Lots to say but no time so real quick like, lemme just say this...
PLEASE. Please. Pleeeeeease...
Watch this movie:
At a Glance (from Netflix):
This riveting documentary (winner of the Audience Award at Sundance) follows a group of animal activists to a scenic cove in Taijii, Japan, where they use surveillance equipment to capture footage of a secretive and heavily guarded operation run by the world's largest supplier of dolphins. As the daring group risks their lives to expose the horrifying truths behind the capture of dolphins for the lucrative tourist industry, they also uncover an environmental catastrophe.All I have to say about this movie is... OH. MY. GOD. The Cove is a documentary (that entertains like an action film) about the trade and brutal slaughter of dolphins (~20,000 per year) in Taijii, Japan. Ric O'Barry, the infamous dolphin trainer from the Flipper series turned activist, together with the Oceanic Preservation Society, leads a crew of activists and free divers to expose the dolphin drive hunting and uncover the heart-wrenching atrocities taking place in a secret cove in Taijii.
It is seriously disturbing, and so many people I have told about it just say "I don't want to see that... it's sooo terrible!"
Well shit! That's exactly why people should see this movie! People need to know what is going on in the world because, well, in the words (terribly paraphrased from memory - I apologize) of Ric O'Barry, you can't rely on the governments of the world to change these kinds of moral disasters. Change only happens when enough people are revolted, that said activities become a PR nightmare for the offenders (in this case, Japan) and the perceived "benefits" cease to outweigh the costs.
A snippet of a review from Netflix that I wholeheartedly agree with:
"If The Cove were a fiction film, it would be derided as far-fetched, contrived, even hard to swallow. The fact that it's nonfiction doesn't make it any easier to believe - if only because the footage is so horrifying, the facts so disturbing. It's not that you can't believe it, but that you don't want to - and that's what makes The Cove not only the best film of 2009 thus far, but one of the best documentaries I've ever seen, period."And umm, if you already know all about this, have already seen The Cove, and just want to learn a little more (or spread the word!!!), I seriously recommend checking out SaveJapanDolphins.org. Otherwise, go watch it, please!!! And then let me know what you think :-)
As for the "cheese samich"
... on a lighter note. Joe and I also recently watched "Love and Sex"
It was pretty cute. We liked it. Y'all can decide for yourselves.
At a Glance (from Netflix):
Adam in the movie says something that was kinda interesting.. he says that when couples get old they probably don't say "I Love You" much because it's so jaded, it's like saying "cheese sandwich"
"Love is war, and sex is the battleground in this wry, funny look at contemporary mating and relating. Kate (Famke Janssen) is a magazine writer who discards boyfriends the way some people change shoes. Adam (Jon Favreau) is a serious-minded serial monogamist. When they meet, it's love at first sight -- but staying together may take more than just love and a liberal dose of sex."
...and at some point during the movie Joe said "I cheese samich you"...
...and it was cute...
...and we may have been saying that
...and I like it :-)
Maybe it's because I love cheese so much?
..... hmmm...
Posts
I cannot beleive that dude swimming in the blood. Ewww.
ReplyDeletei'm about to cry just reading this post...i don't know if i can handle it :( i'm going to visit the website & see who i should write, etc. so terrible.
ReplyDeleteNever seen Cove, but as an animal lover (especially dolphins & seals) I think I need to see this ASAP. So very disturbing what people will do for a buck. I'm assuming there is some revenue being generated from the slaughter of course.
ReplyDeleteAND...cheese samich = precious!
@hotchild: I am usually a crier in movies. Heck, I even cried in Homeward Bound!! But with this movie, not the case... it just was so disturbing that it made me angry.. really very angry. Just my experience..
ReplyDeleteI cheese samich dolphin burgers.
ReplyDeleteIn my defense, I feel like you totally set me up for that.
I'll have to see this...I have a weird obsession with doc. films. No matter how disturbing. I'll have to wait until I am in the right mood. It seems like one of those movies you have to be mentally prepared for.
ReplyDeleteOh no I don't think I could sit through the whole thing that looks so sad. It's definitely for a good cause though.
ReplyDeleteI will totally watch it, but I will probably cry. I always cry with sad animal stuff :(
ReplyDeleteJenny - I saw the film last night & so wished I had your phone number to call you, hahaha! It was devastating. I wrote another post about it today & would love to hear your thoughts. We definitely need to do all we can to help Ric & the other activists. Thanks again for blogging about this...
ReplyDeleteI was just over at my friend's family's house over the holidays and they were watching that documentary--it was pretty horrifying, but it was really interesting. I had trouble sitting through it, though, because it was so sad.
ReplyDeleteAward on my blog for you!
ReplyDeleteCan't believe you never heard about the Japanese dolphin cull before. It has been happening for centuries. A lot of Japanese think of dolphins as little more than fish and I know a few Japanese of my age, 40 who have eaten Dolphin, although like the whaling it is always described as for research purposes only.
ReplyDeleteI seem to recall one year in the seventies when the Dolphins attacked the fishermen.
@Toni (since you have no-reply@blogger.com): Well, I have heard about whale and dolphin "hunting" in Japan.. but this is different. They are SLAUGHTERING 23,000 a year in this cove. And it's not purportedly for "research purposes" like it is for the whales. The whales are protected under the IWC commercial whaling ban, but the dolphins ARE NOT (which is bizarre to me) so there is NO INTERNATIONAL RULE protecting dolphins from slaughter.
ReplyDeleteI think Japanese (and much of Asian) culture has total lack of regard for wildlife.. tiger penis soup for food? crushed ivory as an aphrodisiac? etc.
But I DO NOT think the Japanese really think of the dolphin as nothing more than "fish" especially in Taijii where the dolphins are being hunted, for three reasons:
(1) They have a "dolphinarium" just minutes from the Cove, where their "world-renowned" trainers host dolphin shows. People from all around the country come to watch... it's a big act. You can't train fish that way.
(2) Those same trainers are brought to the cove to select the "best and brightest" of the bottlenose dolphins they drive into the cove with sonar.. they are then sold for $150,000 or more to the highest bidder internationally (that is 10 or so a year, the rest of the 20k are slaughtered), including SeaWorld in the US, etc. In fact, Japan is the #1 provider of dolphins for captivity internationally.
(3) People in the big cities like Tokyo, Kyoto, when surveyed, don't regard dolphin as "food" and don't "eat" it. Much dolphin meat (which is considered poor grade, very cheap to buy due to highly toxic levels of mercury) is actually NOT labeled and many people do not know they are eating dolphin.
It does not surprise me that Dolphins have attacked fishermen. And good on them, I say. Dolphins are very intelligent, self-aware even... they can recognize themselves in a mirror!! There are many reports of dolphins saving humans from sharks, drowning, you name it.
Anyway, I guess in summary I did know that dolphins were killed in Japan, but not to this degree. And the documentary The Cove reaveals a lot of tragically compellnig and vitally important information and facts - in a gripping, almost fictional seeming, story - that everyone should hear. Just my opinion.
I see what you are saying Jenny and like you, I can't understand why the IWC doesn't protect Dolphins and Porpoises. After all they are mammals just like whales. The Japanese I know that have eaten Dolphin have all claimed that they didn't know what it was when they ate it, but I am not so sure I believe them. Anyway its just my opinion. My mothers family was one of the largest whaling fortunes in Dundee back in the old days, but that was a long time ago. I like to think they didn't know any better then. Still I think I shall have to see this movie. My favorite Dolphin story is when I was on a large container ship off the west coast of Africa. The Dolphins would herd the flying fish towards the hull of our ship and when they jumped out, the flying fish would stun themselves against the hull and be scooped up by the dolphins - very clever animals. Perhaps the Japanese just kill them because they interfere with their fishing.
ReplyDeleteWell the Cove showed the packages of dolphin meat all unlabeled, so i wouldn't be surprised if they 'didn't know' but of course it's a documentary, so there's an agenda. i just happen to think it's a good one!!
ReplyDeletethat dolphin story is quite incredible :) i am hoping to head out that way soon to do a volunteer project with a girlfriend of mine.
the japanese in the cove made an argument at an icw convention that dolphins interfere with their fishing, and it is no mystery that the fish stocks are depleting, but the argument that dolphins (and not people) are responsible for this.. is totally ludicrous in my books.. just sayin.