cannot stress enough how much whalefall, both the book and the film, adores whales and wants the audience to adore them, too. if you'd experienced either you would know how ridiculous this take is
Setting aside the offensively stupid premise, there is something about the spirit of this plot — clinging to the monsterization of profoundly intelligent, social creatures that we feared for centuries and massacred in wanton ignorance — that is uniquely corrosive and hateworthy.