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255 reviews for:
Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, Seaworld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish
Howard Chua-Eoan, John Hargrove
4.21 AVERAGE
255 reviews for:
Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, Seaworld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish
Howard Chua-Eoan, John Hargrove
4.21 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
John Hargrove is a former trainer of orcas who worked at SeaWorld, which was his dream since he was a little boy.
While learning to work with killer whales, moving up on the ladder and befriending his favourite whales, he seemed blind and/or too inexperienced for things that didn't seem right.
He idiolised the animals but slowly saw more and more practices that hurt them: the shallow small pools, the boredom they suffered, the putting together of animals that were aggressive towards each other, the constant and too young breeding of the females...
After the downplaying from SeaWorld of multiple incidents, his faith in the company took an extra hit.
The book is well written and offers a unique behind the scenes look of a company that cares more about money than the well-being of their workers and animals. John Hargrove will never call himself an activist, but at least became an advocate for the beings he loves.
While learning to work with killer whales, moving up on the ladder and befriending his favourite whales, he seemed blind and/or too inexperienced for things that didn't seem right.
He idiolised the animals but slowly saw more and more practices that hurt them: the shallow small pools, the boredom they suffered, the putting together of animals that were aggressive towards each other, the constant and too young breeding of the females...
After the downplaying from SeaWorld of multiple incidents, his faith in the company took an extra hit.
The book is well written and offers a unique behind the scenes look of a company that cares more about money than the well-being of their workers and animals. John Hargrove will never call himself an activist, but at least became an advocate for the beings he loves.
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Painful insight. Far more detailed than Blackfish in terms of orca behavior, species information, Seaworld attacks, and trainer-orca interaction. Very interesting from a behavioral perspective, very sad from every others.
challenging
informative
sad
slow-paced
Lazy Researcher Review:
SeaWorld is depressing Jurassic Park except the Whales haven't figured out how to open the cages, walk out and devour everyone yet.
The Hubris! He never liked being called an "entertainer" at Seaworld and learning the dance steps. Newsflash buddy you were a MFking entertainer, no better than a circus ringmaster terrorizing the animals into performing.
I started out kinda mad at the author but he kept me engaged the entire time. He still has an issue with self-importance like he really wants us to be in awe of him and his achievements at SeaWorld and applaud his subsequent decision to go against SeaWorld and open his eyes to see whale captivity as the torture it actually is. Okay Hargrove, took you long enough - here's your pat on the back HOWEVER when you were in your 20s climbing the ranks, working in that fishbowl, looking into the eyes of these animals - you were no longer a "kid" to be an active participant in the cruelty and then blame it on naivete of youth.
Self-importance can coexist with being knowledgeable and an expert because he is an expert and knowledgeable but he also comes off as desperate for praise.
Captivity is always captivity, no matter how gentle the jailer.
Giving any kind of instruction to a whale is ludicrous to me. Now put it in captivity and it's constantly bossed around by essentially a tiny prey on 2 legs to do tricks like cute dogs for an audience other tiny prey and then we wonder why they become depressed.
Very early on, he says these are beings as much as humans are beings. THEN WHY were you perpetuating an industry that keeps these BEINGS in captivity when the whole ocean is their home and now they're basically chained in a bathtub to perform for hairless apes??? I don't care about Hargrove's redemption arc, he reaped the benefits of his career right up until he decided he was ready to move away and of course money was involved even as he advocates for whales.
Hargrove is as much an opportunist as the Orca Whales - he weighed the pro's and cons and balanced the books - be on this side of the debate, get a documentary, book deals, adoration OR stick with SeaWorld as the world turns against it.
"We were dedicated to working and performing with the whales; and we steadfastly believed we were doing what was best for the orcas" - what's best for the orcas is to be free. Indisputable fact
Rabbithole Worthy or Nah?:
Well I ended up watching Blackfish so I'd say pretty much a rabbithole.
I hate everything this guy represented in the past. His whole career is "captivating" because it was manufactured decades before his birth to be this magical myth by literally capturing creatures not even meant to be in close proximity to us from the moment we evolved out of the water and decided to dwell land.
Snore inducing or Willing All-nighter :
SeaWorld and all Whale theatre shows have perverted the bond between ocean and humans. Y'all are not the Whalerider of our time, you have not been chosen by nature - you perverted nature. So yeah, willing all-nighter - I was fired up and pissed off.
Spotlight on Theorists/Quotes/Concepts:
□"If you have a question about orcas, frame it as if you were asking about people." (Dr Ingrid Visser)
□"SeaWorld’s corporate marketing strategy turned the orcas into the pandas of the sea, commercial and cuddly, with little hint of the complexities of killer whales and the effects of confinement on them." (I hate SeaWorld)
Significant EVENTS : Toooo many
■Tilikum and Dawn Brancheau, 2010
■SeaWorld The facilities unchanged since 1960s.
😡Shamu's capture, trauma and death 6 years into captivity. 6 years
😡The Capture of Namu😭and subsequent drowning
😡The Capture of Moby Doll. Sam Burich can rot in hell.
😡Griffin Orca-Capturing Business.
■Orca Sleep schedules: they should not be sleeping alone FFS
■The Hydro Hop is NOT natural for Orcas so noooo I don't find it fascinating.
■Takara banged on the gate because she wanted to be free c'mon it's not rocket science.
■The Bridge: A trainer's whistle
OVERALL:
Honestly I found it fascinating in a very upsetting way. It's wrong. SeaWorld shouldn't exist. Whale-Trainer🙄 man GTFOH with that job. No. They're no better than the Quaker Whalers who destroyed whole genetic lines of whales and other creatures. At least the whales massacred in that era didn't have to endure years and years of captivity and performances. It's lose lose lose SeaWorld is the bowels of hell.
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 NonFiction (Humanities:Memoir) books by 2025
SeaWorld is depressing Jurassic Park except the Whales haven't figured out how to open the cages, walk out and devour everyone yet.
The Hubris! He never liked being called an "entertainer" at Seaworld and learning the dance steps. Newsflash buddy you were a MFking entertainer, no better than a circus ringmaster terrorizing the animals into performing.
I started out kinda mad at the author but he kept me engaged the entire time. He still has an issue with self-importance like he really wants us to be in awe of him and his achievements at SeaWorld and applaud his subsequent decision to go against SeaWorld and open his eyes to see whale captivity as the torture it actually is. Okay Hargrove, took you long enough - here's your pat on the back HOWEVER when you were in your 20s climbing the ranks, working in that fishbowl, looking into the eyes of these animals - you were no longer a "kid" to be an active participant in the cruelty and then blame it on naivete of youth.
Self-importance can coexist with being knowledgeable and an expert because he is an expert and knowledgeable but he also comes off as desperate for praise.
Captivity is always captivity, no matter how gentle the jailer.
Giving any kind of instruction to a whale is ludicrous to me. Now put it in captivity and it's constantly bossed around by essentially a tiny prey on 2 legs to do tricks like cute dogs for an audience other tiny prey and then we wonder why they become depressed.
Very early on, he says these are beings as much as humans are beings. THEN WHY were you perpetuating an industry that keeps these BEINGS in captivity when the whole ocean is their home and now they're basically chained in a bathtub to perform for hairless apes??? I don't care about Hargrove's redemption arc, he reaped the benefits of his career right up until he decided he was ready to move away and of course money was involved even as he advocates for whales.
Hargrove is as much an opportunist as the Orca Whales - he weighed the pro's and cons and balanced the books - be on this side of the debate, get a documentary, book deals, adoration OR stick with SeaWorld as the world turns against it.
"We were dedicated to working and performing with the whales; and we steadfastly believed we were doing what was best for the orcas" - what's best for the orcas is to be free. Indisputable fact
Rabbithole Worthy or Nah?:
Well I ended up watching Blackfish so I'd say pretty much a rabbithole.
I hate everything this guy represented in the past. His whole career is "captivating" because it was manufactured decades before his birth to be this magical myth by literally capturing creatures not even meant to be in close proximity to us from the moment we evolved out of the water and decided to dwell land.
Snore inducing or Willing All-nighter :
SeaWorld and all Whale theatre shows have perverted the bond between ocean and humans. Y'all are not the Whalerider of our time, you have not been chosen by nature - you perverted nature. So yeah, willing all-nighter - I was fired up and pissed off.
Spotlight on Theorists/Quotes/Concepts:
□"If you have a question about orcas, frame it as if you were asking about people." (Dr Ingrid Visser)
□"SeaWorld’s corporate marketing strategy turned the orcas into the pandas of the sea, commercial and cuddly, with little hint of the complexities of killer whales and the effects of confinement on them." (I hate SeaWorld)
Significant EVENTS : Toooo many
■Tilikum and Dawn Brancheau, 2010
■SeaWorld The facilities unchanged since 1960s.
😡Shamu's capture, trauma and death 6 years into captivity. 6 years
😡The Capture of Namu😭and subsequent drowning
😡The Capture of Moby Doll. Sam Burich can rot in hell.
😡Griffin Orca-Capturing Business.
■Orca Sleep schedules: they should not be sleeping alone FFS
■The Hydro Hop is NOT natural for Orcas so noooo I don't find it fascinating.
■Takara banged on the gate because she wanted to be free c'mon it's not rocket science.
■The Bridge: A trainer's whistle
OVERALL:
Honestly I found it fascinating in a very upsetting way. It's wrong. SeaWorld shouldn't exist. Whale-Trainer🙄 man GTFOH with that job. No. They're no better than the Quaker Whalers who destroyed whole genetic lines of whales and other creatures. At least the whales massacred in that era didn't have to endure years and years of captivity and performances. It's lose lose lose SeaWorld is the bowels of hell.
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 NonFiction (Humanities:Memoir) books by 2025
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
Loved Blackfish, love this book. Well, obviously I don’t “love” the topic but I do love that light has been shed on this topic. My favorite quote/take away was “captivity is always captivity no matter how gentle the jailer”.