Why is it that there are no reported incidents of killer whales killing humans in the wild, but multiple when they’re held in captivity? This brings into question what is causing these killer whales to lash out when in captivity. Since they have been the main attraction at SeaWorld for years, the multiple instances of their attacks have not been revealed to the general public. The documentary, Blackfish, explores more on the subject of why these incidents occur. The author, Gabriela Cowperthwaite, uses strong visual imagery, emotional appeal, and personal testimonies from former trainers in order to show exactly why killer whales should not be held in captivity by humans. In the documentary, Gabriela Cowperthwaite repeatedly shows emotional appeal. One of these is with the individuals who trained the killer whales. She shows multiple…show more content… This also led to other trainers being concerned. Another way that the author conveys her message that killer whales shouldn’t be held in captivity is with strong visual imagery. In the documentary, it shows killer whales swimming around freely. After it does this, it shows the process of capturing and separating these killer whales from their young. It shows the process of capturing them and then goes on to showing them being held in captivity in a small pool for years. This helps communicate the message because it shows the whales before and after. At a point in time, they had been thriving. With their young so they could protect them in the open sea. The process of taking them and separating them to keep them showed that they were basically taken and imprisoned in these small pools of water. Gabriela Cowperthwaite also incorporates personal testimonies into her documentary. She gets people who were formally trainers or people who are experts on these killer whales and has them featured in her documentary to tell the world their
