Anti-aquarium Film “The Dark Hobby” In Production

By Leonard Ho

Click through to see the images.

While exposés are often loose with the “facts” (to put it kindly), history has shown they are still capable of strongly altering public perception by appealing to emotion; as any politician will tell you, fear and outrage are powerful motivators. Judging by The Dark Hobby’s website, facebook page, and promotional video (below), the film will heavily rely on outdated, cherry-picked, and misrepresented information to demonize the aquarium hobby. This should come as no surprise because it has been the modus operandi for Robert Winttner and Rene Umberger for years in their fight to outlaw the aquarium trade in Hawaii. Now they are aiming to repackage their message for mass consumption by way of this planned “documentary,” no doubt hoping to do to the aquarium hobby what the film Blackfish (replete with lies and manipulation to sell its propaganda) did to Seaworld.

Starting on August 9, 2016, the producers are seeking $100,000 in crowd-source funding to produce their film. At the time of this publication, only $100 has been contributed by a lone backer.

While Advanced Aquarist has no intention/desire of giving this potential film publicity, we feel it is more important to keep aquarists informed about developments that represent a potential existential threat to our hobby.

In the opening frames, the juxtaposition of a net-fish-collector with sinister background music is a classic example of emotional manipulation. Appeal to emotion (or argumentum ad passiones or appeal to feels) is a logical fallacy characterized by the manipulation of the recipient’s emotions in order to win an argument, especially in the absence of factual evidence.

Read more here: Advanced Aquarist