Western documentaries tend to rely upon the dual tropes of white saviorism and white sympathy to offer myopic approaches to complex interconnected cultural issues. This results in two-dimensional solutions to problems like climate change which tend to overlook marginalized groups that suffer for the global system of white supremacy. Seen as a bargaining tool and voice of […]
On Blackfish and the Understated Influence of Documentaries
“Never capture what you can’t control.” So says the tagline for Blackfish, Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s muckraking new documentary — currently being distributed in select art-house theaters by Magnolia Pictures — which is a stunning indictment of the manner in which SeaWorld has captured and treated wild orca whales over the years. The film could have an enormous impact […]