Whale Wars - Eco-Terrorism as Reality TV
Richard Spilman
Writer, Videographer, and Multimedia Designer
Posted: June 5, 2009 05:25 PM
Tonight begins the second season of "Whale Wars" in which a scruffy band of eco-crusaders, the Sea Shepherds, go to war against the evil whaling ships, by any means necessary. The reviews for the first season were great. Neil Genzlinger of the New York Times writes: "Whale Wars splashes across the increasingly exhausted genre of people-at-work reality series like icy seawater, jolting you awake with a frothy, briny burst of -- well, you get the idea. This is one spunky show."
So what is the problem with "Whale Wars"? The problem is that it is cheap exploitation in praise of what is nothing less than eco-terrorism. It is the glorification of vigilantism on the high seas. And oh, by the way, the Sea Shepherds do almost nothing to protect the whales where they really do need protection.
While "Whale Wars" presents a simplistic case of us against them, the noble environmentalists against the evil whalers, the reality, of course, is not so black and white. By international agreement with the International Whaling Commission, the Japanese were allowed to kill up to a nine hundred minke whales and fifty fin whales in 2007/2008 in the Antarctic ocean for "research purposes." Critics claim that this is thinly disguised commercial whaling. Whatever it may be, minke whales, in particular, are not considered to be particularly threatened. Estimates have placed the minke population in the Southern Hemisphere in the range of 200,000-416,700 whales.
The Sea Shepherds on "Whale Wars" are abolitionist animal rights activists. Read More
Paul Watson is nothing but a terrorist and a pirate. Watching the show, people are led to believe that they are trying to stop some sort of illegal activity, when in fact the whalers are perfectly legal in their action. Attacking whaling ships, however, is not legal anywhere on the planet. Watson was quoted as saying a few years ago that it’s ok to be a terrorist as long as you win. I know there are probably a lot of kids that watch the animal planet channel. Hopefully they won’t grow up thinking this same thing.
Showing posts with label whale wars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label whale wars. Show all posts
Friday, June 12, 2009
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Whale Wars
'Whale Wars' on Animal Planet
By Mary McNamara, Television Critic
It's difficult to begrudge anyone their media savvy in this synergistic age, but there is a level of TV-consciousness in Animal Planet's new weekly docu-series “Whale Wars” that often seems at odds with its dramatic and controversial subject.
The seven-week series, which premieres tonight at 9, follows an anti-whaling "campaign" against Japanese fishing vessels conducted on the high seas by Capt. Paul Watson and his Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Watson, a co-founder of Greenpeace, was kicked out of that organization when his activism was deemed too extreme.
Although it is illegal to kill whales for commercial use, the law allows the killing of 1,000 whales each year for the purposes of research. Watson and his crew consider this a bogus loophole, used by the Japanese as a smoke screen for a purely capitalist enterprise, and they are not content to simply protest and document.
Not surprisingly, many on both sides of the Save the Whales issue consider Watson more terrorist than activist, and the Japanese fishing industry has labeled him a pirate.
Watson may be certain, and persuasive, in his belief that these whales are not dying for research and that research does not justify slaughter, but the fishermen he and his crew are stalking are within the law. Which means the Sea Shepherds are not. Read More
I have heard other parents say to us that their kids watch a lot of the Animal Planet Channel because they thought it was always safe to let the kids watch. Then along comes “Whale Wars”. Paul Watson is a professional pirate engaged in illegal activities and Animal Planet will most certainly paint him in a positive light. And, here is a guess from me, I would imagine that we will also hear about climate change, hunters and maybe even get into the evils of livestock farming on this show.
By Mary McNamara, Television Critic
It's difficult to begrudge anyone their media savvy in this synergistic age, but there is a level of TV-consciousness in Animal Planet's new weekly docu-series “Whale Wars” that often seems at odds with its dramatic and controversial subject.
The seven-week series, which premieres tonight at 9, follows an anti-whaling "campaign" against Japanese fishing vessels conducted on the high seas by Capt. Paul Watson and his Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Watson, a co-founder of Greenpeace, was kicked out of that organization when his activism was deemed too extreme.
Although it is illegal to kill whales for commercial use, the law allows the killing of 1,000 whales each year for the purposes of research. Watson and his crew consider this a bogus loophole, used by the Japanese as a smoke screen for a purely capitalist enterprise, and they are not content to simply protest and document.
Not surprisingly, many on both sides of the Save the Whales issue consider Watson more terrorist than activist, and the Japanese fishing industry has labeled him a pirate.
Watson may be certain, and persuasive, in his belief that these whales are not dying for research and that research does not justify slaughter, but the fishermen he and his crew are stalking are within the law. Which means the Sea Shepherds are not. Read More
I have heard other parents say to us that their kids watch a lot of the Animal Planet Channel because they thought it was always safe to let the kids watch. Then along comes “Whale Wars”. Paul Watson is a professional pirate engaged in illegal activities and Animal Planet will most certainly paint him in a positive light. And, here is a guess from me, I would imagine that we will also hear about climate change, hunters and maybe even get into the evils of livestock farming on this show.
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