If you’ve been following my blog for the last week or so, then you know I recently read, reviewed, and attended book club for REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt. If not, that’s okay because I have a link to my review and book club discussion at the end of this post. Both posts are spoiler free.
While I was at book club, one of my friends recommend we watch MY OCTOPUS TEACHER on Netflix if we hadn’t yet seen it. She said it backed up some of Marcellus’ more unbelievable personality traits. Even though I loved Marcellus whether his character was believable or not, I decided to heed her advice and watched the 85-minute documentary last Friday.
MY OCTOPUS TEACHER follows a year-long friendship between a South African documentary filmmaker and naturalist, Craig Foster, and a female common octopus living in a kelp forest in False Bay, near Cape Town. When Foster first started diving in 2018, he encountered a young curious octopus. At first, just like most animals, she kept her distance from him. She began to trust him when she realized he wasn’t a threat. As her trust grew, she allowed him a look into her world.
I adored watching MY OCTOPUS TEACHER. It was captivating and it made Marcellus more real. I formed a bond with the octopus as I saw her through Foster’s eyes. I knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for Foster and I was glad to be a small part of this miracle.
I also thought MY OCTOPUS TEACHER did a great job of illustrating, in a non preachy way, the importance humans have of preserving the natural habitats of these creatures as best we can. I’m so glad I decided to watch this. Not only did I see how intelligent and endearing octopuses are, my love and respect for them grew.
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What about you? Have you seen MY OCTOPUS TEACHER? If so, what did you think?