MovieChat Forums > Orca (1977) Discussion > I know orcas are smart, but... knowledge...

I know orcas are smart, but... knowledge of chemistry??

posted 15 years ago by oliverfennell
12 replies | jump to latest

This movie was admittedly far-fetched but enjoyable enough until the explosion scene.

1) How did the orca know what pipes are, much less that they contained petrol?

2) How did it know what petrol is, and that it is combustible?

3) Even if it may have known about fire, how did it know that there was a naked flame inside the house?

... and most of all..

4) How did it know that mixing the fire and the petrol would cause an explosion?!

Even if we play along with the film's exposition about the animals possibly being even more intelligent than people, there is no possible way it could have learned such things, given the limitations posed by its environment.

[–] GroovyDoom 15 years ago

Easy: it was in the script!

[–] critterdom 15 years ago

Wasn't there an implication that the whales were functionally telepathic? During the expository scene, it was stated that a question such as "How are you?" would be wholly superfluous in whale society, due to their ability to see into one another through their hyper-advanced brain-power.

Perhaps the whale was able to apply this ability to humans, thereby learning every relevant detail about human society and technology. Also, that's probably how it learned where Nolan lived.

[–] Travo71 14 years ago

because he is the MacGuyver of the Sea

[–] willjohn 14 years ago

Orcas are dolphins. It is part of the mythology of the time that dolphins were as smart as people or smarter.

[–] lm362 8 years ago

Remember, Rachel told Nolan that she was exaggerating some of the things she said. She likely meant the part where she spoke of them being telepathic. They are not. Pets such as dogs and cats can sense an owners feelings and respond to it. This is not due to being telepathic.
When Rachel tells Nolan she was exaggerating, we viewers know to disregard some of what she said such as what you have stated from the movie as well as some other things she said about orcas.

"Do All Things For God's Glory"-1 Corinthians 10:31
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[–] oliverfennell 14 years ago

Yes, he was indeed doing that, but it was at least implied that he targeted the fuel pipes. If not, that was a hell of a coincidence!

[–] djhowls 14 years ago

and co-incidences dont happen then???

[–] oliverfennell 14 years ago

No, they don't. I thought all the events of the Jaws sequels were coincidences, it was revealed that it had been personal all along!

[–] lm362 8 years ago

It never was revealed in any of the Jaws movies that it was personal all along. Ellen wrongly believed that.

"Do All Things For God's Glory"-1 Corinthians 10:31
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[–] lm362 8 years ago

It was not implied that he targeted the fuel pipes and it was exactly a coincidence that it started the fire. The whale was trying to destroy anything on land where he knew Nolan and his crew were. Just as a grieving, vengeful human tries to destroy anything around the person he seeks revenge on, the orca was doing the same thing.

"Do All Things For God's Glory"-1 Corinthians 10:31
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[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] lm362 8 years ago

You did not pay very much attention to the movie. Rachel admitted to Nolan that she had exaggerated about the intelligence of killer whales to try to make a point to him that he should not try to capture and sell them. When you hear this, you would obviously think about that being one of the taglines of the movie and would know this is not really true.
The intelligence of the whale was due to it having a feeling love and devotion to its family and wanting revenge so completely, not giving up.

As for your three points: The orca was out for revenge and sought to destroy property on land. It had no knowledge of pipes, petrol and did not know about the flame in the house. It was out to destroy anything because Nolan and his crew were there. The fire was the result of the pipes being destroyed.

"Do All Things For God's Glory"-1 Corinthians 10:31
I try doing this with my posts