My Octopus Teacher: The Greatest Horror Film
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN recommends it as a well-done critique of the documentary, sometimes in preference to watching the film itself.
What it is
Maggie Mae Fish analyzes the documentary My Octopus Teacher as an eco-horror film, critiquing it as a story of a man projecting his own needs onto a wild animal.
Recommended by 3 HN commenters across 3 different months, 2021 to 2022.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec AnonC · 2022-09 · on “Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?”
I would recommend people not to watch it and instead watch this well done critique (and criticism) titled “My Octopus Teacher & Environmental Horror” by Maggie Mae. [1] I could’ve spent my time better if I’d watched this and avoided “My Octopus Teacher” altogether. [1]: [this video]
Recommends whymauri · 2021-06 · on “Heroic rat retiring from detecting land mines”
Love this analysis. It reminds me of Maggie Mae's breakdown of My Octopus Teacher as eco-horror film -- it ends up exploring the same themes around language and communication that you brought up here. [0] [0] [this video] Specific time stamp for section on language (Gorillas in the Congo): [this video]
Recommends shard · 2022-01 · on “The mystery of social behavior in octopuses”
Here is a critique of My Octopus Teacher as a movie of a self-centered man who projects his issues onto an unsuspecting wild animal: "MY OCTOPUS TEACHER & Environmental Horror, An Analysis" [this video]