Internet service company to show 'The Cove' in Japan

The film, which stars Ric O’Barry, 70, a former dolphin trainer for the “Flipper” TV series, shows a handful of fishermen in the small town of Taiji go out and herd a flock of dolphins in to a cove and spear them to death as they writhe in agony.

Nice to see the AP being impartial as ever.

No thank you. How pathetic of people to create a drama to save the world. I am tired of the 'white man' attitude. If this man had some real love love for the dolphins and for the human beings, he would write a book instead of all these clownish desperate attempts. Come to a foreign land, enjoy the hospitality and then stealthily do things. I really hope that he is not like that Bethune who had many family issues and tried to save the whales. Dolphins should not be killed and human beings should maintain respect for each other. If I were him, and found out that this was going on in Taiji, I would try to make the people know in a friendly way how this should not be done. I would write to authorities concerned. I would not take the upper hand in the matter. By the way, does anyone know how this man learnt about the dolphins in Taiji for the first time? Was it that the Dolphins at the facility he was working from bought dolphins from Taiji?

Gee womanforwomen, that wasn't racist at all.

I really dislike anyone using threats and theatrics to tell other people what to do and how to live. In this case, the Nationalists a$$holes making threats of violence against threatres trump the filmakers.

Is there, perchance, a link to the free screening available, JT?

stoker, that white man attitude is something I learnt yesterday from the other thread on cove. How about the racist action of the holywood and O'barry. You don't think it is another kind of racism?

Criticizing a Japanese person, a government policy or even a cultural practice is not criticism of all Japanese people, it is not racism, it is not Japan-bashing or bigotry. The problem with the nationalists is that they can't tell the difference.

But he told The Associated Press that he plans to bring Hollywood stars, who support his cause, back to Taiji in September to make sure no dolphins are killed in this year’s hunt.

What's the point of the Hollywood stars??? No one here will care who he brings... their star status will get them nowhere when it comes to dealing with the local people, certainly.

Politics aside, it's truly regrettable that so many theaters have caved in to the pressure to censor their screenings.

@womanforwomen please give one example of The Cove being racist. Also in case you didn't know....Japanese isn't a race it is a nationality.

The problem with the nationalists

The nationalists are people just like you and me and they have been used to thinking in a certain different way. If others are smart enough to bring them in line with your own thinking that will be great. Instead, if you start throwing stones, and creating a pandemoium, that will only worsen the situation. By now, they would have found a smarter way to torture the dolphins :)

warallthetime, what do you call the act of chasing after one set of people, threatening them to expose, stealthily film while living in their village, and then invite a whole band of hollywood famous and not so famous people to make a noise about it so the villagers will be ashamed? Other than filming what non-beligerent acts were done to curtail the killing? How long has this threat been going on? Why are legal and government authorties ignored in this matter? How much do these stars and non-stars of hollywood know about the dolphins? Do they really love the dolphins or...

wfw - Have you SEEN them protest? There's no bringing them in line through reasoned discussion because they don't know HOW to think critically. To them, if it's Japanese it's good, just and right, if it's not Japanese (and far-right), it's racist/Japan-bashing and needs to be removed from the country or the planet.

If this man had some real love love for the dolphins and for the human beings, he would write a book

What makes you think he hasn't already? Two of them, in fact.

http://www.amazon.com/Behind-Dolphin-Smile-Hearts-Everywhere/dp/1580631010/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276760435&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Free-Dolphin-Richard-OBarry/dp/B000C4STTS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276760435&sr=1-3

If people want to be really indignant about other people not doing what they think they should do, maybe they should check first that they in fact haven't done it? A bit like actually seeing the film before complaining that they don't like it.

Oh, w4w! You are having a bad day, aren't you? You haven't even seen the documentary, yet you claim racism. The Cove is not raciest nor is it Japan bashing. However, due to the sensitive nature of the issue, the international response and the bigotry response of the Japanese it has spawned a typical 'we are the victims' response from the Japanese public, most of which have not seen the documentary. If this event is so deeply seated in Japanese culture, why were most Japanese unaware of it before the documentary was released and why are they doing their darnedest to stop the general public seeing? A big KUDOS to this company for giving the Japanese public a chance to see this film and I hope it opens their eyes to the health risks of eating dolphin meat.

anyone who has not seen the documentary has no right to comment on it's validity.

I have not seen the film and I don't like it because I do not like to see the torture of any living being.

Thanks for the links on the books.

Quoting your words cleo: 'If people want to be really indignant about other people not doing what they think they should do, they should find NON-BELIGERENT and NON-VIOLENT ways to do it. If it does not work, move on, there will be other people who will find other ways to resolve the problem.

Well, excuse my "white man attitude", but is that what being able to view a movie without being subjected to intimidation is called these days?

womanforwomen,

Ok, you haven't seen the documentary, but you're sure that it is violent and beligerent toward the Japanese people. You seem upset that Ric O'barry is attacking Japanese culture in one sided matter. But again you haven't seen the movie, because you don't like seeing animals tortured to death. Is it the day of the month? Why are you upset?

These fanatical ultranationalists in Japan are just violent thugs, trying to impose their form of censorship on the Japanese people. They do not like the truth about Japan to be shown and made known, either within the borders of Japan or in the outside world. The amazing thing is that they always get away with it. It also happened in 1989, when the BBC made a wonderful documentary about Emperor Showa. The bully boys threatened the TV stations with bombing and their executives with death if they dared to show the documentary on TV in Japan. To the best of my knowledge, it still has not been screened in Japan, thus depriving the ordinary Japanese people of their basic human rights. Bullying works in Japan, and the Government`s silence on this issue is deafening. How can it be, in a "civilised" country like Japan in the 21st century that thuggery is allowed to gain the upper hand in this way? This is the shame of Japan. This amounts to mob rule, in a so-called democracy. The jackboot rules in Japan.

Regarding the actual movie, "The Cove" I am really looking forward to seeing it for myself and making a judgement about what goes on in the sleepy little town of Taiji. The Japanese really have a problem with their little secrets being exposed, as we all know. The hacking to death of beautiful dolphins is something that the international community, of which Japan desires to be a part, will not tolerate. No matter how this movie was made, I am glad that it was, and that it exposes one of the darker sides of this country.

Simple, I do not like one set of people forcing their values on another set of people. And I do not like when things are done secretly. It has nothing to do with me having a bad day or anything else.

in case you didn't know....Japanese isn't a race it is a nationality.

Both, actually.

Could not these people make a movie with dolphins and subtely mention the subject of how dolphins are killed in one part of the world? Taiji people are not the only ones who are killing the dolphins. Ok, maybe do flipper part 3 or something.

By no stretch of the imagination is 'Japanese' a race, despite what many people (predominantly themselves Japanese) may wish to believe.

Moderator: Back on topic please.

threatening them to expose, stealthily film while living in their village, and then invite a whole band of hollywood famous and not so famous people to make a noise about it so the villagers will be ashamed?

If you've seen the film, you'd know that they tried to shoot it with permission from the town council. After month of discussions, council decided that they can't shoot any film in this town. Then they decided to hide the cameras to reveal what's going on. Their only goal is to stop this from happening. Why, becuase they believe that there's more to these creatures than we can see. I share this belief with them, because I also know that they are not just fish, but intellignet, friendly creatures that shouldn't be tortured and killed inhumanely. I feel killing them is not much different than killing human being. They have more similarities with us than differences. It's simply too cruel. I feel ashamed to belong same group of species with those people who torture and kill animals. Only thing I can do is to support Ric and his actions and make my voice heard as much as possible. Tell me, am I a Japan hater? Having lived in this country longer than my own, I don't think so. I love Japan so much that I believe if this is known by most of them, they will stop it. It's not white people telling others how to live. It's group of nature, animal loving people, begging for this anchient cruel practice to stop. Also I'm here long enough to know, the dark part of Japan (aka those black busses full of natinalists) will do their best to stop the screening of this film. They are not nature lovers. They do not care about the life, if it was upto them, none of us would be here today.

Woman4woman, sweetheart, I recommend you see the movie. There is only five minutes or so of footage showing the dolphins being slaughtered. Most of the 'award winning documentary' is devoted to the lengths the film makers had to go to making the film and exposing the government cover up of the high levels of mercury in the meat. It is a very well made and entertaining 'documentary' of a side of Japan most Japanese never knew about, betterless the rest of the world.

@womanforwoman "warallthetime, what do you call the act of chasing after one set of people, threatening them to expose, stealthily film while living in their village, and then invite a whole band of hollywood famous and not so famous people to make a noise about it so the villagers will be ashamed?"

Exposing the behavior of a group of people who happen to be Japanese by nationality and Asian by race is most definitely NOT racism. Does that really need to be explained to you?

@womanforwoman "Simple, I do not like one set of people forcing their values on another set of people. And I do not like when things are done secretly. It has nothing to do with me having a bad day or anything else."

Your quotes are interesting...You don't like one set of people FORCING their values on another group of people. This is exactly what the protesters have done. The makers of The Cove created a movie and released this on the market where people can choose to watch or not watch if they want to and it is a personal choice. Do you view all movies this way? Are the cast of Sex & The City imposing their will on an unsuspecting public?

You also say you don't like when things are done secretly. The dirty work that goes down in Taiji is done in secret hence the need for this film to also be done in secret.

Fastpasstv and fastpassmovie.com will show it

I have not seen the film and I don't like it because I do not like to see the torture of any living being.

You know, I haven't seen it either and I have no intention of seeing it, because I like you I do not want to see the dolphins suffering. But that doesn't mean I don't think the film should have been made, or that people shouldn't be allowed to see it. Personally I'd like to see a watered-down version that doesn't have the gory bits.

Quoting your words cleo: 'If people want to be really indignant about other people not doing what they think they should do, they should find NON-BELIGERENT and NON-VIOLENT ways to do it.

Actually not my words, but yours; so you mean like the Taiji dolphin killers non-belligerently and non-violently jabbed their boathooks at the people trying to film and talk to them? Like the black-bus gangs non-belligerently and non-violently threatened to harass cinemas daring to show the film? You know, like one set of people forcing their values on another set of people?

"An Internet service company will show “The Cove” free of charge Friday and invite public comment after theaters canceled screenings in Japan due to nationalist opposition to the film’s depiction of a dolphin hunt."

Watch this net service get shut down faster than if they had kiddy-porn!

Incidentally, the site is nicovideo.jp. They're a partner of niwango.jp. Registration required.

Cleo - You should watch the 'documentary' - It is not a movie because there is no fiction or dramatizations - Very little of the documentary shows the actual killing of the dolphins.

Sadly, in my opinion, anyone condemning the 'documentary' without seeing it is no better than the right-wing thugs trying to have banned.

Disillusioned -

It's the 'very little' that I'm too squeamish to watch. Like I said, I'd appreciate a doctored version.

I certainly am not condemning the film, quite the opposite. I hope lots of people see it. The bits I have already seen are enough to convince me that the slaughter is unnecessary, unnecessarily brutal and a bloody stain on the culture of Japan.

I was not insinuating you were condemning the film. As I have stated in 'too many' posts in this thread, as much as it is centered around the bloody slaughter of the dolphins it is far from the main point of this documentary. Anyone with kids in Japan owes it to themselves to see the J-govs blatant disregard for the health risks of eating this garbage.

Watch this net service get shut down faster than if they had kiddy-porn!

No problem. It's already all over the net. And being downloaded by those who want to and know how to.

Disillusioned, if I watch the Cove, will you go to the slaughter house with me? No I am just kidding. But the 5 minutes is good enough for my heart to stop. I talk to the people I know about the dolphins. Trust me, they are ashamed of it, and feel really awful about it.Some older ones, who are the type that expect me to do everything the Japanese way, are thouroughly ashamed of it. So I am sure, that even without this film, they will change their ways. There is a certain way to convince them. Once they trust you, they trust you for life.

I do not like one set of people forcing their values on another set of people.

Love that way of thinking. It's perfectly OK for ultra-nationalists to prevent anyone from seeing an award-winning documentary, because it has the "wrong" set of values.

Think about this for a minute: is Ric O'Barry talking about compelling anyone to watch this film? No.

This is supposed to be a democracy, wherein citizens are free to make informed judgements. But because knee-jerk victims decide to call this film "Japan-bashing" (a very lazy argument indeed), they have the right to prevent any other taxpayer from choosing whether or not to watch it.

Now does that sound like anyone imposing a set of views?

Meh we should project a copy of it onto a big city building or something one day with big speakers...

why is everyone ignoring my question? Why did O'barry think of Taiji in the first place?

Ivan, first it is the outsiders trying to push their values on Taiji fishermen. The nationalists issue is another matter.

Woman - no it isn't. It's the outsiders (nice feudal turn of phrase there) making a documentary about what the Taiji fishermen do, and the Taiji fishermen are so proud of their great culture that they don't want any of their countrymen to know about it.

Ok now don't make me angry. By outsiders I meant, anyone outside of Taiji. Are you this suspicious always? As for the Taiji fishermen, they do not understand the seriousness of it, I think. Is it hard for you to beleive that? And then outsiders and that too foreigners just pounce on them and make it look ugly. That is what is making the people angry. It should be the government authorities of Japan who should look into it. Not some secret video filming crew, with the headship of a former dolphin trainer. I am tired. Goodnight.　

As for the Taiji fishermen, they do not understand the seriousness of it, I think.

They tried to stop the filmmakers with boat hooks and threats, they call the movie one-sided, they don't let foreigner reporters wander their streets. I think they understand the seriousness of it quite well - they could lose the free dolphin meat and money they get from it if enough pressure is applied. And the Japanese government doesn't even care if they eat enough mercury to cause an unusually high rate of death because of it.

On the other hand, if a young Japanese documentary film-maker were to make the same movie, would you be happy with that? Do you think the right-wing thugs would extol the virtues of the film-maker because he was the right 'race?' I don't think so.

w4w, they have been using violence against anyone who tried to show it for years! Even when offered more $ not to hunt dolphins than too, they stated "they are cockroaches" & continued. Many attempts, both internally & externally have been tried, the only winners so far have been the "fishermen" through violence. Showing a documentary film is not violent! It is giving people the chance to see the truth, or at the very least another side to make up their own decision! THAT is NOT violent! THAT is FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

Keiko - the main problem with the film in Japan is that a lot of it was shot without the permission of those whose faces are shown in it, which in Japan is against the law. The other concern raised by the press was that it portrayed the populace of Taiji as acting like gangsters. So basically, the film has to be edited with lots of mosaics and disclaimers to be shown here. Good news is that if it will be shown on Nicodouga, lots of people will see it - Nicodouga is bigger than YouTube in Japan.

Downside is that if you thought the stupid comments here were bad, brace yourself for comments that appear on Nicodouga....

It was interesting to see when this topic was featured in Gizmodo, a lot of PETA campaigners included a link to the movie "Earthlings" (dot com) that has a stomach turning movie trailer showing scenes of animals being improperly slaughtered on commercial farms. The point those Peta people made was quite right - if people are hopeful that the sheer unpleasantness of the Cove should make Japanese change their ways and stop killing dolphins, why do we not watch more gruesome videos about where our own food comes from?

I saw the Cove incidentally, and my conclusion was that other than 3 minutes in the entire 1 1/2 hours at the end dedicated to talking about mercury health risks, the movie is an emotional appeal for westerners to support and give money to the NGO behind the movie. The movie is 97% "let's get angry at those mean Japanese" and 3% "hey Japan, you know, you might want to rethink this". That's fine - it wants to make American schoolkids angry and make their parents donate funds. But mocking the Japanese trying to defend the practice as it does will do more to alienate Japanese people who watch this - which means "sucks to be you" for the dolphins.

I was left with the feeling that this movie will do nothing to help the dolphins, because it does nothing to reach out to the people it is wanting to change.

Peace

Hikozaemon,

Just curious, if it were you, how would you reach out to the people, wanting them to change? I just can't imagine any way that Japanese would embrace a movie made by foreigners abotu this practice. If it were Japanese movie producer, wouldn't he be badly beaten maybe to death? Japan has a dark side. It's those people in back busses. They are the ones keeping Japan from moving forward.

Ok now don't make me angry. By outsiders I meant, anyone outside of Taiji. Are you this suspicious always?

Ok, I think you need a long holiday in your country. You maynot be back.

Not mentioned in the article is the fact that they are limiting the viewing to only 2000 people and it is a one shot deal.

http://www.asahi.com/showbiz/movie/TKY201006170284.html

How much do you want to be someone organises a 2chan style protest and attempts to know niconico douga off the 'net for a while? Baring that, filling up all the available slots with not watchers.

On the other hand, if a young Japanese documentary film-maker were to make the same movie, would you be happy with that? Do you think the right-wing thugs would extol the virtues of the film-maker because he was the right 'race?' I don't think so.

If someone was that smart enough to get a Japanese film maker to do it, that would have been ideal. I remember how the French Embassy in a country that was dealing with war sponsored some young filmamkers to do short films on landmines. The films were made by young people from the two warring factions. The result was remarkable.

other than 3 minutes in the entire 1 1/2 hours at the end dedicated to talking about mercury health risks, the movie is an emotional appeal for westerners to support and give money to the NGO behind the movie. The movie is 97% "let's get angry at those mean Japanese" and 3% "hey Japan, you know, you might want to rethink this". That's fine - it wants to make American schoolkids angry and make their parents donate funds. But mocking the Japanese trying to defend the practice as it does will do more to alienate Japanese people who watch this - which means "sucks to be you" for the dolphins.

This is the thing that puts me off. Wonder what the NGO will do with the donations.

To be honest not even so sure what the big deal is about the "Dolphin Hunt", not like they do it daily.

It is an annual event that last 2~5 days. I have heard figures of 20.000 dolphins killed, must be a very busy few days.

I have seen excerpts of the Video already(some shown on J-TV) and some on the Net as well as listened to a lot of discussons, many even asked WHY the movie got the Oscar.

And agree sounds more like a fund-raising movie for the NGO more than anything else.

Just my view.

" limiting the viewing to only 2000 people ..." Do you find out that you are person 2001 after filling out the registration?

Whatever. Not going to bother after all. Just a lame publicity stunt by the ISP, from all appearances.

Womanforwoman, I also wonder if it isn't easier to point the finger and whip up funding in the US by targeting behaviors of a far east nation, than it would be by pointing the finger for almost exactly the same method of hunting by the folk of the Faroe Islands. But to be fair, they do get some attention as well.

My question to those who've seen the film is this: Is there any discussion in it around the sustainability of harvesting the particular species hunted in Taiji? Are the species endangered? Plentiful? On the brink of extinction? Is this a matter of survival of a species or just a matter of "oh, but they're cute and snakes aren't so screw the snakes, we can't make money off them. SAVE THE DOLPHINS!!"

Internet service company to show 'The Cove' in Japan

The little man taking on the state run government, got to admire this effort.

The little man taking on the state run government, got to admire this effort.

It looks that way at first glance, doesn't it? And then you read: "one day only" and then find out it's limited to 2000 viewers. Well OK, maybe the film-makers only agreed to let 2000 people see it for free, in order to protect their earnings.

And of course, the ISP gets all your personal details when you register. They also get their name in the media. More PR for the film; new PR for the ISP. And all for the price of 2000 views.

And what's a "state-run government"? Is there another kind?

This movie isnt what you think it is. It is not the Japan bashing propaganda people report it as. It never ceases to amaze how people with an agenda will watch a film with one message and report incorrectly on the content of the message.

The core message of this film is that abuse of dolphins is wrong. Thats everything from Taiji senseless spearfishing of dolphins in a blocked cove, to locking dolphins in a box in the US and prompting them to do tricks for a living.

Of course, the movie puts a negative slant on the fishermen... if people were threatening YOU with weapons... and brutally butchering animals you loved, I bet you wouldnt be to glowing in their praise, now would you?

The film makes sense to anyone who sits down to actually WATCH IT from beginning to end. Forget what the fishermen, the Japanese, the Americans... forget what they all have to say and listen to the dolphins screaming as they get speared to death. Anyone that grew up within travel distance of a Sea World, or even a television... has probably heard dolphins clicking and whistling. Heck, Ive heard in while surfing with them in San Diego!! But how many hear have heard dolphins screaming as they are tortured to death. Listen to what THEY are saying. Try to look past all the human agenda driven bull$#%@ and listen to THAT.

OMG! Hiko is back!! Nice to see you and your common sense, informative posts.

Wonderful news. This country is a democracy after all. I was beginning to wonder.

I asked before as I see this often on other threads too.

Why does the showing of a movie or not(that is/was NOT even banned by the Goverment) have anything to do with how the Japanese elect their goverment(democracy is an election/voting process).

Confused, pls, help me understand.

Haha, hey Taj, nice to see someone still remembers me here :)

Kuroyama. The movie is a long climax to super-anthropomophize dolphins, paint the Japanese fishermen that hunt them like gangsters, and then show what looked to me like a pretty clean and efficient slaughter scene in the hopes of making people feel like they were watching a massacre of human beings. I think the trailer to "Earthlings" showing normal slaughter of domesticated animals for our food ten times more disturbing than the dolphin climax scene on the Cove. I mean, they got a few dozen dolphins slaughtered and up in boats in around 2 minutes. I've hunted animals as a kid, and we would be lucky if we could get a rabbit or a possum dead in that time - these guys killed dozens of big-ass dolphins in that time. I was impressed.

The problem is that most westerners don't kill food themselves anymore and can't confront it when it is put in front of them. The focus on the slaughter scene is an emotional attempt to outrage urban supermarket shoppers in western countries.

Peace

Hikozaemon, your last paragraph is a very cynical but astute observation. kudos.

i saw the movie. i ate whale and dolphin in various forms. the movie is not one sided but close. eating dolphin is not a japanese culture as a whole but a part of it. i didn't like the "we are right, they are wrong" tone through the movie. about the nationalist dummies, those people have no brain...