Have you seen the documentary movie, "The Cove"? Probably not, as few people in Japan have seen it. It's about the annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan. Recently, this movie has been in the news in Japan because some theaters wanted to show the movie, as it was famous and popular abroad, and it was about Japan. However, supporters of the dolphin hunt, especially some right-wing groups, wanted to ban the showing of this movie. They said it was anti-Japanese, among other reasons.
When some groups protested the showing of the movie, the theaters at first gave in and decided not to show it. Later, some of them changed their mind, as it became clear that the right to watch or not watch the movie was a "freedom of information" issue.
However you feel about the hunting of whales or dolphins, it's easy to agree that this movie can be a source of many opinions. In Essay Writing class, we are writing about our opinions of various topics.
What follows is a list of some opinions about "The Cove" and the hunting of dolphins.
“The Cove” is not fair to Japanese.
People in Japan should have the freedom to watch any movie they want to.
Eating whale and dolphin is an important Japanese tradition that should be preserved.
Dolphin meat is full of toxic mercury and should not be eaten by anyone, especially children
People from other countries kill animals for food, so it’s normal that Japanese kill dolphins.
If killing dolphins is OK, then the people of Taiji should not try to hide their dolphin hunt.
People who watch and support this movie are being fooled by anti-Japanese people.
It’s important to see a movie before judging it.
The way this movie was made was illegal; the film-makers lied about their purpose.
The dolphin hunters in Taiji lie about the safety of dolphin meat to protect their industry.
People who are against this movie are actually giving it more publicity.
