[Featured]: Netflix Documentary: My Octopus Teacher

[tonmo]

Sorry @dleo4590 if this forum is not right for you; no hard feelings here and of course you are free to participate, or not; that is your prerogative.

To clarify my views (which is a reflection of this forum's policy), to the degree it's helpful for anyone -- all reasonable views are obviously welcome by this forum and the evidence for that is very clear in the full discussion above. Interpreting non-actions (not tagging) as passive-aggressive behavior is a bridge too far, and not helpful in an otherwise productive conversation about the documentary.

Remarkably, everyone in the thread has professed appreciation for the documentary, yet it's important to note that appreciation for the documentary is not necessary here. It's a ceph forum, and the primary prerequisite is that we talk about cephs -- we don't require any specific emotions or causes (although we do promote their well-being in a general sense). So, if someone wants to blast the documentary as garbage, I have absolutely zero problem with that. It's the point of a forum -- friendly discussion and sharing of opinions around specified subject matter.

I can assure you, based solely on the contents of this thread, that there were no personal attacks levied here, and the mild criticisms offered were directed at the documentary, not at any individuals.

 

[tonmo]

My personal take is that people should be invested in funding and supporting the conservation of all animal species, whether or not they have human-like traits and intelligence.

Agreed - anything that raises our consciousness and wisdom about this planet, its cohabitants, and the universe at large is one of the great gifts of being a cognitive creature!

 

[cephjedi]

I haven't finished watching it, but I echo a lot of the points Tonmo made (Hey buddy! whazzzap!?! ) a lot of the shots were clearly set up in aquaria and there were clearly several different octopuses featured just in the first 30 minutes. That's not a criticism: it's to be expected for TV. I had a lot of trouble swallowing the claim that he found "his" octopus by using Maori tracking methods underwater, over a half mile? I bet a finger he didn't notice 35 other vulgaris dens along the way.

It's been a while since I was in the water, but I noticed anecdotally that older, larger vulgaris's are more likely to interact with a friendly diver. I'd also bet another finger that, under the magnifying glass of science, Caribbean vulgaris are strikingly different from S. African ones. There's a bounty of ecological research available for budding cephalophiles just untangling all the world's "O. vulgarises" and determining how many subspecies that group really has and how they're different.

Either way, it appears the producers did their homework, and portrayed the octopus realistically.

 

[tonmo]

Hey, @cephjedi! -- great to hear from you, and glad you are watching it - not sure how far you got but it's really good end-to-end. And try to be a bit more careful with your fingers, they are extremely valuable for everyday activities!

 

[Thales]

I loved this film.
The minimal anthropomorphism while talking about the feelings one can get when interacting with octos was refreshing and resonated in a way that felt real to me and reflects my experience with these animals in tanks. I believed his story, and have no problem with the pick up shots - they did a great job of having him tell the story from the house, rather than trying to make is seem like it was all being captured as it happened. I also have no problem believing that a lot of the shots were by him, both holding the camera and placing a camera and then coming back to be in the shot (I have done that some). If he can breath hold for 4 minutes (I bet he can do longer) a lot of the shots make me feel like they were by him.
I love that I can feel good about sharing this film in a way that I couldn't with some recent books on octos.
I have had a bit of shit few years and am coming out of it, so his story resonated with me in a big way.
I love all of you TONMO. It's nice to say hello!

 

[Thales]

Oh yeah, and our LPSO paper is in there onscreen!

 

[tonmo]

Oh yeah, and our LPSO paper is in there onscreen!

saw that!!

 

[Jmanrow]

An excellent movie! In "My Octopus Teacher", Craig seems very comfortable freediving without a wetsuit in 8°C (46.4°F) water. Most divers would find that uncomfortable without a 1/4 inch (6.35mm) wetsuit or a drysuit. He must be very disciplined to handle that. I would think there would be a danger of hypothermia. Any comments on this?

 

[pkilian]

All I can say is that when I worked at NEAq in the penguin exhibit the water was about 60F and we wore 6 mil 2 piece suits (so we'd get 12 mil on our torso) and that was still plenty cold. I was under the impression that hypothermia set in even as warm as 55F without proper protections and extended duration in the water.

 

[DHF8]

Late to this conversation, but yes, this was a moving wee documentary film, and very interesting to see cross-kingdom pedagogy (or should that be podagogy?) play out this way. My friend and I are currently working on a long form piece about the appearance/role of cephalopods on streaming platforms like Netflix more broadly. The Pacific Octopus in Jessica Jones, and the interdimensional octopus 'Old Night' in The OA are but two of many many many more I could name drop here.