Dolphin Lover

Audience Reviews

View More

hey T @RT24934485 4d okay not even giving this the light of day to watch, man wtf😭 im sure most people don't even need an explanation, but no, a "loving romantic relationship" with a captive dolphin is not a consensual one. Captive dolphins are bored out of their minds in captivity, they will do anything as long as it derives some kind of break in routine. Especially in the 1970s, dolphinariums would withhold food from dolphins if they didn't perform correctly, it's very power-balanced towards the trainers, and the dolphins are forced to do nothing else except obey staff. As far as I can guess, there's no "loving romantic relationship" involved, it's a case of manipulation. It's like if a warden developed feelings for a prisoner who'd been stuck in a solid concrete room for years devoid of anything interesting in life. See more lariste l @RT70611960 01/07/2023 Not great, sorry. While I appreciate Kareem Tabsch's efforts to be original here, this does not work as a film - simply because giving someone free reign, as it were, to rationalize their deeds with emotional manipulation seems . . . much like the dishonesty that shrouds much paraphilia and, really, sex abuse. To it's credit, the film doesn't actually condone - or even feature - sexual abuse of animals. It's quite clear that Malcolm Brenner, a "damaged goods" dolphin enthusiast with a traumatic childhood abuse history, seems to think that projecting an idealized "love" for a dolphin he penetrated is actually "much more" than just that; he expects us to believe the play and familiarity that dolphins display with humans, then the dolphin experiencing sexual stimulation is actually a mature and functional relationship. It's not. On the contrary, Bremmer is merely projecting his own history of exploitation and unequal power dynamics onto an animal that's biologically equipped to be receptive to human mating. Bremmer makes no mention of the fact the dolphin would be better off courting and mating one of it's own species. In effect, the animal is imprisoned and, although hopefully cared for by qualified and humane staff, it appears to "settle" for mating with Malcolm Bremmer as part of it's normal life cycle and instincts. I wouldn't say this film is an argument for the "acceptance" or "illumination" of zoophiles - Bremmer had in some way attempted forcing sexual intercourse on a dog in the years before the dolphin episodes, and he himself claims he doesn't feel humans are innately born with zoophile tendencies, or even that it's a distinct orientation, but makes much of his secrecy and shame that he was "so different from other guys" because he wanted to sexually climax with the use of an animal. Later - spoiler alert, but this is a 17 minute film - Bremmer tries to explain that the dolphin's eventual death was suicide at the reality of their "doomed love" becuase the animal was moved to captivity elsewhere. See more Read all reviews

Dolphin Lover

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW