Tag Archive for 'the cove'

SuperForest Presents: Friday Films — The Cove

heather published on April 24, 2010 in art, celebrity, food and zeitgeist. 3 Comments Tags: , .

Hello Superforest! Yes, I know, it’s Saturday not Friday! Alas there was much to be done yesterday so I didn’t get around to posting. My apologies! This week’s film is the Academy-Award winning documentary: The Cove. If you have not yet seen it, I recommend you do. As SuperForester Jackson has been informing us now for months, this film is very important, not only for its work to help save dolphins from being slaughtered, but also for its inspirational qualities. In SuperForester Jackson’s words,

For me, the film was more about how extraordinarily creative and willing to work together humans can be when they feel inspired and feel like what they are doing is right. When people get together to address an injustice, the limits of their strength seems boundless.

The passion with which this group of people complete their task is extremely inspiring and moving. It just goes to show you that when something is that important, the right people will fall into place and work together to make change. I was especially inspired by the Canadian free divers!

From a film perspective, The Cove is really well done. The director, Louis Psihoyos, who is an accomplished photographer, translated his skills and expertise to the screen beautifully and powerfully. Because of the unique situation they were in and the different cameras they used, the film takes on a gritty, quasi-sci-fi quality at points, especially when they are shown through the thermal cameras. The film also expertly cuts stock footage of Ric O’Barry’s past as a dolphin trainer into the film, making Ric more relatable and allowing the audience to understand the true depth of the issues of dolphins in captivity.

Not just about captivity though, the mercury issue is one that resonated with me greatly. I rented this film to finally see it, but also because I needed a break from “foodie films” that I’m often screening for my blog. Little did I know this film would also have a strong message about food regarding the mercury levels in fish. If you watch the special features, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks passionately and eloquently about the issue of mercury and our health. His words have inspired me to eat smaller fish and to look deeper into the issue in the future.

In the end, this film left me saddened, inspired, emotional and energized. If, like me, it took you this long to see The Cove, don’t wait any longer. Go screen it today!

To make it easier for you to read more about SuperForest’s previous discussions about Ric O’Barry and The Cove, I’ve listed SuperForester Jackson’s and SuperForester Carla’s previous posts below:

Why All the Dolphins?

Today is a Very Good Day for Dolphins!

Dolphin Win!

SuperForester Jackson’s Dolphin Rap!

The Dolphin Rap in Japanese!

The Cove Screens in Japan!

SuperForester Jackson meets Ric O’Barry!

You also might want to view this recent PSA, where all the shiny celebrities (including our favourite son, Jason Mraz) lend their voices to the cause:

Love a dolphin today!

SuperForester Heather

Ric O’Barry On Oprah’s Earth Day Special!!!

jackson published on April 22, 2010 in celebrity and zeitgeist. 2 Comments Tags: , , , .

Gooood Morning SuperForest!

A bit of Earth Day news:

If you’ve got a television, the esteemed SuperForester Ric O’Barry is making an appearance on Oprah’s Earth Day show. He’ll be appearing with the team that made the Cove and a few other foxy enviros. Check his sweet self out if you’ve got a telly, otherwise find online later. Click here for more info on Oprah’s Earth Day show.

Yay Ric!

Visit Save Japan Dolphins to find out more about Ric, his work, and the dolphins he loves so dearly.

Another Dolphin Win: “The Cove” Screening in Japan!!!

carla published on October 22, 2009 in celebrity. 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Heyo, SuperForesters!

It goes without saying that Ric O’Barry and his Save Japan Dolphins Coalition have gone through a roller coaster of a ride in regards to The Cove documentary and their brave actions in an attempt to stop the slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan. But as of late, it seems the news they are reporting is increasingly getting more and more positive. And we couldn’t be happier!

On October 21, 2009 (yesterday), The Cove was screened for the first time in Japan at their Tokyo International Film Festival! And as if this wasn’t reason enough to celebrate, director Louie Psihoyos was there (despite the fact that there is a warrant for his arrest) and when he arrived at the Tokyo airport, he pledged to give the town of Taiji profits from any Japanese screening of the film — if the town of Taiji ends the hunt. In addition, he offered to show The Cove movie for free in Taiji, to give the townspeople and local authorities the opportunity to personally judge the merits and accuracy of the film.

Here is a bit of a recent interview he gave Take Part after the Japan screening of the film:

Carolyn Sams: How did The Cove debut at the film festival? What was everyone’s reaction?

Louie Psihoyos: Amazing – and scary. Everyone was in the audience – the mayor of Taiji, Private Space, Komatsu (IWC delegate), along with several suits I imagine were their lawyers. It was a tough crowd to say the least – the exact opposite of preaching to the choir. I was talking to people who were in the movie and to people who had no idea this was happening. For those who had never heard about it, they asked what they could to do help. It really gave me hope that there is a possibility for change. People were really moved, and I heard a lot of clapping.

CS:Was there any negative reaction in the theater?

LP: The mayor of Taiji actually walked out. I think he was too emotional, especially because the audience was reacting favorably to us.

CS: How did it feel to screen to people that are actually in the film?

LP: It was more difficult than making the movie. You’ve made it and now you have to look into the eyes of the people who are doing something horrible. It was honestly one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. But in the end, it was good to face down the people accusing me face to face.

CS: You actually answered questions after the movie to festival goers. How did that Q&A go?

LP: I think there’s definitely a different expectation between screening this to an audience in Japan and an American audience. Civil disobedience is not a part of their culture so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I got some great, really thoughtful questions and many people offering to help. And I also got some tough questions and there were skeptics of course. The skeptics wanted to focus on animal rights, but this isn’t just an animal rights issue. One guy asked me what scientific evidence exists that dolphins are more intelligent then any other animal – while there is plenty of documentation of this, that’s not the point and is ultimately an unwinnable argument.

It’s a human health issue also. And I wanted everyone in the theater to understand that. It’s a human rights film because people need to know that the levels of mercury is off-the-charts toxic. How can anyone argue that eating dolphins is the same as eating cows – dolphins are not safe for human consumption. I mean kids especially should not be eating this meat. I feel like, as a father, I’m giving people the information that the government isn’t.

CS: Is it true you will donate profits from distribution in Japan to the town of Taiji?

LP: Yes, I want people there to know this movie is a love letter and that we don’t want to see the city destroyed over this. We believe they can actually thrive. Any of the profits earned by OPS here in Japan will go to Taiji if they agree to stop the slaughter and using dolphins as entertainment. More money has been made in whale watching than whale hunting, so hopefully this is a way forward for the dolphin hunters.

Amazing!!! To see the way Psihoyos, O’Barry and friends are handling this disturbing and saddening issue with such poise, class, and positivity is something truly incredible to witness.

Cheers,

C

Save Japan Dolphins: An Update and What We are Doing to Help!

carla published on September 26, 2009 in celebrity and zeitgeist. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , .

Pilot Whales

Good afternoon, SuperForest!

We’ve been keeping a close eye on the work of Ric O’Barry and his team’s attempt to stop the annual dolphin slaughter that is featured in The Cove. Being that so much has happened since my first post on this issue, I figured it was time for another update.

As Jackson mentioned before, unfortunately the fishermen did return to the Cove only a few days after the media left. About 100 dolphins and 50 pilot whales were captured but due to a new (and temporary) non-slaughter policy that was put into place, about 30 were taken for captivity while the rest, instead of being slaughtered, were released. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case for the pilot whales which were regrettably killed. The fishermen have tried to dodge the non-slaughter policy by calling them “whales” instead of dolphins but as O’Barry’s team explained, “pilot whale meat has even higher levels of mercury than the other dolphins.” And, of course, the fact remains that pilot whales are part of the oceanic dolphin family Delphinidae.

So the fight isn’t over but Ric O’Barry and his crew are still working hard. Just yesterday, The Cove had its first public screening in Japan! More than 250 journalists from Japan and around the world showed up to watch the film as well as non-governmental organization representatives!

The Cove Screening

This is extremely significant and as Ric O’Barry wrote yesterday:

Only a couple of years ago, I went around to major news media in Tokyo with my Japanese friends, pleading with reporters to cover the story of the Taiji dolphin slaughter. Many reporters told us that they thought it was a very interesting story, but they knew their editors would not run the story. They did not want to upset the Japanese government, and so the media colluded with the government to hide the dolphin slaughter and the dangers of mercury-contaminated dolphin meat.

Wow! To see the developments unfold and the step by step actions people are taking to cease the Taiji dolphin slaughter is very promising. And there is still so much we can do!

Here at SuperForest, we have launched the pro-dolphin media site, “Dolphins are Awesome”. SuperForester Jackson wrote (and performed) his Dolphins are Awesome Rap and soonafter the lovely SuperForester Aiko translated the rap lyrics into Japanese and graciously taught Jackson how to recite it! The plan is to spread this happy dolphin song far and wide and you SuperForesters can help us out by informing others about our actions or by making your own pro-dolphin media and sharing it with us!

In addition, Ric O’Barry has outlined a few more things we can do to take action:

1. Follow his blog: It’s very easy to stay informed with all of the Taiji dolphin developments by reading Mr. O’Barry’s very own blog! He explains the day to day developments and experiences in relation to his visits to Japan.

2. Sign the Petition: You can take a few quick moments to urge President Obama, Vice President Biden and Japanese Ambassador to the United States Ichiro Fujisaki to address this issue and urge the government of Japan to stop the slaughtering of dolphins in Taiji, Japan.

3. Donate: As is often the case, in order for most organizations to stay afloat, they need funding. And being that travels to Japan are very pricey, Save Japans Dolphins accepts any donations, big or small, here.

Once again, we applaud the hard work and dedication of the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition! Slowly but steadily, the dolphin wins are beginning to trickle in and it is an understatement to say that the work of the Save Japan Dolphins coalition is an absolute inspiration!

Love to all,

C

Found Poetry Friday: Kinship w/ LifeI

jordan published on September 25, 2009 in art and zeitgeist. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .
On the 2nd and 4th Friday of every month SuperForester Jordan “rediscovers” a literary gem from the vast treasure trove of an art form that, in our technological age, has become largely under-appreciated and “lost”.

Last night I finally got around to seeing the movie THE COVE — a film that SuperForester Aaron first posted about several weeks ago, and has since inspired such many impassioned posts from Jackson, the creation of the dolphin rap, and the dolphins are awesome website, (them’s a lot of links, all of which beg exploring).

If a great film is one that can not only entertain but also elevate — with the power to profoundly influence, affect, or change the way we see our world, our beliefs and values, and ourselves… then The Cove may just be the best movie of the year.

As this is a Found Poetry post, in honor of the film I bring you not a poem about dolphins (if you know any good ones, please send them my way)… but a poem about the perils of caging anything that needs, that should, that must be free.

THE PANTHER

His vision, from the constantly passing bars,
has grown so weary that it cannot hold
anything else. It seems to him there are
a thousand bars; and behind the bars, no world.

As he paces in cramped circles, over and over,
the movement of his powerful soft strides
is like a ritual dance around a center
in which a mighty will stands paralyzed.

Only at times, the curtain of the pupils
lifts, quietly–. An image enters in,
rushes down through the tensed, arrested muscles,
plunges into the heart and is gone.

—   by Rainer Maria Rilke

If you have never had a profound encounter with non-human life in the wild, I urge you to do so.  Don’t support dolphin shows like Seaworld that promote wild capture. Read J. Allen Boone’s Kinship with All Life.  SaveJapanDolphins.org!

Dolphin Win!

jackson published on September 2, 2009 in celebrity and zeitgeist. 5 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

picture-16(image via imdb)

Good Morning SuperForest!

A huge win today for dolphins and all sea life! As Carla pointed out, apparently the dolphin hunting activities in Taiji have ceased, and the Japanese media is covering the cove intensely. The film and the actions of Ric O’Barry and Co. have achieved a cultural tipping point, and now the entire world is paying attention.

I had mentioned my plans to go to Japan and sing the Dolphin Rap, but now that the show is apparently over, it seems excessive. The plan now is to stay in the USA, translate the Dolphin Rap into Japanese and work to spread it virally. Ramp up the pro-dolphin media campaign in order to keep the momentum going.

That said, if dolphin hunting were to resume, I’d be ready at a moments notice to fly down and spit hot fire. :)

A huge congratulations to Ric O’Barry, the team that made The Cove, and to the people of Japan.

Let’s continue this excitement for conservation and work to extend it to include all sea life.

-Jackson

Richard O’Barry: “Today is a very good day for dolphins!”

carla published on September 1, 2009 in zeitgeist. 5 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

jumping_bottlenose_dolphinsjpg

Today is September 1, 2009. It marks the first day of dolphin slaughter season in Japan and because of this, former dolphin trainer and activist Richard O’Barry traveled to Taiji today with media representatives from all over the world. When they got to the notorious cove from the movie, they were throroughly surprised with what they found…

nothing.

No dolphin killers. No fisherman.

What they did find arriving on the scene was something even better!!

Japanese media! And lots of it!

As told by O’Barry:

…suddenly a camera crew arrived from Japan! And then another! And then still another!

You have to understand that this is SO IMPORTANT. These TV stations have REFUSED to cover the story in Taiji for years and years. NOW, for the first time, they have shown up, with cameras rolling. The head policeman talking with me even said, for the cameras, that the police are not there to support the dolphin killing fishermen. We shook hands, and they left.

As I said, it is a good day for the dolphins. And for me personally, as the police only wanted to talk with me, not arrest me!

The Cove movie led to the strong action by the city of Broome, Australia, in suspending the sister-city relationship with Taiji. So now, the Japanese media are sitting up and listening, for the first time.

And I’m telling them: “This tour is to show journalists the GOOD things about Taiji. You see, with The Cove movie out now, we don’t have to show the BAD things about Taiji. Soon, the whole world will know about the Taiji dolphin slaughter. And all Japanese will soon know about the cover-up that has occurred by the government in refusing to stop mercury-contaminated dolphin meat from being sold to unsuspecting Japanese consumers and children.

But Taiji can change this image of shame, if they want to. I will be telling them that the town of Nantucket used to be the capitol of the whale killing industry in the US. Now, it uses its history of whaling combined with whale-watching to market tourism very successfully. Whales and dolphins are worth more alive than dead. Taiji can do this, too. But the killing has to stop.

Yes, today was a good day for dolphins. Tomorrow, I will take journalists with me around town to show them Taiji. Tomorrow, too, I predict will be a good day for dolphins. Every day that we are here and the fishermen KNOW we are here, will likely mean no boats going out to round up dolphins for the killing Cove.

Yaaaay Richard O’Barry!

Yaaaay Taiji, Japan!

Dolphins are awesome!!!

(To read O’Barry’s full report, please click here!)

Dolphins Are Awesome! The Rap! The Lyrics!

jackson published on August 25, 2009 in art, celebrity and zeitgeist. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

picture-111(image via greenguards)

I realize that my verbage in the Dolphin Rap might be a bit incomprehensible. So here’s the lyrics I’m spitting like hot fire.

“This is Jackson, and today I’d like to talk about…
Dolphins! They are the best.
Look good in a hat. Look good in a vest.
They are magicians! Magic from the sea.
Friend to the whale and friend to you and me.

Dolphins!
(I never saw such a happy fish!)
(I love the way they leap and play!)
And now I’d like to introduce you to my special friend…
(We call him)
Dolphin! Dolphin!
Master of the sea, cause he’s got a masters degree in Oceanography!
Oooooooh!
What more can you say? I mean, that’s basically it, right?
Oop! Oh wait, no. Wait, no. There’s more!

What about the Walrus?!
The walrus is good too, but a dolphin is cuter, has a higher IQ.
Ha ha! Right. You ready for this? I’m gonna drop some science.
Here we go:
The dolphin is warm-blooded! Cares deeply for its young!
But equally important, dolphins know how to have fun!
Fishermen!
You are the best!
So careful with your hooks, so skillful with your nets.
Nets, nets, nets, nets…

A good fisherman knows, that the dolphin is his friend.
Dolphins saving fishermen time and time again.
Now the time has come to return the favor.
Be a dolphin’s hero! Be a dolphin life-saver!

A good fisherman knows, that the dolphin is his friend.
Dolphins saving fishermen time and time again!
Time and time again!

Dolphins!
Dolphins!
Dolphins!

Dolphins are awesome!”

Come join in the fun. Spit some hot fire of your own! We’ll mash it all together and create the world’s longest, biggest, happiest, most internationally collaborative song.

Check out Dolphins Are Awesome!

Love,

Jackson

Dolphins Are Awesome is Live!

jackson published on August 22, 2009 in technology and zeitgeist. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

picture-44

I’ve started a collaborative site at ning called Dolphins Are Awesome!
Here’s the link. Anyone is free to join and upload positive dolphin-related media!

Got a happy song about dolphins? Upload it to Dolphins Are Awesome!
Shot some great footage of wild dolphins frolicking? Upload it to Dolphins Are Awesome!
Written a scathing review of fishing practices worldwide? Uh, sorry… Sadness and anger are not what Dolphins Are Awesome! is about.

Dolphins Are Awesome! is an open-source collaborative site for spreading dolphin love, love, and more love.

Check out Dolphins Are Awesome!

Jackson’s Journal (8/22/09) Dolphins, Dolphins, Everywhere!

jackson published on August 22, 2009 in superforest journal and zeitgeist. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

picture-13(image via flickr user Xavier Bayod)

Gooooood Morning SuperForest!

Last week I posted about seeing the Cove and the powerful and inspirational effect it had on me. It was all thanks to SuperForester Aaron, whose wonderful post inspired me to get my butt to the multiplex.

picture-23

Here’s what has happened since last week:

After seeing the movie, I decided that I had to do something to bring attention to the yearly killing and sale of wild dolphins.

But how?

SuperForest is a positivity blog, and I love it that way… How then to bring positivity and joy to a rather grim subject? How to promote awareness in the hopes of stopping the killing, without being a big ol’ downer?

When in doubt, I try to remember that the most important thing is to sing, and dance, laugh, and fall in love. With that in mind, I contacted SuperForester Aaron and together we hatched a plan:

We decided that instead of protesting, we would teach the children to sing! And dance and sing with them!

The idea is this: We will create a movement, a purely positive one. We will not condemn or disapprove, we will simply be very excited about how awesome dolphins are, and repeat to anyone who will listen that dolphins are awesome.

We will create an epic song! A happy, poppy, pop song about the total radness of the dolphin. And we will ask every creative spark we know to contribute to the song, open-source style.
Like a whale’s song, our tune will be long, complex and totally unforgettable.

We will craft this song together and next month, when the yearly dolphin harvesting begins, we will be in Taiji teaching the song to school children.

Simultaneously, we will have people in the US teaching the song to more children here.

We will create a collaborative, international song, with children of all races and ages singing together a simple message: Dolphins are Awesome.

And we will work with anyone who wants to be involved. The more minds attuned to this issue, the sooner it is resolved. And just to clarify, my issue is not that fishermen in Taiji are harvesting dolphins. The issue is that as humans we need to re-examine how we are treating the species of planet Earth, especially the creatures of the sea, upon whom so many humans depend for nutrition and livelihood.

My hope is that we can create a situation that will be a win for everybody involved. I don’t want to protest, or yell, or picket. I just want to show the world how we can sing and dance and laugh our way to a brighter future together.

I want to befriend these fishermen! I want to befriend everybody involved. And I’d love to help craft a song that was so sweet, so sticky, so smart, and loving that it stuck in everyone’s head.

By promoting awareness instead of condemning action, I feel like we will succeed, and hopefully spread a new meme about what it means to “protest” in this interconnected world. “Pro” means “for” anyway.

I have asked many of my musician friends to have a go at crafting pieces of the Song, and Aaron and I and many others are at work setting the trip up, getting the website up, and remembering to stay positive and compassionate.

Would you like to help? We need so much help. If our idea of positively spreading awareness via music and fun inspires you, and you want to take action, we could use the following things:

Could someone take charge of setting up a collaborative blog or site to aggregate the dolphin-positivity? We need a website that anyone can upload to. A place to piece together the song and also have room for drawings, and videos, and pictures, all supporting our “Dolphins are Awesome” message.

Does anyone have any contacts in Japan? Places to stay. Folks to hang with. Teachers, artists, SuperForesters, Cool cats, poets, musicians, dancers. The more folks involved, the better. If anyone knows of places to stay in Taiji, that would help greatly.

SuperForest is coming to Japan to party for Peace and prosperity!
Join in the fun. It’s the best party going right now.

Exciting times!

-Jackson

dolphin

SuperForester Jackson Begs: Go See “The Cove”

jackson published on August 19, 2009 in food and zeitgeist. 5 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

picture-53

SuperForester Aaron’s impassioned post last week stuck in my head, and when a friend asked me if I’d go and see the Cove, I jumped at the chance to not see it alone.

It is powerful, moving, inspiring. Beyond words.

Go and see the Cove, and then lets figure out the most fun way to stop what is being documented in the film. I for one am a big fan of music. I’m going to try writing a song in Japanese about how dolphins are our friends.

Sayonara and love,

Jackson

The Cove

aaron published on August 12, 2009 in zeitgeist. 5 Comments Tags: , , .
Here at SuperForest, we try to focus on positivity and inspiration.  But last night I saw a movie that shook me to the core and which I feel compelled to share.  The film is called “The Cove“, and is an incredibly alarming expose of illegal fishing and mass dolphin slaughter in Japan.  Here is the trailer.

While the truth and images of what is happening are beyond horrifying, the message of the film and it’s inescapable call to action are important and inspiring.  And for this reason I felt compelled to post, to recommend as many people as possible see this film and spread the message and get involved.
As a teacher, a sailor, and a child raised in the ocean, I have had the fortune on numerous occasions throughout my life to interact with dolphins in the wild. It is not enough to see these beautiful creatures on television… but to actually be in the water with them, to look them in the eye is something immeasurable and profound beyond words.
What is happening in the world’s oceans to dolphins, whales and sharks is a travesty of an enormous scale; the consequences of which we can only begin to understand. And to see what is happening in Japan is nothing short of GENOCIDE. Human or fish, we are all citizens of this fragile earth. And when thousands of dolphins are dying every year, the time for action is no longer a question best left for debate… it is a desperate cry for help. Now. Immediately.
I know you’re slates are beyond full. I understand there are a hundred other issues just as urgent and crucial. And I apologize for the personal solicitation.   I only hope you find 2 minutes to add this to your agenda.  If you are interested, here’s what you can do…
-See the movie (I also highly recommend “Sharkwater“)
-do your own research
Please lend your voice to this environmental tragedy so that growing awareness can inspire catalytic change.  Thank you.
–Aaron