In the Shadow of the Moon (2008)

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details of classification and consumer advice lines for In the Shadow of the Moon (2008)
• a review of In the Shadow of the Moon (2008) completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 6 March 2008.

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• themes
• use of violence
• material that may scare or disturb children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie’s message

A synopsis of the story

The documentary, In the Shadow of the Moon focuses exclusively on the men and achievements of the Apollo space missions between 1968 and 1972 in which nine Apollo space craft visited the moon and twelve men walked upon its surface. The film’s story is told via the personal stories and reminiscences of the remaining Apollo astronauts including Buzz Aldrin, Alan Bean, Eugene Cernan, Michael Collins, Jim Lovell, Edgar D Mitchell, Harrison Schmitt, Dave Scott, and John Young. The documentary opens by discussing the space race between the Americans and the Russians, and how in the early stages of the Apollo program failure was more common than success, with rockets blowing up on the launch pad almost a daily occurrence. The film depicts how the various engineers and astronauts designed developed and constructed the Apollo technology and training program.

The Apollo astronauts talk about their roles as test pilots and explorers, and how the higher and faster and more dangerous the experience was the more exciting it became. The astronauts talk about the guilt they suffer in relation to the Apollo 1 disaster, in which fire killed the three-man crew of the Apollo One space capsule. They reflect about the Vietnam War, and the guilt they felt when friends were shot down while they remained safe. They discuss their fears and concerns, their devotion to the program and their perseverance. The near disastrous mission of Apollo Thirteen is discussed and depicted. And the Apollo astronauts talk about what they gained and learnt from their experiences, how the Apollo missions changed their perspective of life, humanity and the universe.

Risk taking; Death; War; Life-changing experiences.

In the Shadow of the Moon contains some briefly displayed archival footage of violence, talk about violence, and accidental harm including:

• Early rocket attempts exploding in flames either on the launch pad or in flight.
• American warplanes dropping bombs and bombing Vietnam fields and countryside with the fields exploding in balls of flames.
• A brief image of a man holding his finger to his head as if shooting himself in the head. 
• The coffins of President Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King are seen being carried and we hear about the assassinations.     
• We hear about the Apollo One disaster, and how the three men were burnt alive due to bad wiring (the burnt-out remains of the Apollo 1 capsule are shown).
• There are images of Neil Armstrong ejecting from a flying machine used to simulate lunar landings and parachuting to the ground seconds before the flying machine exploded into flames.
• We hear the astronauts talk about their fears and concern, and the real life dangers they face. One astronaut talks about how, “If something happened to that motor, they were dead men.”  
• We see brief images of soldiers holding and pointing rifles, and images of baton wielding riot police clashing with the American public.
• We hear astronauts talking about the Vietnam War and friends being shot down over Vietnam and their associated feelings of guilt.        
• We hear about an explosion and the loss of oxygen reserves aboard Apollo Thirteen  (we see the actual images of oxygen being vented) and how this jeopardised lives of the astronauts aboard Apollo Thirteen.

Material that may scare or disturb children

• Some of the above mentioned scenes may disturb children in this age group.

• Some children in this age group may also be disturbed by some of the content described above.

• Some children in this age group may also be disturbed by some of the content described above.

• Nothing further noted.

Product placement

• None noted.

Sexual references

• None noted.

Nudity and sexual activity

• None noted.

Use of substances

There is some brief use of substances in this movie, including:

• Brief images of people handing out and smoking cigars.
• One astronaut talks about giving up smoking his pipe and drinking alcohol.
• One astronaut mentions going out and getting roaring drunk.

 

Coarse language

In the Shadow of the Moon contains infrequent low level coarse language including:

• Thank God, sucker
• What a hell of a ride
• God only knows
• You dumb arse.

 

In a nutshell

In the Shadow of the Moon is a documentary that tells the story of the Apollo space missions (1968-1972). The story is told through interviews with the actual Apollo astronauts and digitally remastered archival film. The documentary reminds older viewer and informs the younger viewers just how awe inspiring and life changing the achievement and experiences of the Apollo missions were.

The main messages from this movie are:

• Humanity is not a single unconnected entity, but part of a dynamic interconnected universe. That there is a feeling of connection or oneness with the universe, and that there is something out there that is much larger than us.
• That we need to cherish and protect our environment.
• That when people put their minds to a task we can accomplish things that seem impossible. 

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

• Perseverance through adversity
• Courage and a spirit of exploration.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

• The achievements and successes of the Apollo missions were viewed as an achievement by the whole of humanity rather than just America. Could this attitude assist humanity to overcome the effects of global warming?
• The Apollo missions were life changing. What was it about the experience that caused the astronauts to gain a greater perspective of life, Earth and the Universe?