Blackfish

In the documentary Blackfish, the films use of pathos and logos are the rhetorical key
elements that contributed to the overall message. The aural and visual elements that complement
pathos and logos are music and camera angles. Numerous scenes in the film appeal to the
audiences emotions, because the scenes were presented with music and background speakers
simultaneously in order to evoke the thoughts and feelings of the audience. Logos is a key
element because the documentary consists of a number of scenes, by using logos these scenes
were placed in a cohesive sequence that allow the audience to understand the severity of events.
To begin, pathos was used throughout the film, to emphasize the wrong doings at sea
world, and sea worlds parks.

In the image above, it shows one of sea worlds employees, a very experienced trainer
named Ken Peters and an Orca Whale named Katsaka. In this scene Katsaka is clenching on
kens foot dragging and twirling him to the bottom of the pool. Before this scene was displayed a
dark screen was presented on the screen with a white caption at the bottom of the page that read
Seconds after diving in Katsaka seizes Kens foot. The music then makes a drastic change,
from once silent to unpleasant music arising in the background. This change in music prepares its

audience for a serious scene that follows. One can infer that the audience develops a feeling of
dread as the music and cold words appear on the screen. According to a secondary source,
filmsound.org states, background music often foreshadows a change in mood. A change in
mood in the film, causes a change in mood in the audience, therefore the movie is effectively
incorporating pathos to convey their message. Furthermore, as the scene of ken being tortured
continued, a narration of what was taking place was also being displayed. The background music
was quiet and subdued as the narrator explained the scene. This allows the audience to
concentrate on what the narrator is explaining and understand the severity of the events taking
place in this scene.
In addition, the film continues to explain another event that took place at Loro Parque in
Spain. Loro Parque is one of Sea worlds small parks. Suzanne Allele former video supervisor at
Loro Parque stated that Sea World sent four orca whales to Loro Parque. As Allele explains there
is an absence of music, because the scene is presented as informational, to inform viewers about
Loro Parque and their employees. According to Suzanna Allele, Loro Parque does not have a
good reputation, but Alex was the best trainer there, he could hold his own with a Sea World
trainer. She explains that Alex was the best trainer, but then informs the audience that she
warned him to be careful with the Orca whales. Once the informational scene was over, low
pitch piano and soft violin music began to play, to signal the audience that a solemn scene was
about to be displayed.

In the pictures above it shows Alexs girlfriend and mother. These women were explain
the horrific things that happened to Alex during the time of his whale attack. They both
expressed that they were very sad through body language and seriousness. The music and camera
angles that were a part of this scene made the audience feel a sense of sorrow and hopelessness.
By the camera being placed directly in front of their faces it allows the audience to clearly see
their emotions. The background music cohesively correlates with the scene. According to
filmsound.org, background music is used to add emotion and rhythm to a film. This allows the
reader to perceive their feelings from their perspectives.
Lastly, the documentary is presented in a logical order. Throughout the documentary,
positive scenes depicting Sea World as a positive place were first, and after would a follow a
horrific scene countering the previous ones. This technique provides a sense of irony to the
documentary, because it shows what the general public thinks of Sea World and then shows what
is actually happening behind closed doors. For an example the documentary begins with a
positive Sea World commentary, along with positive upbeat music playing the background, and
soon transitions to 911 calls in the background reporting horrific events. The use of irony is
convincing the audience that Sea world is indeed a horrible organization.
In conclusion, the film is trying to convey that what is happening at Sea World and its
parks is completely wrong. Countless employees were hurt along with hurting families. The

documentary effectively uses pathos and logos successfully convey their message. The film
emphasizes that orca whales should not be held captive and even the most trained employees can
be hurt. The film cohesively places each scene in a way that depicts Sea World in a positive light
and then follows with a scene countering that perception. Music and Camera angles were the
main visual and aural elements used in the documentary to convey the overall message.

Work Cited

Blackfish. Dir. Gabriela Cowperthwaite. Magnolia Pictures, 2013. Netflix.

Marshall, Jane K. "Introduction to Film Sound." Introduction to Film Sound. N.p., n.d.
Web. 30 Oct. 2014.