Not suitable under 8; parental guidance to 10 (depictions of predatory animal behaviour and death)
This topic contains:
Children under 8 | Not suitable due to depictions of predatory animal behaviour and animal death. |
Children aged 8–10 | Parental guidance recommended due to depictions of predatory animal behaviour and animal death. |
Children over the age of 10 | Ok for this age group. |
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.
Name of movie: | My Octopus Teacher |
Classification: | G |
Consumer advice lines: | Predatory Animal Behaviour, Very Mild Coarse Language |
Length: | 85 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Craig Foster, a wildlife filmmaker, documents a year spent developing a relationship with a common octopus in a South African underwater kelp forest. As Craig and the octopus get to know each other, he witnesses her life and challenges in the ocean, culminating in her birthing of the next generation of octopuses and her eventual death.
Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.
Animal harm and death.
Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.
Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:
Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.
In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:
Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.
In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged eight to thirteen, including the following:
Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.
The following products are displayed or used in this movie:
There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:
There is some coarse language in this movie, including:
My Octopus Teacher is a wildlife documentary by Craig Foster with beautiful footage of ocean life and a compelling story about the short life of an octopus. This film will likely entertain children 11 and older, as well as younger children with a specific interest in wildlife, however, the film is not suitable for children under 8 and parental guidance is recommended for 8 to 10-year olds due to depictions of predatory animal behaviour and animal death.
The main messages from this movie are the transience of life and nature; and that Humans are part of the natural world and should work to protect and value it.
Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:
This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:
Tip: Leave out the first A, An or The
Selecting an age will provide a list of movies with content suitable for this age group. Children may also enjoy movies selected via a lower age.
Content is age appropriate for children this age
Some content may not be appropriate for children this age. Parental guidance recommended
Content is not age appropriate for children this age
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ABN: 16 005 214 531