5 ms·

I did not like this documentary at all, i don't get the point of it at all... A privileged white dude complains about how he feels disconnected from his family

I did not like this documentary at all, i don't get the point of it at all... A privileged white dude complains about how he feels disconnected from his family, so he spends a year harassing an octopus. It literally tries to run away and he stalks it, it's creepy.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
defterGoose 5y ago
The world must look a very gray place to you. Is our curiosity about the world not one of the fundamental features of humanity? The fact that a man is able to rediscover his fervor for life in something as lowly as an octopus seems to me to be nothing short of beautiful. The film is antithetical to our fractured modern society of ease, reason, disregard for our lowlier neighbors on this planet, and mindless consumption. Its frustrating to me that its expectedly relegated to the doc category while a vapid, shallow commentary on modern life such as Nomadland is nominated for best picture.
shuntress 5y ago
I was expecting some kind of mention of this guy's apparent privilege. As I recall, not even a single line in one of the talking-head section even as simple as "I've been incredibly lucky to be at a place in my life where I have the resources to make this film." I found this lack to be particularly off-putting when the general message (of this otherwise good documentary) is more-or-less "You can strengthen your soul by connecting with nature".
- awb 5y ago
  > I was expecting some kind of mention of this guy's apparent privilege. What's the goal of this though? Any popular documentary is the result of privilege somewhere along the line. Either it's self-funded by a privileged person, or it raised money from privileged people. Either way, all the content you're able to view on TV, streaming or in the movies is because someone along the line had the privilege to make the film, promote it and distribute it. And those privileged people are likely the ones benefiting the most from it. So is the goal to just acknowledge when the protagonist has privilege or should everyone involved in the film do it?
  - shuntress 5y ago
    This specific story is explicitly personal and delivers a personal message, rather than an objective "Here is an octopus in it's natural environment." "I was unhappy in my life so I spent time personally connecting with and understanding nature and now I feel more fulfilled and whole as a person" is likely to cause viewers who think "Yikes, I sure wish I could afford to drop everything go swimming every day" to respond with resentment. A small acknowledgement of this disconnect can be enough to bring those viewers back in to engage with the core message. The "goal" is to craft a more resonant/engaging story. I think you need to assess why you have assumed I have some sort of agenda or why this should apply in the exact same way to all media.
    - awb 5y ago
      > is likely to cause viewers who think "Yikes, I sure wish I could afford to drop everything go swimming every day" to respond with resentment Really? I doubt given the choice that many people would choose to dedicate a year to daily cold water swimming and filmmaking. And we have no idea about the financial arrangements. Maybe he pitched the idea and got an advance. And we don’t know if he was consulting on the side. Resentment probably says more about the viewer than the filmmaker. At that point you might just as well resent capitalism. > The "goal" is to craft a more resonant/engaging story The privilege exists wether it’s acknowledged or not. I don’t need all my characters to be fully self-aware or without flaws to find them engaging. But we know very little of his life story. All we see is a small glimpse into the fact that he’s burnt out. > I think you need to assess why you have assumed I have some sort of agenda I didn’t assume you had an agenda. Why did you assume that? I meant “what’s the goal” as in “what’s the point”, like “why is that important to you”.
      - shuntress 5y ago
        > Really? Yes. I do not doubt given the choice that many people would choose to dedicate a year to daily cold water swimming and filmmaking. > And we have no idea about the financial arrangements. Maybe it could be anything. But the story as presented in the movie is: a burnt-out white guy (who lives in an ocean-view villa in South Africa) spends every day filming an octopus. > I don’t need all my characters to be fully self-aware or without flaws to find them engaging. I'm not talking about all characters and I don't understand why you are. > I didn’t assume you had an agenda. Why did you assume that? Because I made what I thought was a relatively small and reasonable observation. Your response (instead of engaging with that point perhaps by arguing that My Octopus Teacher is improved by the fact that the main character seems like an out of touch "What's a banana cost? Ten dollars?" rich guy) was to bring in wild hyperbole about applying this specific observation to every one in every thing couched in the extremely broad statement "Any popular documentary is the result of privilege somewhere along the line." > I meant “what’s the goal” as in “what’s the point” To craft a more resonant/engaging story > “why is that important to you” Because I like engaging stories that feel fully thought out.
- lm28469 5y ago
  You should go out and take a deep breath of reality. People in real life, especially outside of the US, aren't obsessed with talking about their or other people's privileges every time you put a microphone in front of their face.
  - shuntress 5y ago
    You should go out and take a deep breath of reality. People in real life, especially outside of the US, care how they present themselves to other people and about their impact on society and culture. People always tend to acknowledge their privilege or advantages. Here in the US we even have a national holiday for just that [0]. Don't try to twist this into some culture war bullshit. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving
    - chimpansteve 5y ago
      I'm not from the US, though I have spent probably a quarter of my post university life over there. There is a hell of a lot to love about your country and your people. I've never felt more welcome in any other country anywhere. However. Saying that Thanksgiving "acknowledges your privileges" is possibly the strangest and most disconnected thing I've ever heard an American say. And that's a pretty high bar.
- SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
  > this guy's apparent privilege. This was filmed near Simon's Town, near Cape Town (1) One can feel blessed living in that part of the world near beach and mountains. There are also still some appalling 3rd world tin-shack slums in Cape Town. It's a part of the world where the privilege is very easy to see, if you care to see it. 1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Octopus_Teacher https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Octopus_Teacher
awb 5y ago
> A privileged white dude complains about how he feels disconnected from his family I thought he was suffering from burnout. Regardless, it's possible to be rich and sad at the same time. You don't have to have empathy for the guy if you don't want to, but if we're turning suffering into a competition, there will always be someone with bigger problems than you. > It literally tries to run away and he stalks it, it's creepy. Scientists observe animals that try to run away all the time. And it did approach him on multiple occasions as well. I found it to be a fascinating case study in the life of an octopus in it's natural environment. These long form animal documentaries are a lot more interesting to me than "Earth" or the like where it's a rapid fire, quick form snapshot into multiple animal species.
SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
> It literally tries to run away and he stalks it, it's creepy. shrug other people who dive in that bay would stalk it, catch it, kill it and later that day; cook and serve it with some nice white wine to their family. Is that less creepy?
SavantIdiot 5y ago
That was my thought process exactly for the first half of the film. Really pissed me off that he had this "woe is me my life is so empty" while having this dream job and living in paradise. Like, WTF dude? See a therapist. What softened me was the storytelling: it's a feelgood formula and I'm a sucker for that. I believe one could have easily re-narrated this film to make the octopus terrified, we have no real way to know. Sorry you're getting downvoted, but I agree with you. Some people just want to see a happy narrative, even if it has a dark side. But definitely bursting at the seams with privilege and questionably misleading ethics.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

defterGoose 5y ago

The world must look a very gray place to you. Is our curiosity about the world not one of the fundamental features of humanity? The fact that a man is able to rediscover his fervor for life in something as lowly as an octopus seems to me to be nothing short of beautiful. The film is antithetical to our fractured modern society of ease, reason, disregard for our lowlier neighbors on this planet, and mindless consumption. Its frustrating to me that its expectedly relegated to the doc category while a vapid, shallow commentary on modern life such as Nomadland is nominated for best picture.

shuntress 5y ago

I was expecting some kind of mention of this guy's apparent privilege. As I recall, not even a single line in one of the talking-head section even as simple as "I've been incredibly lucky to be at a place in my life where I have the resources to make this film." I found this lack to be particularly off-putting when the general message (of this otherwise good documentary) is more-or-less "You can strengthen your soul by connecting with nature".

awb 5y ago
> I was expecting some kind of mention of this guy's apparent privilege. What's the goal of this though? Any popular documentary is the result of privilege somewhere along the line. Either it's self-funded by a privileged person, or it raised money from privileged people. Either way, all the content you're able to view on TV, streaming or in the movies is because someone along the line had the privilege to make the film, promote it and distribute it. And those privileged people are likely the ones benefiting the most from it. So is the goal to just acknowledge when the protagonist has privilege or should everyone involved in the film do it?
- shuntress 5y ago
  This specific story is explicitly personal and delivers a personal message, rather than an objective "Here is an octopus in it's natural environment." "I was unhappy in my life so I spent time personally connecting with and understanding nature and now I feel more fulfilled and whole as a person" is likely to cause viewers who think "Yikes, I sure wish I could afford to drop everything go swimming every day" to respond with resentment. A small acknowledgement of this disconnect can be enough to bring those viewers back in to engage with the core message. The "goal" is to craft a more resonant/engaging story. I think you need to assess why you have assumed I have some sort of agenda or why this should apply in the exact same way to all media.
  - awb 5y ago
    > is likely to cause viewers who think "Yikes, I sure wish I could afford to drop everything go swimming every day" to respond with resentment Really? I doubt given the choice that many people would choose to dedicate a year to daily cold water swimming and filmmaking. And we have no idea about the financial arrangements. Maybe he pitched the idea and got an advance. And we don’t know if he was consulting on the side. Resentment probably says more about the viewer than the filmmaker. At that point you might just as well resent capitalism. > The "goal" is to craft a more resonant/engaging story The privilege exists wether it’s acknowledged or not. I don’t need all my characters to be fully self-aware or without flaws to find them engaging. But we know very little of his life story. All we see is a small glimpse into the fact that he’s burnt out. > I think you need to assess why you have assumed I have some sort of agenda I didn’t assume you had an agenda. Why did you assume that? I meant “what’s the goal” as in “what’s the point”, like “why is that important to you”.
    - shuntress 5y ago
      > Really? Yes. I do not doubt given the choice that many people would choose to dedicate a year to daily cold water swimming and filmmaking. > And we have no idea about the financial arrangements. Maybe it could be anything. But the story as presented in the movie is: a burnt-out white guy (who lives in an ocean-view villa in South Africa) spends every day filming an octopus. > I don’t need all my characters to be fully self-aware or without flaws to find them engaging. I'm not talking about all characters and I don't understand why you are. > I didn’t assume you had an agenda. Why did you assume that? Because I made what I thought was a relatively small and reasonable observation. Your response (instead of engaging with that point perhaps by arguing that My Octopus Teacher is improved by the fact that the main character seems like an out of touch "What's a banana cost? Ten dollars?" rich guy) was to bring in wild hyperbole about applying this specific observation to every one in every thing couched in the extremely broad statement "Any popular documentary is the result of privilege somewhere along the line." > I meant “what’s the goal” as in “what’s the point” To craft a more resonant/engaging story > “why is that important to you” Because I like engaging stories that feel fully thought out.
lm28469 5y ago
You should go out and take a deep breath of reality. People in real life, especially outside of the US, aren't obsessed with talking about their or other people's privileges every time you put a microphone in front of their face.
- shuntress 5y ago
  You should go out and take a deep breath of reality. People in real life, especially outside of the US, care how they present themselves to other people and about their impact on society and culture. People always tend to acknowledge their privilege or advantages. Here in the US we even have a national holiday for just that [0]. Don't try to twist this into some culture war bullshit. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving
  - chimpansteve 5y ago
    I'm not from the US, though I have spent probably a quarter of my post university life over there. There is a hell of a lot to love about your country and your people. I've never felt more welcome in any other country anywhere. However. Saying that Thanksgiving "acknowledges your privileges" is possibly the strangest and most disconnected thing I've ever heard an American say. And that's a pretty high bar.
SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
> this guy's apparent privilege. This was filmed near Simon's Town, near Cape Town (1) One can feel blessed living in that part of the world near beach and mountains. There are also still some appalling 3rd world tin-shack slums in Cape Town. It's a part of the world where the privilege is very easy to see, if you care to see it. 1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Octopus_Teacher https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Octopus_Teacher

awb 5y ago

> A privileged white dude complains about how he feels disconnected from his family I thought he was suffering from burnout. Regardless, it's possible to be rich and sad at the same time. You don't have to have empathy for the guy if you don't want to, but if we're turning suffering into a competition, there will always be someone with bigger problems than you. > It literally tries to run away and he stalks it, it's creepy. Scientists observe animals that try to run away all the time. And it did approach him on multiple occasions as well. I found it to be a fascinating case study in the life of an octopus in it's natural environment. These long form animal documentaries are a lot more interesting to me than "Earth" or the like where it's a rapid fire, quick form snapshot into multiple animal species.

SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago

> It literally tries to run away and he stalks it, it's creepy. shrug other people who dive in that bay would stalk it, catch it, kill it and later that day; cook and serve it with some nice white wine to their family. Is that less creepy?

SavantIdiot 5y ago

That was my thought process exactly for the first half of the film. Really pissed me off that he had this "woe is me my life is so empty" while having this dream job and living in paradise. Like, WTF dude? See a therapist. What softened me was the storytelling: it's a feelgood formula and I'm a sucker for that. I believe one could have easily re-narrated this film to make the octopus terrified, we have no real way to know. Sorry you're getting downvoted, but I agree with you. Some people just want to see a happy narrative, even if it has a dark side. But definitely bursting at the seams with privilege and questionably misleading ethics.