Analysis of Documentary the End of the Line
The end of the line The end of the line is a part of a new wave of documentaries that not only seek prizes at Film Festival and wasn’t just primarily made to make money but change the opinions of dozens of people. What is happening to the world fish stocks is an under reported issue and End of the Line seeks to address this problem and make the issue reportable. The film was directed by Rupert Murray and narrated by Ted Danson. But the whole film is based on a book By Charles Clover himself a fisherman who tells us about his happiness when he first caught a big great salmon .
Other researchers , scientists and just fishermen travel around the world to get people to pay attention to the problem of factory fishing which has reduced and made some fish species extinct . In many ways this film is like a funeral for fish . The scientists predict that if we continue fishing as we are now , we will see the end of most seafood by 2048 . The film takes us around the fishing world to the places like Alaska , Canada , Senegal and Bahamas . The film presentation is less like an investigation but more about discovering the guilty criminals because of which fish is disappearing .
The film defines them and we listen to expert witnesses who explains us about why those people are guilty . The documentary opens on a colourful ecosystem that immerses us into the beauty of the underwater world , shows us how this world swarming with life and how it is full of various kinds of fish . Credits calmly fade in and out of the picture as beautiful fish dart in and out of coral reefs, filling the screen with happiness and vibrancy. The credits finish rolling and the music that has been playing in the background transforms from cheerful to suspenseful and dramatic .
Drab, gray colors suddenly replace the bright ones, and short scenes begin to flash in sync with the music. Huge boats charge through the sea like a tank rolling into a battlefield. A fisherman’s silhouette appears and he brandishes a knife, plunghing it into a flopping fish. Red, vibrant blood squirts everywhere, even splashing onto the screen, and it drips from the knife of the fisherman . Quick cuts , dramatic close-ups , emotional music , and vivid details are all characteristics of this film .
Colors and music in this documentary , that were mentiod earlier , are directed to convey a message of hatred and disgust towards anglers , even before a single word is said . The violent shots of fish being hit in the head, nets filled with flopping fish (complete with an unpleasant slapping sound), and knives creating gushing stab wounds in huge tuna are accompanied by slow, dramatic music and music that could be straight from a horror movie. One shot from within an underwater net shows a few fish with panicked faces, eyes wide, and mouths open, lunging toward the camera as if screaming, “Let me out! . In this film , fish is occasionally personified , making people that are shown in scenes at sushi restaurants while eating seafood and talking about how they enjoy eating it and how they love fish , in interviews is represented as they are cannibalistic fish murderers . The diction in this film is mostly voice-over and interviewees . The definite attempt of voice-over is to manipulate the emotions of audience . What about the interwiewees , many of them are very passionate about the issues presented in this documentary , and it shows in the word choice that they use .
In the interviews what they do is that they are encouraging and persuading people to stop consuming fish in such big amounts as we do now , to stop fishing ilegally or reduce catch of fish , to prevent this tradegy , otherwise we will see the end of seafood . They also represent us the statistics that are intimidating . Those statistics and interwievs create a horrifying atmosphere and mood . The method of this film is to shock audience . This is the great move to engage people , because it is a shock and fear that makes people be more serious and change the way they think and their worldview .
And the dramatic music only feeds those feelings . As it was mentioned earlier the film takes part in different parts of the world . For example in Africa the fishing business is very well developed , but as they were asborbing and catching fish in large quantities this led them to a shotage of fish as well as to the loss of jobs . Since fish and fishing itself for them is one of the most important kinds of food and job , many fishermen were forced to go to Europe to infiltrate their families . And this is already one of the examples that the fish is being extincted .
Another example that fish is being extincted is that some corporations and fishermen cheat because they can and don’t get caught . In the documentary , a passionate Mielgo described the role of Mitsubishi that’s located in Japan in the decline of bluefin tuna . He believes the company is stockpiling bluefin for the day when the species will be extinct and the price of their highly regarded flesh will skyrocket. The bluefin situation demonstrates what multinational corporations, international fishing policy, and consumer demand can do to a wild species.
The film gives us a lot of information, using statistics, scientists, fishermen, and people associated with the fishing industry, which makes us feel truthfully about this film and believe it and to take their message and really try to make a difference in the underwater world . All in all the main purpose of this film is to reach people , to make them to imagine an ocean without fish . Imagine their meals without seafood . Imagine the global consequences . To show that this is the future if we do not stop , the purpose is to make people think and act wisely .
