The Cove

I've never seen any body of water turn blood red as that which happened in Taiji the moment the captured dolphins were all killed.

I'm doing my NatSci 5 homework in here because I'm too lazy to type unless it's on blogger. :|

1. Overall assessment of the movie

At first, I thought that the film we were watching would just be like any other documentary films dealing with environmental issues: the typical interview with the experts, pictures comparing the then-and-now, numerous graphs and other statistical data supporting the facts being presented etc. As the film progressed,it was shown that the people in the film were actually involved with real missions: of saving the dolphins and Taiji and doing it NOW! and of letting the viewers realize how real the happenings are. To be honest, there was no other documentary film that has made me as depressed and angry as The Cove. And in the end of the movie, I can say that I am so proud of Ric O' Barry and everyone else who took part in risking their lives not just for the sake of making the documentary but for actually saving the dolphins despite the threats not only of the locals but of those people in authority trying to protect such activity for monetary gain. 

2. Lessons

When the dolphin trainer Ric O' Barry retold the moment his dolphin committed suicide right in front of him, it reminded me of what a dolphin trainer told us once- that the dolphins in the show are those incapable of surviving out there in the wild. I don't know how real his words were but all I know is that being trapped in a very small space is indeed depressing. It's hard not to be bias but seeing those dolphin trainers in Taiji waiting on the beach for the 'perfect' dolphin they could each bring back made me see them as ignorant and selfish people-not all but some- especially those who know what really is happening.

One of the facts presented in there was that almost 23,000 dolphins are killed yearly in Taiji and that no environmental organization has done anything about it. One scientist had perfectly said it- that size doesn't matter, IWC and other related organizations should protect both large and 'small' whales. 

The method of dolphin killing used by fishermen was very brutal. I have never seen any body of water turn red as that one in Taiji the moment the captured dolphins were all killed.

I think that what everyone have seen in that film would be enough to have them do something in order to stop the mass slaughter of dolphins in Taiji and someday hopefully, all other marine organisms in other parts of the world as well.

3. Is it effective as a medium?

I think that the team led by Ric O' Barry have used the most effective medium in raising global awareness regarding the dolphin slaughter in Japan; in addition, they have made the viewers active participants of the cause by making use of the internet in sending online petition to the Japanese government to intervene on what is being done in Taiji.

If you don't know what's happening to part of the world's dolphin population, it's time for you to find out from those people who decided to uncover the truth themselves and decided to share it with the rest of us.