We just caught a Saturday matinee screening (along with 10 other intrepid souls) of THE COVE, the compelling documentary and eco-action film produced by the Ocean Preservation Society.
The doc follows the filmmakers’ journey to reveal the horror, carnage and death that takes place beginning each fall in a little cove in Japan. The project’s spiritual catalyst is former “Flipper” trainer turned dolphin activist, Ric O’Barry. The film found its creative spark in O’Barry’s quest to halt the exploitation and slaughter of dolphins worldwide, and more specifically, the heinous and barbaric annual bloodbath and murder of helpless dolphins in a tiny cove in the Japanese fishing village of Taiji.
Director Louis Psihoyos and producer Fisher Stevens assemble an “Oceans Eleven”-style team of world-class free divers, underwater sound and camera experts and Watergate-type adrenaline junkies to expose the horror that’s taking place under cover of night in the heavily protected and secretive cove. The film also explores O’Barry’s personal struggle to fight the marine park industry he jump-started back in the 1960′s – which now manifests itself as the cruel capture, imprisoning and slaughter of beautiful dolphins.
As a movie going experience, THE COVE works splendidly as a real-life eco-caper movie. The underlying themes of mercury poisoning, over-fishing, government corruption, greed, national pride and heartless bureaucratic manipulation are all seamlessly integrated into a tight cinematic package. There are many villains, much danger, cool technology and bigger environmental issues to consider, and thankfully, little of the preachiness and talking-head science that makes sitting through most eco-docs an exercise strictly for the converted. Witness the blood red waters of THE COVE and you’ll definitely think twice before gulping down that next order of sushi.
some facts:
The world outlawed commercial whaling in 1986. And yet, dolphin hunts remain legal because, although dolphins and whales are members of he same family and share similar traits of intelligence and self-awareness, so far the members of the corrupt International Whaling Commission have not agreed to protect so-called “small cetaceans.”
Approximately 23,000 dolphins are killed legally each year in Japan. The majority are killed at sea but thousands are killed in dolphin hunts along coastal lagoons and coves. Dolphin hunts also occur in coastal island areas of the South pacific and North Atlantic. Dolphin hunts take place both to capture live dolphins for marine parks and aquariums and to kill dolphins for their meat, despite the fact that the meat often contains toxins, including mercury and PCBs at unhealthy levels, and sells at a very low price.
A live dolphin captured for a marine park show can fetch up to $150,000. A dolphin killed for meat draws about $600.
Dolphins killed in the Taiji hunts include bottlenosed, striped, spotted and Risso’s dolphins as well as false killer whales and short finned pilot whales. Several of these species are considered environmentally threatened.
What can you do? For starters, O’Barry suggests contacting the Obama administration and asking them to stop the dolphin hunts. find more info @ savejapandolphins.org
Bottom line. According to O’Barry,
“First of all, the dolphin entertainment industry is a $2billion dollar industry in the U.S. alone and that is driving these hunts. The solution also has to come from inside Japan, from the Japanese people.”
Unbeknownst to most Japanese citizens, the dolphin hunts and spread of toxic dolphin meat is sanctioned by their government. International attention and protest is needed to stop the practice from continuing in the 21st century.
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I saw it and loved it! I went with my boyfriend and he thought it was great too. Sadly there were only 6 other people watching it us. More people should see it.
I just think the American audience has a hard time paying big bucks to see a doc, even a great one. Definitely a must see. Sadly, it probably won’t be in theaters long.
Dolphins dying at the cove…
In the new documentary The Cove, animal rights activists use hidden cameras to expose a cove in Japan where thousands of dolphins were captured and many slaughtered. Midmorning examines the difficult balance in defending animal rights and acknowledgin…
I just saw The Cove last night and was not surprised by these fishermen and their actions. It reminds me of the cattle industry and some of the act of brutality these used to slaughter cows for the meat market. But this is different and far worse, if you have not seen this film do yourself a favor and watch it. It will change you!
I watched the film tonight and thought it was powerful and important, and I know its intent is to reach a less technical audience, but I thought it really could have been improved with some more scientific data – there is plenty of evidence out there to support their message without going overboard, and they made a couple mistakes like saying that sign language is the same as training signals – the film definitely had a powerful message and a great suspense element, but I wanted to see more. I also wanted to hear about sustainability – 23,000 dolphins per year sounds like a huge number and I imagine this will catch up with populations, but they didn’t give data on sustainable catch limits. It’s also noteworthy that Scott Baker has proven that a large percentage of whale meat in Japanese markets (through the scientific whaling loophole) come from species that are illegal to catch and that Japan has agreed to and claims that it doesn’t catch – according to Tears of the Cheetah, 10% are from forbidden species (mostly endangered), and according to Baker’s university page, an additional 31% of minke whale market products (or possibly all whale market products in Japan? The article was ambiguous) come from a protected stock of unique minke whale. As far as I understand, whaling is no secret in Japan – you can buy “kujira” meat there, which is whale meat. Didn’t mean to write a novel on you here. :) I think it was a good film that could have been improved by telling more of the story.
Hey Kyla,
Great to hear from you. Regarding the film, I understand where you’re coming from — I guess the film turned out to be more of a suspense-driven work rather than completely a documentary, perhaps due to the fact that they were filming under cover. The way the film was made was as central to the film as the content…perhaps this may make it seem off-balance.
Just a thought — a return engagement or guest post would always be welcome:) Stay in touch.
Definitely true! I really enjoyed the suspense element and was pretty amazed to see how much they work to keep this a secret. I hadn’t really thought of that – but yes, the filming methods were key, weren’t they? The killing footage was hard to watch, which is exactly why people need to see it.
I think I would love to write a return post, I’ve been thinking about that lately even though I know I’ve told you before. :) I actually still keep a list of good products to review whenever I run into them. We’ll see what I can put together today!