Movie Review: The Cove
Filed Under (Movie Reviews) by maida on 01-07-2010
Well, my kiddo finally went to bed on time tonight and I had the opportunity to sit down and watch The Cove. Finally! It’s been on my mind for a while to see it, so my husband Netflix-ed it for me… weeks ago. I’m happy to scratch it off my list.
For those who have not heard about it, The Cove is a documentary about the dolphin slaughter that takes place in Taiji, Japan every year from September through March. Some of the “better quality” dolphin are caught and sold to aquariums, swim-with-a-dolphin type exhibits and the like, but most are slaughtered for their meat. The film goes into detail about how they are caught (essentially they are herded into “the cove” and then it is netted off), the laws and such surrounding whale and dolphin slaughter and how it’s been able to continue despite virtually the rest of the world being opposed to it, and it presents crazy scientific data on how contaminated the dolphin meat actually is. Remember, the higher up the food chain you eat, the more tainted the food is. Basically, this documentary is like Whale Wars for dolphins in that it exposes an industry that most of us have no idea even existed. I happen to love Whale Wars and I did enjoy watching this film as well.
It’s seriously a great film, not too bloody and definitely worth seeing. At the very least, it’s an important topic to be informed about as it not only presents the serious issue of dolphin slaughter, but also puts into perspective the toll that humans are taking on the ocean. Even if you have serious problems watching animals being injured or killed, I think it’s definitely something you can get through without a major emotional meltdown. Take it from me… Santa brought me the Disney film Bambi when I was about 5 years old. I watched it that Christmas morning and have never seen it since. Traumatized for life! (And on a side note, Emma has been asking if she can see it and I’ve been gently trying to explain to her that Bambi’s mom dies and that it might be too sad, but yet she keeps asking. Maybe it’s a good one to watch so that she will really understand why we don’t eat animals? I dunno. I can sense that it’s a whole can-o-worms that I don’t really want to deal with right now.)
From watching this film, I have come to the realization that I can never visit places that house wild-caught animals. I had never really thought about it before, but now I know that I will never, ever visit places like Sea World or take part in swimming with any kind of marine mammal where I have to pay money to participate in such an activity. Now, how are animals at zoos acquired? Can anyone shed light on that for me? I always though zoos were pretty okay, but now I’m questioning that assumption.
And because I can’t leave well enough alone, I can’t help but wonder just how many people involved in the making of this film are vegetarian and/or vegan. Anyone know? I know that the crew of Whale Wars eats a vegan diet while at sea, which makes me curious about the makers of The Cove. How crazy would that look if you’re involved in a documentary opposed to the slaughter of one animal for food while you continue to eat others? It would make no sense. Likewise, how could anyone oppose the slaughter of dolphin for food while supporting the slaughter of cows, chickens, or pigs? It’s an interesting point to consider because the message of The Cove is much bigger than just dolphin slaughter.
An article that I linked to above has one of the best quotes:
The fishermen, who consider dolphins just big fish, like tuna, are bewildered that anyone would find this cruel, dubbing the weekend protestors ‘extremists.’ “If you walked into an American slaughterhouse for cows it wouldn’t look very pretty either,” says one, who identifies himself only as Kawasaki. “The killing is done in the open here so it looks worse than it is.” Most are descended from families that have been killing and eating the contents of the sea around Taiji for generations and reject arguments that dolphins are ‘special.’ Says Kawasaki: “They’re food, like dogs for the Chinese and Koreans.”
Exactly right. Just because it’s not culturally accepted around the world as a food source, does that mean it’s wrong? There’s the saying: “if slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.” If everyone could visibly see exactly how “food” gets from the field/CAFO to their plates, I have an that vegans wouldn’t be the minority.
I’ve been wanting to watch The Cove, but haven’t because I fear having the emotional breakdown which you speak of. I bought Earthlings more than a year ago and it’s still sitting in its original packaging somewhere on my shelf. I was sobbing during the slaughter scenes in Food, Inc., so I’m not sure what I was thinking when I bought Earthlings. I’m guessing the graphic scenes in The Cove is somewhere in between those in Food, Inc. (which were admittedly not very graphic) and those in Earthlings (of which I’ve only seen clips)? I stopped watching Whale Wars, too, because I was traumatized every time they showed the whaling ships catching a whale. I admit it, I’m a total wuss!
Hi Jen, I’ve seen enough slaughterhouse/factory farm/leather & fur farm videos that I think I’m somewhat desensitized now. When I first went vegetarian almost 10 years ago, I can remember being heartbroken and having several emotional breakdowns when I learned where my “food” was coming from. Now, I don’t get so upset watching those types of videos because I sort of know what to expect already and it just reaffirms why I choose to live the way I live and eat the way I eat. Sometimes I need to be reminded about that to keep on the right track. I haven’t watch Earthlings in it’s entirety only because I don’t have a copy (I’ve seen the first part online, but can’t sit at my computer long enough to finish it). Whale Wars also doesn’t bother me, only because it seems that they spend most of their time at sea and not so much of it actually engaging the whalers. LOL
The Cove may be too much for you when they show the actual dolphin slaughter, but that aspect of the film is actually very brief. The film focuses on why and how the dolphins are caught (and goes into a lot of detail into the performance aspect of it), talks a lot about the high mercury content of the dolphin meat, shows some scenes of Japanese people in major cities having no clue that this slaughter actually happens, etc. In the town where the dolphin capture/slaughter happens, there’s a lot of secrecy surrounding it. Just to capture the infamous cove and scenes of slaughter, the filmmakers had to hide cameras and microphones inside of rocks. So, there’s a lot more to the film than the slaughter which isn’t shown until almost the very end. If you watch it, you could always skip that part (you’ll know it’s coming when you see the fishermen on the beach talking about their experience in killing dolphin and whales– that’s right before they go out into their boats). And since the dolphin are in the water, all you really see is them jabbing sticks into the water and the blood afterwards. Really, it isn’t too graphic… but if Food Inc. was too much for you, maybe you should just skip the bloody part.
Come back and let me know what you thought of the film once you’ve seen it.