Page 8 - MidWeek - May 26, 2021

8 MIDWEEK MAY 26, 2021
Rotten
Stuck On An Octopus
BY CHRIS MCKINNEY
PAPAYAS
What is a life? In human terms, spe- cifically modern American, it’s growing up, going to school, getting a job, maybe raising some kids, get- ting old, maybe retiring, and you know, the whole death and taxes thing. For us, if we’re lucky, the process takes roughly 80 years. For our clos- est animal companion, the dog, it’s about an 11-year go. One of our worst enemies, viruses, are microscopic organisms that can live up to a few months in a proper host. Trees? Some are thousands of years old. Clearly, on Earth, there isn’t a unform life experience or expectancy. Nature documentaries effec- tively remind us of this.
Last week, I watched one
of the best I’ve seen in a long time: Academy Award-win- ning documentary My Octopus Teacher.
after, he encounters a curious female octopus. Enthralled by the creature, he will return to her aquatic forest, her lair, for over 300 consecutive days.
There’s also a believable, action-packed story here. This particular type of octopus has a life expectancy of only one to two years. During this journey, we see this octopus hunt and be hunted. She loses a leg. She grows it back. She wields an abalone shell like a shield. She gathers other scattered shells and wears them like body ar- mor. The octopus is a clever creature. It hides. It deceives. It learns. And like everything else, it inevitably diminishes. In the case of the octopus, it’s reproduction that ends her. Ironically, she’s killed by cre- ating life. Foster can only pow- erlessly watch from a distance.
Shot in False Bay, South Af- rica, My Octopus Teacher isn’t a nature doc in the traditional sense. It’s about a burnt-out filmmaker (producer Craig Foster) who returns home to reconnect with the Atlantic Ocean that nourished his child- hood.
The underwater shots in this film are amazing. The close-ups of the octopus, this liquid creature, changing the textures and colors of her skin, are vivid. Even more remark- able than the cinematography is the octopus’s behavior. First, she begins to get used to Fos- ter’s presence. Then, she be- gins to trust him. Soon after, she actually reaches out to him and clings to him. They devel- op a relationship that doesn’t resemble pet/owner, victim/ protector. It’s more of a mutu- al curiosity, an acceptance of another’s presence.
Directors for best documentary feature My Octopus Teacher Pippa Ehrlich, left, and James Reed, right, flank actress and award presenter Marlee Matlin at the 2021 Oscars, held April 25 in Los Angeles. AP PHOTO/CHRIS PIZZELLO, POOL
that’s a loner, that won’t raise its young, that we frequently dine on, and that doesn’t make a peep. Despite all this, I dare you to watch this movie and not fall in love with this oc- topus. She is an extraordinary living thing.
chrismckinney808@gmail.com
When the film began, I felt like I was watching the health- iest male midlife crisis I’d ever seen. Don’t buy a Porsche, do a bunch of drugs or date people half your age. Go back to the thing that made you happy as a kid. In Foster’s case, the ocean. Before long, Foster is taking his camera on free dives. Soon
I tend to think that often peo- ple only value life that in some way resembles us. But for things we consume on a mass scale, all bets are off. Maybe we can only love a thing if we’re able to imagine cuddling it or inhabiting its skin.
Netflix’s My Octopus Teacher features a creature
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