Pretty much everyone who knows me knows that I am in no way sports inclined. I obviously have a love of fitness, including yoga, running, dumbbell tossing and more, but sports are so not my thing. I’m not competitive so that’s why I was a dancer growing up; not quite the contact sport like soccer or basketball. ::shudder::
So while others where collecting baseball cards or other sports-related paraphernalia I was sifting through my animal trading cards. I remember nights sitting at my desk looking through facts and figures on a broad range of representatives in the animal kingdom. My very favorite animal for a long time was the beluga whale. The name itself is highly enticing but it’s smooth, ethereal coloration, round head and relatively compact body made it an instant classic.
In fact, whales still fascinate me to this day. My answer to “which animal would you most like to be” is almost always whale. (Whenever I’m feeling especially like a badass I might say tiger or something equally intense.) They are just so majestic and serene and I would really like to know what it feels like to be that humongous.
I would not, however, like to know what it feels like to be that huge and trapped in a glorified bathtub for the rest of my life. Blackfish, the recent documentary darling, gives us a frightening glimpse into what that life is a like, though, and it is a grim picture. The movie certainly makes SeaWorld look like the Bad Guy, but dang, the evidence sure is damning. I was moved by what gentle giants Orca whales are and their naturally calm disposition in the wild, far away from captivity. That seems to be the key phrase since evidence shows that whales develop harmful psychoses when trapped for nearly their entire adult lives and in fact live to half their projected life expectancy when caged.
I know I won’t be stepping foot into a SeaWorld, oh, ever again (I’m not even sure I’ve ever been there… Growing up in Kansas doesn’t really provide for much whale watching), because it’s filled with liars and frauds. As you can tell I’m a bit worked up over it, but the documentary is fascinating and heart-breaking. Variety called it a “psychological thriller” and that’s such a spot-on descriptor. You can watch it for free on Netflix or download it from iTunes, but do beware that some parts are pretty graphic and there is detailed footage of attacks on humans.
Have you already seen it? What did you think? Are you also more in love with whales than ever?
A Broad At Home 