Flipping the Script: Developing an Intertextual Dialogue for Dolphin Advocacy in The Cove

Abstract

ABSTRACT Dolphins and other cetaceans (marine mammals) have seen a surge of environmental advocacy in the decade since The Cove (2009) emerged. Drawing upon Western popular culture texts such as the popular film and television series, Flipper (1963), The Cove seeks to flip or reframe our cultural understanding of dolphins from friends to victims in need of help. In this essay, I argue that The Cove is an exemplar eco-doc that employs an intertextual dialogue to facilitate a multi-media outreach campaign that changed public perception of dolphins and lead to dolphin advocacy efforts. By analyzing how The Cove incorporates and challenges the interspecies friendship trope and then investigating the ways the film and outreach integrate aspects of the action-thriller plot, I demonstrate how intertextuality facilitates a revised, urgent advocacy message designed to raise awareness and generate action to stop dolphin over-exploitation.