The Impact of 'Blackfish'

Documentaries have great power. They are capable of changing habits and lifestyles, or even ruining reputations. Take the award wining documentary Blackfish for example. Blackfish is a film that deals with problems about killer-whale treatment within sea-park corporations like SeaWorld. After the documentary’s initial release in 2013, SeaWorld’s business drastically went downhill. People across the globe began to boycott and speak negatively about the aquatic park. SeaWorld’s ad campaigns attempting to rebut these claims were far from successful, and attendance greatly decreased. SeaWorld experienced a catastrophic 84 percent drop in profits. 

Not only did Blackfish affect the general public, but it had a profound influence on Pixar’s filmmakers as well. The documentary made Pixar rethink the plot for Finding Dory, the long-awaited sequel. It was rumored that some of the characters in Finding Dory would end up in a SeaWorld-like aquatic park, and Pixar didn’t want the film to be controversial in recent light of the opinions presented in Blackfish. They allegedly retooled the ending of the movie, giving the sea animals the choice to leave the marine park when they wished too. Documentary director Louie Psihoyos claimed that when Blackfish was screened at Pixar’s headquarters, it left a deep “impact” on Pixar’s employees. Documentaries have tremendous potential to influence our world.