The Cove

The Cove

2009

Director: Louie Psihoyos

Writer: Mark Monroe

Humanity and what we are capable of is often tested in documentary film. We see rape, murder, crimes, environmental issues, gun control, governmental policy, oppression, depression, and greed.

And then there were the dolphins.

The Cove is about the mass genocide of dolphins outside the town of Taijii, Japan. This film explores why these slaughters are kept secret and how these killings are poisoning people around the world.

Our hero is legendary dolphin-trainer Richard O’Barry, who worked for the television show Flipper for many years, but now spends the remainder of his years helping these beautiful creatures.

“If you aren’t an activist, you’re an inactivist,” O’Barry says.

There was a general buzz around this film, especially revealing the unseen footage of what happens to thousands of dolphins that enter this specific cove.

They are murdered. They are stabbed. They are beaten. They struggle. They die.

The number of deaths: around 23,000 dolphins a year.

In the scene above is the bloody ending to hundreds of dolphins in one afternoon. Notice the colors of the surrounding area: grey rocks, blue boats, green leaves, and red water.

Bloody, red water.

Of course, killing innocent dolphins is wrong. Selling dolphin meat to schools and markets, which contain poisonous mercury is wrong. And why this was all kept a secret is wrong.

But, that’s humanity. We are wrong.

We often believe that the human race is civil and morally just. It’s not. This documentary proves it.

And you can say that’s Japan. But, it’s not. That’s America.

When we slaughter cows for steak dinners at Outback or murder chickens for our Caesar salads at Olive Garden: that’s America.

When we cook burgers on the grill for 4th of July or enjoy ham dinners at Christmas time: that’s America.

All that meat comes from animals. All those animals are murdered. There is pain and suffering. There is blood. There is humanity.

Though, the process needs to change and the regulation needs to improve in Taijii, we are all guilty. This process of murdering animals for food has been going on since the dawn of time.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” – Charles Darwin

Well said.