Intrinsic Ethos
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Intrinsic ethos is how the author creates trust within the speech
Blackfish builds intrinsic ethos by educating the audience on the history of whale attacks in captivity, instead of just viciously attacking SeaWorld. Cowperthwaite, the director of Blackfish, goes back in history and uses real news reports and footage to show that the mistreatment of captive whales has lead to the deaths of trainers long before SeaWorld began. By getting this view into the past, the audience is able to see that this issue is old news. Supporting the claim that SeaWorld is outwardly putting its employees and animals in danger, despite their previous knowledge (video 1). The use of real news footage, and clips of the violent incidents that have occurred during SeaWorld performances, also
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gives credibility to the documentary because it shows the legitimacy of the stories that are being retold. For example, when an audience listens to reports on the tragic story of Dawn Brancheau's death, are they more likely to believe the story in figure 1 a report from credible news station "abc" or figure 2, a tweet from the Shamu twitter page? (refer to labeled pictures below) By using clips from real news reports, like this one from "abc", the content inside of the documentary automatically becomes more trustworthy and legitimate. This not only creates intrinsic ethos within the work, but gives support to the claim that the author is making.
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SeaWorld killer whale attack in 1999, before the death of Dawn Brancheau (video 1)
Ineffective use of ethos: An example of how Blackfish does a poor job of creating effective ethos is the way alternative views are treated during the documentary. An important part of creating effective intrinsic ethos is demonstrating fairness and courtesy to alternative views. In this case, the views of SeaWorld. Because it is a documentary against the actions of SeaWorld, the entertainment company is depicted as the antagonist and everything said by them is depicted as a lie. If done correctly, a director or writer would be able to make his or her point while still taking into consideration the views and opposition of others.
Boycott SeaWorld Slavery Image
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Poster in favor of SeaWorld
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Movie poster of Blackfish
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