, Im not sure they do.
2)
While watching this film i realized people do things behind walls, or in this case behind a cove. I strongly disagree of how they treat dolphins becuase what kind of people would even think about doing such a thing like this to a beautiful animal? dolphins have the capability to do many wonderful things such as they know when a woman is pregnant they feel ones feeling they care about things just like humans. dophins are amazing animals who deserve to be treated better. Taiji was doing a HUGE crime and they had to
be stopped. we need to be more aware of the things occuring around us instead of going on with our lives and see what people are willing to do for money. ji am so glad that 1.4 mm people signed the petition to help stop this slaughter from occurring.
Ive seen this movie before in a previous class, first time around really hit me hard as well as the second time. I feel bitter about the situation, I completely disagree with the way that are massive slaughtering these dolphins. I liked how they showed how they got the footage it was really interesting in a sense because what they were doing was illegal. I also like the way they they showed how most I there society had no idea what really was going on in that bay.
2)an aspect that would be really interesting to see would be the Japanese as a society not an organization of whaling but how they society feels and what they really know about the slaughter of dolphins. I thing many Americans that have seen this movie would be more interested and into the movie if they showed more of both sides.
#2
Wow after reading sea worlds point of view on this movie, i feel like O’berry loses some of his credibility. In the movie he claims that sea world is buying from the taiji slaughter and that they are treating the dolphins inhumanely. According to sea world the income of the tickets help to dolphin education and awareness. Also, a lot of there dolphins are born already in captivity, and if they do acquire a dolphin from the wild it is with out harm because it has been made illegal to acquire dolphins inhumainly. Im definatley glad that i looked at sea worlds point of view
That was a video i never wanted to watch again seeing the innocent dolphins being captured and killed for no reason. That was really on called for and i really wish during the movie someone could of stopped them cause what they were doing was very cruel and shouldn’t even be legal. Nut i do look up to and admire those group of people who tried everything they can to stop the dolphin killing.
1)Overall I thought that the cove was a very tragic and informative movie. One part of the movie that was memorable for me was when you see the dolphins getting massacred in the cove. Although this was tragic, and though it made me angry at the japanese people, I still think its important we acknowledge the cultural differences see the story for both sides. By saying this, however, I am not condoning the slaughtering of dolphins, seeing as there an intelligent species. This is a reminder of how all in all humans are savage in nature.
2) After reading this article I find O’berry’s word on the subject allot less meaningful. Yes, at a time, sea world may have gotten dolphins by less than legitimate networks, perhaps adding to the Taji slaughters drive to kill, but even so it has been years since this has happened. 80% of the dolphins sea world have in captivity were born there, and the other percentage were rescued. Not to mention some of the funds they raise go to saving dolphins, not killing them. I think O’berry, though true in other statements, wasn’t true in his slandering of sea world. Although, I think dolphins belong in the ocean and dolphin captivity at its root is immoral.
3) On thing I found “interesting” was how widespread the hunting of whales and dolphins is around the world. Countries including Japan, Norway, Solomon Islands, Russia and even the U.S.A. are still hunting grounds for these majestic creatures, and I find that sickening and horrific. I was most startled that I didn’t hear anything about this in the Cove, and I’m sad this happens in the U.S.A.
The documentary about the “Cove” is very interesting and brings up many points that are unknown to the world. It’s ridiculous to think that not only are they killing these loved creatures, but that they kill them for toxic meat. I can’t believe that this small crew of men will not give up their job instead of killing an insane amount of these dolphins. These men will not even give the dolphins a proper humane slaughter but instead just stab at them until they are all dead. It’s also strange that even the people that live near the area of the cove don’t know about what is happening. I thinks it’s great that this problem was discovered and that one man succeeded in removing this terrible action from the world (as if it’s not bad enough already). Putting an end to the “Cove” may also help in the fight against wale hunting and prevent their extinction.
#2 First of all the last sentence, that the Taiji drive hunts will resume, that is crazy after everything that was done. It’s actually a great thing that O’Barry was wrong about is accusations of Sea World. Sea World may not be able to put an end to these acts, but at least they are trying. The argument that people are positively moved by the experience of marine animal interaction against the opinion that dolphins should not be kept in captivity is very interesting but very debatable. I believe it is wrong but the benefits are nice to have.
In response to the second Cove extra credit topic, Sea World did have a right to fight back towards how Ric O’Berry percieved them. When I first watched the Cove, I didn’t want to go to any amusement parks or buy any tickets to a place where animals were kept captive. But after I read this article, Sea World did have good points as to how they aren’t supporting dolphin slaughter and if the people buy tickets to the amusement park they aren’t supporting dolphin slaughter either. Sea World’s main points were that 80% of their dolphins were bread in captivity and/or rescued from the wild. This really changed my perspective as to how O’Berry made Sea World look and to how it really is. I enjoyed the Cove, I thought it had great points and opened a lot of people’s eyes, but his accusations towards Sea World were a little bit slanted and didn’t portray the correct ways that Sea World gets their animals.
1. I found the movie The Cove very shocking in many ways. I thought it was horrible that something so terrible goes on in real life. Dolphins killed just so they won’t eat as many fish! That’s incredible that something like that would not only be allowed by the government, but endorsed. However the more shocking part for me was that people could watch it happen from a platform above the beach. Like I said in class it is like a dolphin holocaust. People let it happen and did nothing to try and prevent it.
2. I believe Sea World is not guilty of what Ric O’Barry is accusing. I think O’Berry’s argument is a slippery slope saying that if they aren’t against what is going on in Taiji, and actively trying to stop it, then they are to blame. I would say that they Should make an effort to try and stop the mass dolphin killings, but it isn’t their responsibility to handle. I think O’Berry is just looking for someone to blame for the brutality that could potentially be hurt by the release of The Cove.
3. Something interesting that I found out is that 1.4 Million people signed a petition against this dolphin brutality going on in Taiji. It’s amazing how much influence just a few people can have on the whole country.
I am responding to question #3. I looked around the cove website and found out that other fish can be dangerous to humans. They can either cause mercury poison or they could have been contaminated with an oil spill for example. And I also found out that mainly mink whales get killed for scientific research by Japan. Other countries have killed mink whales so you shouldn’t put the entire blame on Japan for whaling. The website says that the main cetaceans being killed are bottle nose dolphins and mink whales.