My Octopus Teacher. Ugh.

[GatoradeMeBitch]

I watched this on Netflix last night. If the octopus was the teacher, the student should have been failed.

The documentary is beautifully shot (after the unnecessary first part about his midlife crisis) and we see some amazing footage of the octopus, but my main takeaway is how selfish this man is.

He built a bond with her that was entirely one-sided. He didn't help her out with food while she was pregnant, and didn't save her from a shark attack (small sharks) either during or afterward because it would be "interfering with nature's process", but he had spent months with her every day interfering with nature's process. Frightening her, then gaining her trust, encouraging her to leave her den every day and gain confidence being out in the open and around him. Maybe she even saw this big friendly creature as a protector? Without his input she might have stayed carefully hidden and camouflaged as she was when he first encountered her, and not been attacked by a predator.

So the lesson is, we must not interfere with nature. Except for when it personally benefits us.

I agree with you 100% - although watched the film, I admit.
A lot of our natue documentaries just are not possible without disturbing them in some way. We are very lucky that we get to see them, but it causes me a mental conflict. And I did cry when watching My Octopus Teacher.
Have you watched Earthlings?

nature

A lot of our natue documentaries just are not possible without disturbing them in some way.

This is true. I'm just tired of the narrative of "not disturbing the natural order" when it's conveniently going to produce a dramatic plot-point for a documentary, and ignoring the fact that his whole project disturbs the natural order.

I haven't seen Earthlings, but it's on my to-watch list actually.

Yeah I thought he was a massive fucking twat too. The octopus was great. Ffs, does it really take an octopus to teach a man to have empathy for other living beings? Ridiculous.

@GatoradeMeBitch

A lot of our natue documentaries just are not possible without disturbing them in some way.

This is true. I'm just tired of the narrative of "not disturbing the natural order" when it's conveniently going to produce a dramatic plot-point for a documentary, and ignoring the fact that his whole project disturbs the natural order.

I haven't seen Earthlings, but it's on my to-watch list actually.

Re: Earthlings - watching it/listening to it (I simply couldn't watch quite a lot....) changed me as a person. I won't watch it again - but I remember almost everything.

I do wonder just how much we need to know about our fellow inhabitants of this planet. Education and awareness seem to involve disruption of some sort, however minor - and therefore what we see is not actually natural. And so it then becomes merely "entertainment".

I am guilty of having travelled to Kenya and out to a safari lodge in what we might think of as the Afriaan Bush. But the animals around us were still, enclosed for our "benefit" - no matter how large the area, we were denying them their natural roaming behaviour. But it was a memorable experience to, as dark fell, walk across from one lodge to another on the walkways with the elephants coming to drink at the watering hole underneath. (My daughter did go on to study Animal Behaviour Science, probably on the strength of this and other trips.)

Interesting point. I was so moved by the programme and I see what you mean.
In general I hate it when people say don’t interfere with nature when something bad is about to happen and it could be stopped, when humans do nothing but interfere with nature, usually for the worse!

@Karwomannghia

Interesting point. I was so moved by the programme and I see what you mean. In general I hate it when people say don’t interfere with nature when something bad is about to happen and it could be stopped, when humans do nothing but interfere with nature, usually for the worse!

It's a vicious circle; we interfere and affect (usually detrimentally), and then further interfere - sometimes - to correct or amend for what we have done!

I could not watch this, jt was beautiful but I could not stand the narrator's voice.

I loved this but yes can understand feeling a bit aghast that Craig didn't help the octopus when those pyjama sharks attacked her or gave her some food when she was guarding her eggs.
Though after googling I found out that trying to give the octopus food would not have made any difference to her surviving as even the male octopi die soon after dating.
After breeding Octopi go into 'senescence' which is rapid deterioration of the cells so like ultra fast aging. Their bodies shut down & they die.
Giving them food won't change things as their digestive system shuts down & they won't/can't eat.
www.ranker.com/list/octopus-mating-facts/machk

It was a very good programme & I had a little cry at the end too. Never thought I'd end up thinking a real life octopus was cute, but she was a sweetie & so pretty with those eyes.
I may have gone a bit 🐙 mad

It was beautiful and I loved the octopus but the guy was creepy and I thought his feelings about the octopus were kind of creepy for lack of a better word.

@Gmom

It was beautiful and I loved the octopus but the guy was creepy and I thought his feelings about the octopus were kind of creepy for lack of a better word.

Creepy how? I just finished this and thought it was very touching. I think I would've been overcome with emotion too!

I kept wishing I could hear his wife's unfiltered description of how he spent that year.

There’s a category of nature writing I once heard described as ‘lone, enraptured male’. This fits the bill. Pisses me off no end.

To be fair Craig wasn't well at the beginning (severe depression) so I can imagine his wife was very grateful that he had something to keep him going & help him get better

He should have saved Ms Octo