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Gabriel Torres

Professor P. Mirchandani

ENC 1101

January 29, 2024

The Grindadráp Dilemma: Navigating Tradition and Controversy

Hundreds of pilot whales and other types of dolphins are slaughtered every single

year in the well-known Faroe Islands. Why do men with harpoons and spears still get in the

water and cause this bloodbath? The documentary "Whale Hunting in the Faroe Islands" is

a 42:25 minute film that was published on December 20th, 2023, by the YouTube channel

DW Documentary. The audience starts with one doubt. Why is this still happening today?

And surprisingly, the documentary manages its way to give an answer to that question and

even more that we ask ourselves while watching this film.

Watching this documentary by the journalist Christian Blenker makes the audience

realize it wants to inform what is happening in this Islands. They start with a point of view

of rejection against the Faroese tradition but when they keep watching it, they ask

themselves if they should be against this practice because it gets them to resonate and to

understand Faroese people's mindset. They manage to get the viewers in a limbo between

being against or in favor of whaling by presenting everything while being neutral about it.

It is not a documentary saying "Whaling is not ok" or "Whaling it's good" it just gives them

all the information and leaves it up to them how they feel about what they are watching.

This documentary takes place on December 2023 in the Faroe Islands. It shows how

the Faroese are distinguished for liking freedom and how the grind is something that has

been part of their culture for a long time. It also demonstrates the local's resilience and

resourcefulness in using marine resources for survival. Many of the islanders see whaling
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as an important and integral part of their cultural identity and show the sense of cooperation

and collective effort of the Faroese.

The documentary is addressed to the world to watch and learn more about this

complicated practice. Furthermore, it is also directed to people with interests in

environmental issues, animal rights, global conservation efforts, and the cultural practices

of the Faroe Islands. They gave the audience a good context on the Faroese culture with the

history of whale hunting and global debates while having an informative and engaging tone

but at the same time; it balances it with seriousness making sure the content is digestible.

The documentary assumes that the viewers are open to diverse points of view and that there

is a level of interest in cultural practices or environmental concerns.

This uses rhetorical appeals to connect with the audience; it shows personal stories

and moments in the hunt that can enhance the emotional impact on the viewers. When

showing footage of the grind environmental activists evoke a kind of sense of responsibility

and empathy towards the natural world.

Talking about credibility, the YouTube channel "DW Documentary" (Deutsche

Welle) with a count of 5.36 million subscribers is a German state-owned broadcaster that

has more than 1,060 videos and 781,308,698 views. This demonstrates that the broadcaster

is a well-known form of media. It shows a lot of activists expressing their concerns, locals

explaining their traditions and why they keep on hunting, and raw footage of the grind and

the slaughterhouse where it demonstrates graphically how everything is done without any

kind of censorship; for example, when it shows a little kid trying out a knife on the

carcasses of the whales in the slaughterhouse, it is a shocking image to see but at the end of

the day it is something that the children are growing up with and to Faroese people eyes,

something normal.
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It shows logical thinking by presenting scientific research and studies. For example,

when the journalist takes a test of the level of mercury in his body after eating whale meat.

It also shows biologists or scientists talking about the topic when it is mentioned that is

dangerous for pregnant women because they can pass the poisons to their own children

before being born.

The documentary addresses the controversy between the Faroese and the rest of the

world about whale hunting; the tradition the Faroe Islands are known for. It is really

important. It demonstrates how the Faroese do not show any kind of interest in stopping

this; because, at the end of the day, it is their tradition. It also demonstrates the concern in

the world for the whales and dolphins, the Faroese themselves owning the fact that the

ingesting of whale meat is dangerous since it has a lot of mercury in it.

The exigence of the documentary is shown by addressing the fact that this is

something that has been done for centuries. It highlights the global controversy by showing

the activists/organizations that are against this practice like Sea Shepherd.

The issue was explored in a very good way; there were not any kind of gaps in the

given information and footage. Everything was well covered in almost every single aspect

of the topic, they proved that since it was such an important topic to cover, they should

cover everything they could; in fact, they did.

There were not that much of limitations in the filmmaking. It is acknowledgeable that

the documentary team did not have a lot of limitations at the time of filming, they recorded

a lot of footage and left almost nothing without recording. Nevertheless, one limitation that

they had was the randomness of how often there was a hunt; they arrived early on the first

one, but in the second one they arrived late when almost all the whales were already dead
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on the beach. They depended on how quickly they were informed that a grind was having a

place on the island.

There was a big ethical challenge for the team; it is very hard to record or even see a

hunt for people who are not used to seeing that. Those are very raw and brutal images to

witness in real life without having anything to do with it. There was not any kind of bias in

the documentary, all was presented with a sense of neutrality and seriousness in every

aspect of it.

This documentary has a Short-Term impact on a lot of viewers because of the footage

it shows; normally the scenes of the grind, when they throw away the carcasses, and the

slaughterhouse footage are the most shocking and graphic for the majority of viewers. In

addition, it has started lots of debates and conversations on social media because it shows

details that a lot of people have not seen before. It has made a lot of awareness in people's

lives because a lot of people did not know that this happened or if they knew, they did not

know anything about it.

Exemplifying the Long-Term impact, many people have changed their behavior after

watching the documentary; they tend to be more conscious about what we eat, after hearing

what the Faroese say about animals like Chickens, cows, pigs, etc. being raised to be killed

after being born in contrast of the whales, that before being killed they had a life full of

freedom. It also has made other people advocate against whaling because it also shows the

brutality of the hunt even though they search for a quick death. This documentary has been

used to teach people and students from around the world about other cultures, and traditions

and to raise awareness about the topic.

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The documentary being published on a public and famous YouTube channel helped

the film reach a lot of people; considering that the channel has 5.33 million subscribers, it

has been seen by so many different audiences worldwide.

Some anomalies that could be seen in the film go from cultural contradictions to

environmental concerns; for example, young Faroese people start to be against whaling and

consuming whale meat because of the quantity of mercury that it contains but do not speak

up. Equally, it shows how some hunters do not carry the grind with respect for the animals,

challenging the argument that everything is done in the most humane way. Also, it

demonstrates that the economic benefits are not as clear-cut as portrayed, or where

alternative economic opportunities are being overlooked.

To sum up, everything that has been stated so far, "Whale Hunting in the Faroe

Islands" serves as an exploration of the complexities surrounding the cultural practice. It

has captured both perspectives from Faroese people, who see the hunt as an integral part of

their identity, and the global critics, who view it as an outdated and inhumane practice.

Furthermore, the documentary raises awareness about the environmental consequences of

the hunt, prompting discussions on the sustainability of such practices. The potential threats

to certain whale populations and the ecological impact of traditional hunting methods are

presented as pressing concerns that warrant global attention. It manages to make the

viewers contemplate the different points of view and resonate with both parts. All of this

leaves the viewer with one question. Could you ever participate in the grind?
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Works Cited

Brian Duignan. “The Faroe Islands Whale Hunt.” SAVING EARTH ENCYCLOPAEDIA

Britannica, 2023, https://www.britannica.com/explore/savingearth/the-faroe-islands-

whale-hunt

“The Faroe Islands’ annual whale slaughter.” YouTube, uploaded by Channel 4 News, 6

April 2018, www.youtube.com

“Whale hunting in the Faroe Islands | DW Documentary.” YouTube, uploaded by DW

Documentary, 20 December 2023, www.youtube.com

“Whaling in the Faroe Islands.” THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FAROE ISLANDS,

https://www.government.fo/en/foreign-relations/whaling-in-the-faroe-islands