{"id":17716,"date":"2023-12-01T14:22:19","date_gmt":"2023-12-01T22:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?p=17716"},"modified":"2023-12-13T21:03:43","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T05:03:43","slug":"blackfish-director-engaged-in-good-trouble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/blackfish-director-engaged-in-good-trouble\/","title":{"rendered":"Blackfish\u00a0director Gabriela Cowperthwaite is still engaged in \u201cgood trouble\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                                    \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/12\/Cowperwaithe_Profile_Top-768x432.png\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/12\/Cowperwaithe_Profile_Top-1920x1080.png 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/12\/Cowperwaithe_Profile_Top-1280x720.png 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/12\/Cowperwaithe_Profile_Top-768x432.png 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  role=\"none\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Gabriela Cowperthwaite \u201999 fell in love with documentary filmmaking while at USC Dornsife. (Photo: Erica Urech.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=alumni\">Alumni<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Blackfish\u00a0director Gabriela Cowperthwaite is still engaged in \u201cgood trouble\u201d<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  A decade after her film upended SeaWorld, the USC Dornsife alumna says her filmmaking career was shaped by her political science studies, which \u201cgave me the idea that there are things out in the world that need our immediate attention.\u201d\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Margaret Crable<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">December 1, 2023<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>Alumna Gabriela Cowperthwaite\u2019s relationship with SeaWorld began innocently enough. She first encountered the amusement park as a paying customer, bringing her sons to watch performances by captive orcas and dolphins.<\/p>\n<p>She admittedly felt a little uncomfortable watching massive animals splash around in pens not much larger than a resort swimming pool, but she tried to brush off her feelings. \u201cI thought it was probably just me being too much of an empath,\u201d Cowperthwaite \u201999 recalls.<\/p>\n<p>In 2010, her attention was piqued by the story of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau, who was killed by an orca named Tilikum during a performance. Cowperthwaite embarked on a documentary film project on the subject, but it wasn\u2019t a moral crusade: She was driven by curiosity, not outrage.<\/p>\n<p>However, when <em>Blackfish<\/em> debuted in 2013, it revealed so much unsavory information about the seemingly family-friendly company that it tanked SeaWorld\u2019s profits and sparked legislation to ban captive orcas. For Cowperthwaite, the outcome has become emblematic of her career.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I were to say there was a thematic thread across my documentaries, it would be one of pulling back the curtain on the things we thought we knew, but we truly had no idea about,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<div class=\"video-embed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Blackfish Documentary: A Director&#039;s Story\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oSHeEHsj4Eo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h2>The Black Fish Effect<\/h2>\n<p>Cowperthwaite grew up in Denver and received her bachelor\u2019s degree in political science from Occidental College in Los Angeles. She next enrolled at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences for a master\u2019s degree in <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/poir\/\">political science<\/a>, looking to \u201cbreak her brain open a little.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u00a0loved being around people whose wheels are turning, and that\u2019s something you\u2019re going to get at a place like USC, studying political science,\u201d she says. At first, she thought she might pursue a career in diplomacy or academia, but then a filmmaking class at the USC School of Cinematic Arts changed her entire trajectory.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI completely fell in love with documentary filmmaking and I was like, \u2018What have I done?\u2019\u201d she says, recalling her feelings of fear and exhilaration at such a profound shift in focus.<\/p>\n<p>After graduation from USC Dornsife, she interned at a production company that created films for the Discovery Channel, National Geographic and other outlets. Her first feature film, <em>City Lax: An Urban Lacrosse Story<\/em>, which followed an inner-city lacrosse team, aired on ESPN in 2010.<\/p>\n<p>Her second film, <em>Blackfish<\/em>, made more of a splash. Although she\u2019d begun the documentary with the purpose of exploring Brancheau\u2019s story (and to better understand humanity\u2019s complex relationship with apex predators, like orcas), the film eventually developed into a sharp look at the entire SeaWorld business model.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_17723\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17723\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-17723 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/12\/Cowperwaithe_Profile_InStoryA-500x255.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"255\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/12\/Cowperwaithe_Profile_InStoryA-500x255.png 500w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/12\/Cowperwaithe_Profile_InStoryA-768x392.png 768w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/12\/Cowperwaithe_Profile_InStoryA.png 980w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-17723\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The orca Tilikum in a scene from <em>Blackfish<\/em>. (Photo: Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Footage of baby orcas captured in the wild, images of Tilikum\u2019s sickly dorsal fin and harrowing stories of other trainer deaths at the park infuriated audiences. It led to a surge of activism so heated that SeaWorld eventually agreed to stop orca performances and end its orca breeding program. The movement acquired its own name: <a href=\"https:\/\/besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full\/10.1002\/pan3.10221\">The Blackfish Effect<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Cowperthwaite believes this reaction was due in part to a renewed interest in youth activism. \u201cThere was a time when it was not super cool to be an activist. In the 1980s, a lot of our generation said, \u2018We\u2019re not going to be like our hippie parents,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cBut I think it became cool again for young people to be an advocate for something, to believe in something and get behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>For the thrill of it<\/h2>\n<p>The furor over <em>Blackfish<\/em>, which included harsh criticism and public rebuttals from SeaWorld, hasn\u2019t dampened her enthusiasm for controversial subjects. Her documentary series <em>Children of the Underground<\/em>, which aired last year on FX, follows families of sexually abused children who are \u201ckidnapped\u201d and put into hiding to escape their abusers.<\/p>\n<p>Her newest documentary, <em>The Grab<\/em>, covers reporters from the Center for Investigative Reporting as they expose the powerful corporations and governments snapping up rights to vital natural resources around the world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re looking at all sorts of stuff that\u2019s going to get me in total trouble once again,\u201d she says. The subject was so fraught that the production crew used encrypted servers to store footage and avoided working in rooms with windows.<\/p>\n<p>She credits her background in political science and international relations with setting her on the path of independent documentarian. \u201cMy political science degree gave the idea that things are out there that need to be heard, need to be listened to, and need to be fixed,\u201d she says. \u201cI think my version of documentary was an outgrowth of that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Documentaries aren\u2019t her only focus. She directed <em>Our Friend<\/em>, a true-life drama based on an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esquire.com\/lifestyle\/a34905\/matthew-teague-wife-cancer-essay\/\">award-winning <em>Esquire<\/em> article<\/a>. Her forthcoming thriller <em>I.S.S<\/em>. is set on the International Space Station, as crew members fight for station control after the outbreak of war between the United States and Russia. It may not be exposing corporate secrets, but the narrative tension shares overlap with her nail-biting documentary films.<\/p>\n<p>The path from political science major to filmmaker might seem unexpected, but Cowperthwaite says it arose naturally from taking advantage of what USC has to offer. \u201cI think school is what wakes your brain up. Find your version of it. If you don\u2019t like a class, take another class. There\u2019s someone in every school who is excited that you\u2019re interested in what they\u2019ve devoted their lives to, and they\u2019re just waiting to grow your curiosity. Have as many touchpoints in the world as possible, and then you\u2019re going to find yourself and your purpose,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--section-title\">\n\n    \n  <h2>\n          Related Articles\n      <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/today.usc.edu\/mark-and-mary-stevens-give-200-million-to-power-ai-research-across-usc\/\" \n         target=\"_blank\"                 class=\"\" \n      >Mark and Mary Stevens give $200 million to power AI research across USC<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              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studies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":17717,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,23,24],"tags":[115,123,1916,108,95],"class_list":["post-17716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-arts-and-culture","category-social-impact","tag-activism","tag-cinema","tag-poir","tag-political-science","tag-social-sciences"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Blackfish\u00a0director Gabriela Cowperthwaite is still engaged in \u201cgood trouble\u201d<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A decade after her film upended SeaWorld, the USC Dornsife alumna says her filmmaking career was shaped by her political science studies.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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