Has Anyone seen "The Cove"?
By nancyrowina
@nancyrowina (3850)
July 22, 2010 6:38am CST
I was surprised to find no interest created under Movies for this film as I'm sure it's one that provokes a reaction in everyone who sees it.
It's about a group of activists who are protesting the yearly capture and slaughter of Dolphins in Taiji Japan. It's heavily covered up and the cove they do it in is heavily blockaded by fences and guarded around the time of the event.
They eventually manage to film the slaughter using hidden camera's and what is shown is deeply disturbing. They trap the Dolphins and some selected to be sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars and taken to sea parks, usually female bottle nose Dolphins like "flipper". Then the rest are herded round into the Cove and brutally killed with knives on the end of sticks and spears, the water turning red with their blood. It's awful to watch but if you love Dolphins and have ever wanted to swim with captive dolphins or considered going to see a Dolphin show you must watch it, as this is where those dolphins come from.
One thing I found most interesting about it is one of the campaigners is the guy who captured and trained the 4 Dolphins that played flipper. After the show was over they died in captivity, the one he liked the most "cathy" apparently committed suicide in his arms (Dolphins can choose whether or not to come up to breathe and she apparently lost the will to live in a tank). He now feels responsible for the whole Dolphin industry as flipper is what made people all want to swim with them and see them doing shows etc, and has devoted his life to freeing as many captive Dolphins as he can and campaigning against Dolphin slaughter.
The thing I didn't like about the film was it focuses on this one town in Japan and doesn't discuss any of the other places where it goes on. In Denmark they have festival the whole towns take part in where they herd the dolphins and whales ashore kill them and then the children of the village run down amongst the bodies of all the slaughtered wales and dolphins. They aren't even trying to cover it up or acting like it's shameful thing they do it openly and are refusing to stop.
3 people like this
5 responses
@AmbiePam (93898)
• United States
22 Jul 10
I've heard a lot about it, and that's why I haven't seen it. I was going to rent it, until I read a detailed review of it by someone who had seen it. I know I would bawl if I saw it. They don't have to convince me of the horror. And I already have enough to cry about it my life without adding this movie to the list. You ever feel like you just have to try to avoid anything extra that might set you off emotionally? Even if it is "just" a documentary. Although I don't think this topic is worthy of a "just". It's a heartbreaking subject.
2 people like this
@nancyrowina (3850)
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22 Jul 10
It reduced me to tears before they even showed the full slaughter at the end, it is a very sad film and shocking that some countries still do this. they claim it's their cultural heritage, I suppose in a way it's like fox hunting was to British people, a minority still wanted to carry on hunting foxes but it was still banned.
2 people like this
@nancyrowina (3850)
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24 Jul 10
It's the same culture wise, but at least the bull kind of has a chance and you sometimes see the bull get the bull fighter (though that's probably rare). Dolphins are defenceless and non aggressive anyway so it seems worse to me. I don't know if I mentioned as well the Dolphin meat is dangerously high in mercury so can't be eaten either, though it is often re-packaged and sold as whale meat. They make most of the money from selling dolphins to sea parks.
@Kashmeresmycat (6369)
• United States
22 Jul 10
I've heard about this movie and I'm afraid I would have to pass on watching it. It would give me nightmares and I have enough nightmares as it is. That is just too cruel and shows that man has not developed much since the caveman days. We were always barbaric and I don't see nothing changing for many, many, many years. Too many people still have the notion that animals are only animals with no feelings, no brains, no use on this earth other than to slaughter for their selfish benefit. It's disgusting to me and makes me want to vomit. I'm not brave enough to watch these types of movies or video's.
2 people like this
@nancyrowina (3850)
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24 Jul 10
The actual slaughter part is quite a small part of the movie at the end, the rest of it is about how they managed to secretly and illegally film it and the Dolphin trade. I would recommend you watch it anyway as it would open your eye's to the truth behind dolphins in captivity and all these swim with dolphins programmes. Unless the dolphins are wild they have come from a place like Taiji.
@Galena (9110)
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23 Jul 10
I haven't seen it yet, and it sounds really very distressing.
however I do beleive that such things are good to see. we need to be fully involved in the world around us, and real knowledge of things that happen can make people care enough to try and change it.
just from what I saw of the trailer on TV, seeing the water run red will have so much more impact on someone than hearing or reading about mass dolphin slaughter.
people need to know, so that they care, and people need to care so that they can create change.
1 person likes this
@nancyrowina (3850)
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24 Jul 10
Most of the film is about the people involved and the trade in dolphin meat (it's really high in mercury so they have to repackage it as whale meat). And the trade in live dolphins for sea parks, though the parts about the slaughter are really distressing. And the way the Japanese seem to understand Dolphins aren't like other animals and fish, they are far more intelligent and are capable of anticipating what is about to happen to them.
@BarBaraPrz (47667)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
22 Jul 10
I've heard about The Cove, but I haven't seen it.
I haven't heard about the Danish festival, though.
1 person likes this
@nancyrowina (3850)
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24 Jul 10
There's a blog post about it here :http://www.oceansentry.org/lang-en/menu-articles/menu-featured-content/311-there-something-rotten-denmark.html
I can remember Greenpeace campaigning about it in the back in the 80's, I was shocked to hear it still goes on.
@celticeagle (168269)
• Boise, Idaho
23 Jul 10
I have had this movie on my Netflix queque for months. It is so popular I can't get near it. Hopefully one of these months I can watch it. I have heard alot about it and the people who filmed it. I am so glad there are activists who have the b_lls to these type of things. It should be documented and people should know about such things. How anyone can do these type of things......well, that should go without sayings, that is in most groups. Thank you for sharing this.
@nancyrowina (3850)
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24 Jul 10
The movie has a website here if you're interested. http://www.thecovemovie.com/
It has more information about what you can do to help and ways you can get the movie, it's even available as a download but I expect you have to pay for it.
1 person likes this
