In The Heart Of The Sea: What Whale Oil Is Used For
The dangerous whaling expedition at the center of In the Heart of the Sea might seem strange to a modern audience as whaling is such a controversial practice, but whale oil was once so prized that sailors risked their lives to get it. In the Heart of the Sea has an all-star cast and tells the story of the sinking of The Essex, the whaling ship that would go on to inspire Moby Dick. In the Heart of the Sea is one of Chris Hemsworth's best movies, and he plays the ship's first mate, Owen Chase.
Chase was based on a real person, like most characters in In the Heart of the Sea, including its narrator, Thomas Nickerson, who was the cabin boy and youngest survivor of the shipwreck. While the writers have taken liberties to add tension between the characters, In the Heart of the Sea is a movie that tackles the real-world history of whaling. Whaling was a dangerous practice, but as the prize was so valued, sailors often risked their lives to get it, contending with the whales defending themselves, as well as other crews of sailors with their eyes on the prize.
How Whalers Obtained Whale Oil
Whaling Was A Dangerous Business, Even Without The Shipwreck In The Movie
Whalers would set out to sea in ships, which each had a lookout who would call out when they saw a whale. Once the whale had been harpooned and killed, the crew would cut off the blubber from the carcass while the whale was in the water, then boil strips of the blubber in a purpose-built furnace onboard the ship. When the blubber rendered oil, this would be scraped off and kept for sale later. In the Heart of the Sea shows parts of the process of getting whale oil but mostly focuses on the dangers that come with whaling.
Whaling was so lucrative that all eight survivors returned to the industry.
The events of In the Heart of the Sea inspired Moby Dick, which showed the perils of whaling. One was sharks, which scavenged from the whale carcasses, threatening the blubber supply and potentially causing issues for sailors who fell overboard. Another was being shipwrecked, like the crew in In The Heart of the Sea. The real-life counterparts of the men in In the Heart of the Sea resorted to desperate measures to stay alive, including cannibalism. That said, whaling was so lucrative that all eight survivors returned to the industry after they recovered from their ordeal.
What Whale Oil Was Used For And Why It Was So Profitable
In The Heart Of The Sea's Last Line Is Extremely Ominous
To the characters in In the Heart of the Sea, the world ran on whale oil, which was used in soap, oiling engines, and lamps. This high demand made selling it extremely profitable, with a whaling expedition bringing in as much as $35,000 for the cargo. In the Heart of the Sea highlights the way the world prized whale oil, with Herman Melville explaining, "Since it was discovered that whale oil could light our cities in ways never achieved before, it created global demand. It has pushed man to venture further and further into the deep blue unknown."
Whaling has largely been outlawed, and the world no longer needs whale oil for industry, but it still depends on a different kind of oil. At the end of In the Heart of the Sea, Herman Melville tells Thomas Nickerson, played by Brendan Gleeson, that he heard of a man drilling into the ground and finding oil. Nickerson replies "Oil from the ground! Fancy that." This line sounds hopeful and exciting to the characters, but given the history and modern-day conflicts surrounding oil, it was a very ominous way to end In the Heart of the Sea.
In the Heart of the Sea
- Release Date
- December 11, 2015
- Runtime
- 121minutes
- Director
- Ron Howard
- Writers
- Charles Leavitt
Cast
Brendan Gleeson
Based on the real-life event that inspired Moby Dick, In the Heart of the Sea is directed by Ron Howard and stars Chris Hemsworth as Owen Chase, first mate of the whaling ship Essex who must fight for his life in the middle of the ocean when a whale destroys his ship, killing most of his crew and stranding him and a few survivors on a lifeboat. Cillian Murphy, Tom Holland, Ben Whishaw, and Brendan Gleeson also star.
Your comment has not been saved