Blackfish & Supersize Me

Blackfish (2013)

Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite

Topic: 

The documentary is about the effects of taking killer whales out of the wild and keeping them in tiny artificial tanks to train for shows. It informs the audience not only the effects on the whale, but also the workers at sea world. 

Reason for the Documentary:

The documentary is informative, and brings to the audiences attention certain issues that need to be dealt with (in this case, the killer whales being kept as an exhibit and for show). This then means the audience are more aware of the issue, and less people will go to Seaworld, hopefully one day resolving the issue. 

Techniques used:

-Stills of newspaper articles (of the killer whale attacks)

-Photos

-Archive footage

-Interviews (talking heads) - (with people who worked with the animals at the marine park, sea world, family of the people who were killed)

-Animations/models (of the whales in the ocean as this couldn't be caught on tape)

My response:

I thought the documentary served its purpose extremely well, It highlighted the problems, and made me want to do something about the situation. It changed my views towards keeping certain sea life in aquariums, as it really pointed out to me the intelligence of the animals. 

Something in particular that stood out to me was an animated model of the killer whales. When the killer wales were being hunted, the family split up, one half with the babies and the other half to distract the hunters. This was a clever way to make the audience feel sympathy for the whales, and also show us, just how smart they are. 

The documentary was also extremely thrilling throughout, as they had already introduced to the audience at the beginning, that some one was going to get hurt. 

Supersize Me (2014)

Directed by Morgan Spurlock

Topic:

The documentary follows a man named Morgan Spurlock, who's aim is to eat nothing but McDonalds for all three meals a day for a month. From this experiment, he risks bringing harm to his body.

Reason for the Documentary:

He is trying to inform the audience of the health risks that the people of America are causing to themselves by eating so much fast food. He is also doing an experiment to prove his point, and shock the audience from the amount of damage it can do to his body in just one month. 

Techniques used: 

-Vlogged everyday

-Interviews (with doctors, health specialists, people who work at McDonalds, nutritionists)

-Animations/models (to demonstrate things, such as Texas on the map)

-Current footage  (shows us its happening in the present)

-Archive footage

-Stills of newspaper articles, flyers, leaflets etc...

My Response:

I thought the documentary was not only informative and proved his point, but highly entertaining and humorous to watch. By doing this experiment, it already brings curiosity to the audience, as they want to find out really just how much harm can be done from eating fast food on a daily basis. It also brings humour, as Spurlock, who is carrying out the investigation, makes himself the lab rat. 

Its purpose was met, as after watching this documentary, it has highlighted to me that even one fast food product a month isn't recommended, and has made me think twice about eating at McDonalds.