Reviewed by Alan Cooper, Cetacea Defence I am not the best person to have been asked to review Tim Gorski's new film 'Slave to Entertainment'. Having played a part in "UK dolphins shows, their downfall" I hate what those places do to my beloved dolphins. Therefore I am prejudiced. Tim's film documents Lolita, an orca or killer whale held prisoner for the last 33 years at a place jokingly called Miami "Sea" Aquarium. The tank is sub-standard even by American marine laws - it measures 35 feet across and a mere 20 feet deep. A community ripped apart Of course whatever the dimension of a tank it couldn't ever compensate for the ocean. Lolita has been alone in that "whale-tub" since her pool companion Hugo died in 1980. Hugo was captured in 1978 from the same pod or community as Lolita, L25, which to this day still swims free in the areas of Puget Sound off the Washington coast. On that fateful day in 1970 at Penn Cove, men with boats and nets brutally ripped an orca community apart. Six young orcas, including Lolita, were captured and sold off to different dolphinariums, including ones in the UK and Japan. During the capture operation another 5 orcas were killed. Only Lolita survives. Orcas are the most socially bonded creatures on earth, and only capture or death can split their matriarchal society. Yet Lolita is alone except for the trainers and 2,000 visitors who pass through her prison each day. In the film there is a crass comment by a "sea" aquarium employee, who states that number and compares it to a small number of people who seek a freedom and a life for Lolita! The aquarium employee proves the point, that as for any educational aspect to a dolphinarium, it can only be an inadvertent study into human arrogance and egoism. Celebrity pressure campaign
My opinion is that ageing facilities like the sea aquarium, or malls that hold dolphins, such as Edmonton in Canada, have pressure applied to them by the big players, Sea World and the "industry", not to enter into dialogue about release, not good for their business. An extraordinary survivor All the efforts to free Lolita have so far failed and sadly unless the owner of Miami Sea Aquarium is hit by a big dose of compassion of the Buddhist Karmic law sort, she seems doomed to die and become another captive statistic. She has incredibly survived 33 years; she is a survivor extraordinaire amongst her kind. What can we all do, before even she succumbs to death in a "bare-concrete tank"? Buy this video, it is a sad, poignant and powerful tale. It includes archival film and stills of capture operations, including Lolita's. Tim Gorski's work not only informs of Lolita's plight but the film is also a tool of education strong enough to prevent anyone wanting to go a dolphin show. As Ric O'Barry advises, "never buy a ticket". HOW YOU CAN HELP LOLITA
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Slave
to Entertainment
The
film includes powerful interviews with ex-dolphin trainers, turned
activists, most notably Ric O'Barry, the man involved in training
the Flipper dolphins used in the popular 60's TV series, which probably
spawned the craze for dolphins in captivity. It includes a good
interview with Jerry Powers, a magazine entrepreneur who organised
a celeb pressure campaign to free Lolita. He even offered to match
the $1million insurance policy on Lolita's life to free her. Why
can't Lolita's owner feel greatness he says; why indeed. Isn't there
a saying, some are born great, some have greatness thrust upon them
and some just remain schmucks!