The Cove

The documentary The Cove is a real eye opener to what really goes on in the ocean. The film focuses on showing the audience just how many dolphins are killed a year and how eating dolphin meat could harm people. Ric O'barry, a former dolphin trainer, travels to Japan to expose the dolphin hunters for all of their horrible hunting practices.  The Cove persuades the audience to stop dolphin killings and  even won the Academy Award for Best Documentary back in 2010. I think directors of The Cove wanted to show the world just how brutal and wrong these killing are and they definitely got their point across. 

A few of the main themes in The Cove  are activism and animal rights. Throughout the whole documentary the audience is lead by a small group of activists in Japan. They protest for the animals rights and try to show how peaceful the animals could be if they weren't constantly being hunted and captured. One of the questions critics must ask themselves before watching a film is, "What is the film's level of ambition?". Basically, that just means what point is the director trying to get across and how he or she is trying to do it. The main purpose of The Cove is to stop the mass dolphin killings in Japan and around the world. The best way to get that message across is through a documentary showing exactly what is going on in Japan and how cruel the killings are. (Pg.405) 

In my opinion, I think the film succeeds in many ways. The Cove succeeded in making the audience aware of the killings. It played on the audiences emoticons and made them feel bad for the animals.Showing the audience the scenes of the mass killings  made them want to stop the killings. The one scene that really made me think about this was when the one dolphin escaped from the nets and was getting away. They could see it jump a few times while escaping and then they never saw it again because it died. The Cove has made a difference because so many people have already signed a petition to stop the killings. People are now aware of what is going on and what to make a difference. Personally, I thought the movie was almost to graphic to watch. It definitely played on the emotions of the people watching showing them how gruesome it was. They may have only shown all of the worst parts in order to make them feel even worse for the animals. It did really make me want to make a difference and help the dolphins thought. (Pg.407)

The Cove is a documentary that uses no narration. Everything is from an interview, real footage, and pictures taken. This narration lets the audience form their own opinions instead of listening to what they are are being told. They see what is actually happening and can make the decision on their own. The Cove is rated PG-13 more than likely for its how brutal the killings are. It also is rated PG-13 so that parents think that it won't be to much a a childish film and actually want to watch it. The film focuses on problems that are happening in the world today and really makes the audience feel like they need to make a difference. (Chapter 15)

The film The Cove has drawn attention to the mass dolphin killings in Japan and has started a petition to stop. I think without the documentary the world would still be the dark about what was going on. The documentary showed me just how far people would go just to make extra, easy money. It's not a film that will make a person feel good, but it is a film that will make them want to make a difference. I give the movie a thumbs up as it made me feel sorry for the animals and made me want to change the way things happen.