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255 reviews for:
Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, Seaworld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish
Howard Chua-Eoan, John Hargrove
4.22 AVERAGE
255 reviews for:
Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, Seaworld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish
Howard Chua-Eoan, John Hargrove
4.22 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
I was expecting a rebuttal to Blackfish, another perspective, but discovered quickly that that wasn't the case. The book was riveting, told by a veteran Seaworld trainer. He told of the good, the bad, and the ugly. I felt his pain when he chose to leave the whales. My heart is still pounding from the story of his underwater encounter with Splash. Intense!
Parts of this were fascinating. It's amazing what a whale can be taught to do!
I've read this book before and absolutely loved it. Blackfish is my favorite documentary (and honestly one of my favorite movies in general), and I very briefly went through a period where I was OBSESSED with media revolving around orcas in captivity. Revisiting this book after that feverish obsession has waned - and after the Blackfish and the captivity controversy zeitgeist has ended - has changed my feelings somewhat towards this book.
Let me start by saying the information contained in this book and illustrated by the movie Blackfish (two pieces of media that it's hard to separate, even for this review) is no less relevant today despite addressing issues that have been effectively tackled by legislature since its release. SeaWorld ended its breeding program in 2017, and due to previous laws about capturing wild orcas, the current generation of SeaWorld whales will be the company's last. That said, telling the story of this battle for animal rights is still important because countries outside of America still operate without the restrictions of similar laws. Additionally, when we become too complacent about tragedies like this, we run the risk of repeating these cruelties in the future. Perhaps orcas are no longer in danger of a captive existence in America, but what about the many other beautiful, complicated creatures we share the planet with? Although orcas are the primary focus of both this book and Blackfish, both pieces also touch on the negative effects of captivity on seals, dolphins, and other marine life. Even with the end of the Orca Era at SeaWorld, the treatment and rights of animals in captivity remains an important issue, one that we shouldn't lose sight of because of the victories won for orcas.
In this book, Hargrove's emotional recollection of his time as a trainer is simply devastating. Anyone who has ever had a pet can relate to the intense attachment we form with the animals in our lives. Whether we have a dog or a cat or an 8,000 lb orca, we love the animals in our care. We feed them, play with them, learn (to an extent) to decode their languages and emotions. We look into their eyes and see the soul staring back, and we connect to that. I can't even imagine the pain of dedicating your life to animals that you love but never truly own, of caring for animals while unintentionally doing them incredible harm. Hargrove's struggles to reconcile his training, his beliefs, and his lived experiences with and observations of the orcas is heartbreaking. This memoir, unlike the movie Blackfish, focuses less on the science and history of orca captivity and instead looks at the lived reality of those involved with their imprisonment (to use a metaphor extensively applied by Hargrove in this book). Hearing Hargrove's tender memories of working with his favorite orcas - Takara and her mother Kasatka - mixed with the chilling recollection of near-misses and the gruesome reality of working with dangerous animals evokes an emotional response that is almost impossible not to respond to. When I re-watch Blackfish, there are moments when the editing seems melodramatic and overblown; when I re-read Hargrove's work, I was quietly devastated all over again.
I related so much to Hargrove on a personal level - he was a gay kid who grew up in a conservative area, who dreamed of becoming a SeaWorld trainer for his entire childhood. His coming-of-age and acceptance of himself is therefore intimately tied to his career as a trainer, making it even more difficult for him to leave his job behind when he could no longer tolerate the abuses inherent in it. My first declared major in college was marine biology; when I was younger, I would watch the show Whale Wars and fantasize about one day working with the activists that fought to stop illegal whaling around Japan. (In fact, I was so enamored with this show and future career that I frequently timed my showers as a kid, as the crew on Whale Wars mentioned how water usage on the ship was restricted to 3 minute intervals.) Ultimately, I was not able to pursue my dream the way Hargrove was, but I can empathize with and support his journey, celebrating his triumphs and mourning his losses as the child who once adored SeaWorld and its mission as much as Hargrove had.
After finishing this book again and rating it here, I wanted to see if Hargrove was still active as an animal rights advocate today. Searching his name brought me to the video released around the time his book was published, of an intoxicated Hargrove repeatedly using a racial slur in a filmed conversation. I am honestly surprised I had not seen this video before, when I first read the book and was feverishly looking for similar books and documentaries on the issue. Although Hargrove has since addressed the video, apologizing for the language he used and acknowledging that such casual racism is never acceptable, seeing this video has fundamentally changed the way I perceive this book. I saw Hargrove as someone who was used to feeling trapped and voiceless as a gay man in conservative Texas, someone who took this experience and used it to advocate for other trapped and voiceless beings. To see that he harbored such hatred and ignorance even as an adult (the video was from 2010, 5 years before the publication of his book and 2 years prior to his resignation at SeaWorld, though the video did not start circulating until 2015) really taints this book for me. How can a man claim such empathy for orcas when he can't even extend that empathy to his fellow humans? It was shocking and disappointing to see; as a white woman, it is not my place to forgive Hargrove for his transgressions, but I do truly hope he has since grown and unlearned his racism.
Ultimately, I decided to leave the rating at 5 stars, which I had given the book prior to seeing the video of Hargrove. His story, especially the deeply personal details about his relationships with the orcas, still resonated with me. As an animal lover (and someone particularly interested in marine mammals), Hargrove's narrative is moving, relatable, and truly satisfying (in a bittersweet way) to read. That said, I am not sure I will ever be able to revisit this book again with the same eyes. Like my memories of visiting SeaWorld as a child, it may live in my mind as something truly magical - with darkness lurking just beneath the surface.
Let me start by saying the information contained in this book and illustrated by the movie Blackfish (two pieces of media that it's hard to separate, even for this review) is no less relevant today despite addressing issues that have been effectively tackled by legislature since its release. SeaWorld ended its breeding program in 2017, and due to previous laws about capturing wild orcas, the current generation of SeaWorld whales will be the company's last. That said, telling the story of this battle for animal rights is still important because countries outside of America still operate without the restrictions of similar laws. Additionally, when we become too complacent about tragedies like this, we run the risk of repeating these cruelties in the future. Perhaps orcas are no longer in danger of a captive existence in America, but what about the many other beautiful, complicated creatures we share the planet with? Although orcas are the primary focus of both this book and Blackfish, both pieces also touch on the negative effects of captivity on seals, dolphins, and other marine life. Even with the end of the Orca Era at SeaWorld, the treatment and rights of animals in captivity remains an important issue, one that we shouldn't lose sight of because of the victories won for orcas.
In this book, Hargrove's emotional recollection of his time as a trainer is simply devastating. Anyone who has ever had a pet can relate to the intense attachment we form with the animals in our lives. Whether we have a dog or a cat or an 8,000 lb orca, we love the animals in our care. We feed them, play with them, learn (to an extent) to decode their languages and emotions. We look into their eyes and see the soul staring back, and we connect to that. I can't even imagine the pain of dedicating your life to animals that you love but never truly own, of caring for animals while unintentionally doing them incredible harm. Hargrove's struggles to reconcile his training, his beliefs, and his lived experiences with and observations of the orcas is heartbreaking. This memoir, unlike the movie Blackfish, focuses less on the science and history of orca captivity and instead looks at the lived reality of those involved with their imprisonment (to use a metaphor extensively applied by Hargrove in this book). Hearing Hargrove's tender memories of working with his favorite orcas - Takara and her mother Kasatka - mixed with the chilling recollection of near-misses and the gruesome reality of working with dangerous animals evokes an emotional response that is almost impossible not to respond to. When I re-watch Blackfish, there are moments when the editing seems melodramatic and overblown; when I re-read Hargrove's work, I was quietly devastated all over again.
I related so much to Hargrove on a personal level - he was a gay kid who grew up in a conservative area, who dreamed of becoming a SeaWorld trainer for his entire childhood. His coming-of-age and acceptance of himself is therefore intimately tied to his career as a trainer, making it even more difficult for him to leave his job behind when he could no longer tolerate the abuses inherent in it. My first declared major in college was marine biology; when I was younger, I would watch the show Whale Wars and fantasize about one day working with the activists that fought to stop illegal whaling around Japan. (In fact, I was so enamored with this show and future career that I frequently timed my showers as a kid, as the crew on Whale Wars mentioned how water usage on the ship was restricted to 3 minute intervals.) Ultimately, I was not able to pursue my dream the way Hargrove was, but I can empathize with and support his journey, celebrating his triumphs and mourning his losses as the child who once adored SeaWorld and its mission as much as Hargrove had.
After finishing this book again and rating it here, I wanted to see if Hargrove was still active as an animal rights advocate today. Searching his name brought me to the video released around the time his book was published, of an intoxicated Hargrove repeatedly using a racial slur in a filmed conversation. I am honestly surprised I had not seen this video before, when I first read the book and was feverishly looking for similar books and documentaries on the issue. Although Hargrove has since addressed the video, apologizing for the language he used and acknowledging that such casual racism is never acceptable, seeing this video has fundamentally changed the way I perceive this book. I saw Hargrove as someone who was used to feeling trapped and voiceless as a gay man in conservative Texas, someone who took this experience and used it to advocate for other trapped and voiceless beings. To see that he harbored such hatred and ignorance even as an adult (the video was from 2010, 5 years before the publication of his book and 2 years prior to his resignation at SeaWorld, though the video did not start circulating until 2015) really taints this book for me. How can a man claim such empathy for orcas when he can't even extend that empathy to his fellow humans? It was shocking and disappointing to see; as a white woman, it is not my place to forgive Hargrove for his transgressions, but I do truly hope he has since grown and unlearned his racism.
Ultimately, I decided to leave the rating at 5 stars, which I had given the book prior to seeing the video of Hargrove. His story, especially the deeply personal details about his relationships with the orcas, still resonated with me. As an animal lover (and someone particularly interested in marine mammals), Hargrove's narrative is moving, relatable, and truly satisfying (in a bittersweet way) to read. That said, I am not sure I will ever be able to revisit this book again with the same eyes. Like my memories of visiting SeaWorld as a child, it may live in my mind as something truly magical - with darkness lurking just beneath the surface.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
Audiobook is the way to go for this book, written by John Hargrove, a former SeaWorld trainer. I loved (that's not a great word for it) Blackfish when it came out many years ago, and this book was also great. It was a more in depth take on John's personal experience becoming a SeaWorld trainer, and more details of the whales he worked with and how that shaped his life, and how their lives were.
There is some great information in here, orca facts I'd have never known before. I would definitely recommend this if you are an ocean lover, whale lover, conservationist, or just wanting to learn more about orcas in captivity (something I wish we never had to talk about).
There is some great information in here, orca facts I'd have never known before. I would definitely recommend this if you are an ocean lover, whale lover, conservationist, or just wanting to learn more about orcas in captivity (something I wish we never had to talk about).
i honestly loved this so much, it has a perfect balance of scientific information and heart wrenching stories and really delves deeper into the truth behind seaworld that blackfish started.
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death
Minor: Drug abuse, Homophobia
I love the documentary Blackfish, so I was excited to read this book to learn more on the subject. Growing up in southern California, I went to SeaWorld a lot as a child with no idea what was really going on there. This book sheds a light on the horrors these whales experience while highlighting their amazing intelligence.