#camelotoking

I like blackfish well enough, a bit of a shock factor thing though. I haven't seen the champions but I've mostly only really heard bad things (overgeneralization, sensationalism etc).

I actually wound up watching “The Champions”, and I’m about halfway through Blackfish now (sleep is for the weak). 

“The Champions” was very... contained. It didn’t really talk about dog fighting as an actual pseudo-industry (with the exception of one of Micheal Vick’s dogs being acknowledged as having “street value”), and focused far too much on the rehab of five specific dogs to actually educate anyone about anything.

I understand that they were trying to make a case for a second chance for ex-fighting dogs, which I can kinda respect, but overall the documentary was just an hour and a half of emotional manipulation. The only facts and figures were those of Michael Vicks dog fighting activities, and nothing was said about pit bulls themselves except that they are just the same as any other dog (which is a gross simplification). 

I also find it extremely suspicious that roughly 95% of the run time was dedicated to five near perfect rehabilitations, while the problem dogs were barely considered worth a mention.

I can appreciate what the film-makers were trying to do, but ultimately it kinda fell flat. It really wasn’t a documentary about dogfighting so much as it was a documentary about Michael Vick. There was an opportunity for education here, and I really think “The Champions” fails to capitalise on it in favour of cheap emotional bilge. 

I did appreciate the low-key dragging of PETA’s “All pit bulls should be destroyed” BS though.