Page 2 November 26, 2020 ‘My Octopus Teacher’ Shows the Connection That We’ve Lost and Long For With Our Natural World By Ryan Rojas for cinemacy.com For some of us, the dizziness of these times has us feeling disconnected from our natural world. Perhaps that’s why, in a need to escape from life on land, audiences are diving into the new documentary My Octopus Teacher (now streaming on Netflix). My Octopus Teacher follows South African documentarian Craig Foster. After spending a career photographing wildlife and seemingly losing touch with the modern world, he leaves it all behind and takes up a new hobby: diving off of the South African coast. In the process, he discovers the presence of a female octopus–who he pursues and documents each day. Over time, she encourages him to think of life’s bigger questions and lessons. Comprised of just one character (well, two, if you count a certain tentacled co-star), we follow Craig singularly, which makes for an incredibly personal, diary-like experience. His solemnly spoken interviews are intercut with footage of him swimming alongside an ever-growing octopus (footage that he shot himself). All things combined, it’s a very soothing watch: his peaceful and easily meditative speech makes for a calming narration of his underwater adventures. Through Craig’s journey, I was certainly able to feel a reconnection to nature (and I work on computers all day long). Even though the experience is a second-hand one, seeing Craig’s footage is really quite transporting. Although he dives with a snorkel (meaning he’s without an air tank, and therefore is unable to explore the ocean’s deepest depths), his coastal dives capture a brilliantly colorful aquatic world that is amazing to behold. You won’t need a scuba suit or diving license in order to be taken away to a whole other world. I find it quite funny that during the most technologically-advanced time in history, we’re turning for answers from silent oceandwellers (although its intelligence may rival our own–octopi have a brain in each of its eight tentacles!). My Octopus Teacher rings so powerfully at a time when some of our highest elected officials reveal a remorseless hypocrisy in the human spirit, that we re-direct our efforts to find answers to life’s questions with one of life’s most prehistoric creatures. But, be warned: like any nature documentary, you should prepare to see nature showing its less heartwarming side, in which the circle of life should be experienced without attachment. I’m actually not sure what My Octopus Teacher left behind, in terms of the greatest lesson that Craig–or I–learned. But perhaps that’s something that can only be answered by each one of us that watches it, as long as we look to take the plunge for the chance at finding peace with an eight-legged friend. 85 min. ‘My Octopus Teacher’ is now streaming on Netflix. • My Octopus Teacher, courtesy Netflix. Ryan Rojas. Swoon Over Some Moons: A NASA Essay Challenge By Tommy Vinh Bui, MLIS Associate Librarian Inglewood Public Library Sharpen those pencils and grasp for a fresh sheet of A4 paper. NASA’s Scientist for a Day essay contest is in full swing and our eyes are uninterruptedly fixed on the moons of Uranus this year. So before you succumb to the inevitable brain lethargy triggered by an ever copious amount of consumed candied yams this upcoming Thanksgiving, let’s give your noggin one last rigorous rev. Scientist for a Day is an annual essay contest that challenges students to approach and realign their thinking. Impel them to evaluate critically like a scientist. Curious and crafty students are invited to explore three orbiting moons that the NASA Voyager 2 spacecraft careened by and visited during it’s historic sojourn trailblazing through the solar system. The assignment is a considerable undertaking and should provide aplenty of intellectual fodder for antsy paragraph-producing fingers. Perform research on the three moons of Uranus: Ariel, Oberon, and Titania. And based upon your canny findings, write about which moon is the best candidate for a return mission by another spacecraft someday. Which lunar surface would justify a journey of billions of miles and further scientific scrutiny and yield the best data-driven results? We leave those findings to your able and capable discernment, steadfast students. A little context on the mission, NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft waded and reached the Uranus system on January 1986. The spacecraft came within 81,500 kilometers of the planet’s cloudtops. Given the limitations of the mission, the spacecraft snapped as many pixels possible from a hampered vantage. The flybys were but all too brief and NASA scientists were only able to study one side of these far-flung and distant moons unfortunately. But progress forges ahead and one day we hope to make a triumphant return to the system and further advance our knowledge of the great cosmic mystery heretofore unknown in that particular corner of the universe. The parameters of the essay? In a wellarticulated and structured essay of no more than three-hundred words; which moon has captured your imagination the most? Support your claim with reinforcing justifications. What about this particular moon inspires you? What have we learned so far about this specific moon and why does it warrant further study? And what do you hope mankind will discover upon returning to this mysterious celestial body? It’s a lot to chew over for a writing assignment. So this’ll be an ideal brainy appetizer to build up to the cranial feast of the upcoming school semester. So don’t let the holiday break be an excuse to let the brain congeal and curdle like so much leftover Thanksgiving green bean casserole. Let that cortex conflagrate with a hearty writing assignment that involves both inquiry-based and problem-based learning. 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