Nature Movie Club - Inquire Within

[nabokovfan87]

Hey everyone!

I have been floating around this idea for a little while now and trying to find a method to make the idea work.  We have "book clubs" and I think it might be a bit of fun to have a "movie club" for the forums here.  The goal being to encourage interesting viewing of things and to share perspectives on the movie or video of that particular month. 

If you're interested at all, please be sure to follow this thread for more information and future updates on what that movie of the month might be!

A few quick notes on the plan:
- One single suggestion per month for viewing.  People can take as long as they want to view this particular selection, but the goal is to view it and then post in this thread with whatever thoughts you may have!
-The selection will be posted alongside some sort of a trailer or description of the item as well as places where you can watch it via streaming services.
-The hope here is that most of the content is "family friendly" and there are going to be some difficult subjects which do come up.  Ultimately anything that isn't PG-13 should have a bit of a warning.  I will suggest for everyone to add the "Parents guide" for items that make sense via IMDB.

How this works....
1.  You follow the thread and get notified of the particular selection of the month
2.  The first person who posts their thoughts / review of the monthly selection is then nominated to pick next months selection.

I already have the first selection in mind and I am so excited to share that with everyone when the time comes.  Hopefully people join in and are as excited as I am for this!

Edited August 2, 2023 by nabokovfan87

[Fish Folk]

On 8/1/2023 at 8:15 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Hey everyone!

I have been floating around this idea for a little while now and trying to find a method to make the idea work.  We have "book clubs" and I think it might be a bit of fun to have a "movie club" for the forums here.  The goal being to encourage interesting viewing of things and to share perspectives on the movie or video of that particular month. 

If you're interested at all, please be sure to follow this thread for more information and future updates on what that movie of the month might be!

A few quick notes on the plan:
- One single suggestion per month for viewing.  People can take as long as they want to view this particular selection, but the goal is to view it and then post in this thread with whatever thoughts you may have!
-The selection will be posted alongside some sort of a trailer or description of the item as well as places where you can watch it via streaming services.
-The hope here is that most of the content is "family friendly" and there are going to be some difficult subjects which do come up.  Ultimately anything that isn't PG-13 should have a bit of a warning.  I will suggest for everyone to add the "Parents guide" for items that make sense via IMDB.

How this works....
1.  You follow the thread and get notified of the particular selection of the month
2.  The first person who posts their thoughts / review of the monthly selection is then nominated to pick next months selection.

I already have the first selection in mind and I am so excited to share that with everyone when the time comes.  Hopefully people join in and are as excited as I am for this!

I’m in. 

[AquaHobbyist123]

I'm in!

[DaniV]

Sounds fun!

[PineSong]

I will give it a try.

[Fish Folk]

Alright @nabokovfan87 let’s do this! We have a small crew. Lead the way…

On 8/6/2023 at 10:15 PM, PineSong said:

I will give it a try.

Did you click “follow” at the bottom of this post? 

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/6/2023 at 7:19 PM, Fish Folk said:

Alright @nabokovfan87 let’s do this! We have a small crew. Lead the way…

I'm too excited!  I was trying to give people some time to see the thread and what not. 

FIRST UP We have a "birthday selection" of sorts for myself.  The original plan was to start in September, my birthday month, but all is well.  Let's kick this shindig off!
 

I will also link a specific article for your enjoyment whenever you would like to watch.  Ultimately, this is someone I had never heard of and her (and her husband's) impact on the shark as we know it as a thing in every day culture is profound.  There is a constant theme of love and respect for people who swim with sharks.  I cannot help but feel that sense when watching this film.  Please enjoy.

Streaming Platform:  Disney+ (National Geographic)
Rating: TV-PG
Parent's Guide: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11226258/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg

[PineSong]

On 8/6/2023 at 10:19 PM, Fish Folk said:

Alright @nabokovfan87 let’s do this! We have a small crew. Lead the way…

Did you click “follow” at the bottom of this post? 

Shucks, no I did not. Got distracted and also didn't know how to do that--I just now saw the button! I am going to try to watch the movie now. A day late, a dime short!

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/14/2023 at 6:56 PM, PineSong said:

Shucks, no I did not. Got distracted and also didn't know how to do that--I just now saw the button! I am going to try to watch the movie now. A day late, a dime short!

No rush at all. Plenty of time 🙂

[AquaHobbyist123]

Starting it now! Here we go.......

[AquaHobbyist123]

 

********MILD SPOILER ALERT**********

 

Just a few thoughts:

     An absolutely terrific documentary. I'd read about Valerie and Ron Taylor's explorations in the past, but this provided much more detail. It had some mildly disturbing footage with dead sharks and shark body parts, but unfortunately that is a sad reality today and is necessary to give people a grasp of just how many sharks are being killed. The experiment that Valerie and Ron conducted by baiting themselves in the chain mail was very interesting to watch. I'd seen photos, but not watched actual video of it before. It's a very informative movie which gives me a greater appreciation of the Taylors' work.

@nabokovfan87 An awesome selection!

10/10 would recommend!

[PineSong]

On 8/17/2023 at 10:16 PM, AquaHobbyist123 said:

 

********MILD SPOILER ALERT**********

 

Just a few thoughts:

     An absolutely terrific documentary. ...

@nabokovfan87 An awesome selection!

10/10 would recommend!

I also really liked it--both for the information about sharks and the behind the scenes views of what goes into getting all the nature footage we enjoy and learn from. I was surprised I wasn't familiar with the Taylors--I'm sure I'd seen some of her photos in Nat'l Geographic, but that's all I can remember. 

Years ago I read Eugenie Clark's "Lady with a Spear", about an American woman on the frontier of spearfishing, scuba diving and studying sharks during the 50's and 60's. Any of you who felt inspired by Valerie Taylor's frontrunning might also enjoy Clark's book. 

It certainly was disheartening to hear about the decimation of shark populations due to fear and the fin market. People really are the terror of the seas. I was a kid in south Florida in the early 70's and was very traumatized by seeing sharks and other large fish hauled onto the pier and killed. I won't go into detail but suffice to say I've never eaten fish nor voluntarily entered a seafood restaurant, so you could say it made a lasting impression. The Taylors must have seen the same x1000, and I can certainly appreciate what it took for them to work so valiantly in the direction of shark conservation.

Thanks for the great choice, Nabokov!

[nabokovfan87]

It's really awesome to hear that the journey in the film was enjoyable.  I'll dive into my thoughts on a rewatch here shortly, but I just wanted to express how happy I am that so far everyone has enjoyed it! 🙂

[Alex S.]

I thought this was an incredible documentary! I’ve thought about investing in the equipment to start snorkeling, and maybe even getting certified to start diving, and this film sparked that flame even more! Watching fish in an aquarium is amazing, but seeing them in the wild in their natural habitat would be out of this world! 
 

Jaw is one of my favorite movies, but I had never heard the story about the shots the Taylor’s collected. I’m gonna have to go back an watch that film to pay closer attention to them. I will say, I also never realized the impact Jaws had on the way out culture views sharks. It’s crazy to think about how much the shark population has declined and not that long at all, and I can’t help but think that some of it came from the repercussions of that movie.
 

I will say, this is making me want to invest in a several hundred gallon aquarium so I can house a school of bala sharks and at least pretend to have a piece of that world 😉

Excellent choice for the first film! I’m excited for the next one! 

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/20/2023 at 7:35 PM, Alex S. said:

I will say, this is making me want to invest in a several hundred gallon aquarium so I can house a school of bala sharks and at least pretend to have a piece of that world 😉

Leopard shark! 🙂

On 8/20/2023 at 7:35 PM, Alex S. said:

I’ve thought about investing in the equipment to start snorkeling, and maybe even getting certified to start diving, and this film sparked that flame even more! Watching fish in an aquarium is amazing, but seeing them in the wild in their natural habitat would be out of this world! 

You should check out some of @Chick-In-Of-TheSea's dives and adventures.

[Alex S.]

On 8/20/2023 at 10:47 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Leopard shark! 🙂

You should check out some of @Chick-In-Of-TheSea's dives and adventures.

I’ll definitely have to check them out! 

[AquaHobbyist123]

What day will the next selection be released?

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/21/2023 at 10:24 AM, AquaHobbyist123 said:

What day will the next selection be released?

Any time during the first week of September. And the selection goes to @AquaHobbyist123h because you were first to post thoughts for this month. 🙂

[nabokovfan87]

Well, let's dive in. (get it 😂 )

I have to start by saying that this was a lot more difficult for me to watch this time around than I previously remember. The intro ~30 minutes or so just were so brutal to me.  The vivid red splashes and the technicolor type of coloration made things very pronounced, the tighter focal lengths with the older cameras, something about the vintage style and the barbaric nature of things hit me really hard.  I couldn't get through the movie the first time just because of needing to take a break and revisit it.  I was having trouble focusing on the narration as a result of that stuff. 

In all, the people in this film were all new to me. I hadn't known the story behind the scenes in jaws as much as I had no clue about the ties of gender inequality and other issues presented in the film either. As we all know it was a very different time and place back when those things happened and some of those attitudes were the norm.  I can only imagine that seeing someone literally "playing with sharks" and having that be this fearless woman was more profound than people realized in that moment.  I could only imagine the impact she would've had if she was doing her thing in the spirit of a Steve Irwin shouting "how beaaaauuuutiful" on kids TV. 

Blue Water, White Death  leading to inspiring the author who wrote Jaws (the novel) which lead to the infamous movie.


Even the verbiage on the poster is so intense and pushing those tropes, understandably.  😞

The wonderful thing they did what that they learned and showed the world how to interact with the sharks.  The "bump them back on the nose" was advice given for so many decades as a result of their notes and commentary.  We know so much more than we did back then about their behavior and interaction with sharks.  It is refreshing to go back to "simpler times" so to speak with sharks and when the ocean is seemingly full of them.  I am sure there are places you still can visit to this day with that quantity of sharks around you, but it's something I do keep in the back of my mind when watching the older movies and scenes.  Seeing the same places over and over and trying to note what has changed or how different the atmosphere looks.

One of the first use of shark suits as we know them today, talk about trusting your product for testing.

Here is the photo from the original article with Valerie.... what a shot.
https://nationalgeographicbackissues.com/product/national-geographic-may-1981/


I think it's a pretty poetic little documentary.  It's hidden, buried under all of these short nature "documentaries" on the app, but it's one that I wish a lot of people would give a chance to.  It's a great story and hearing her tell it, as mentioned above... she's a very profound person.  Her way of explaining, remembering, and cherishing those moments is something special and I am thankful that the story of herself and her husband were able to be shared in such an elegant fashion.  Her admiration and eventual efforts to protect nurse sharks is something I truly admire.  They are absolutely one of my favorite species.  As a fishkeeper, it seems like such a simple thought.... sharks have their own personalities. Thankfully that little bit of detail changed the conversation around them.

My hope is that we don't need to have movies like this about the fear of sharks one day and the beauty and awe of an animal can speak for itself.  The data already does.  The tropes that are constantly used in the conservation side of things have their place, but I would hope that in 5, 10, or 15 years we aren't still trying to get past this notion of sharks being man eaters and the primal fear humans have of them.  That moment in the end of the documentary was really cool to see.  Seeing her back in her element with her friends just able to make that trip one more time.

[AquaHobbyist123]

On 8/24/2023 at 1:35 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

It's hidden, buried under all of these short nature "documentaries" on the app, but it's one that I wish a lot of people would give a chance to.

I know, I had a hard time finding it on Disney Plus. Really should be more popular.

[nabokovfan87]

@Fish Folk any luck watching the one for August!?!?

@AquaHobbyist123swhenever you're ready!

[Fish Folk]

Just watched "Playing with Sharks: The Valerie Taylor Story."

First off, @nabokovfan87 , thank you so much for the delightful film selection! I genuinely enjoyed it all.

Here is my review, with a number of quotations.

“All great conservationists began with hunting. They were the only ones getting out there…” I think that this is often the case. Without some concept of getting out into nature -- which often begins with hunting / fishing -- interest in biology flounders in books and screen footage. Valerie's story is tragic in part, with the disproportionate and disgusting hunting that followed from JAWS, etc; but also heroic in the end with the marine reservations she has helped to advocate for and cultivate.

“From now on, I’m shooting them with my camera.” Largely, this is what our family has resolved to. We enjoy freshwater excursions, but do catch and release. My boys enjoy getting out into nature with dad...

When diving with Oceanic Whitetipped Sharks (?), she made a unique comment that went something like this: “We were accepted as another species that had come to feed on the whale, but not until we had [made peace] with the pack…” I think it is very interesting how sharks file the presence of other creatures in a feeding zone. A bit of gentle but firm prodding was all that they needed to come to terms.

The documentary really took off with the story of Valerie and Ron's involvement with the JAWS film. The gripping power of a terrorizing story versus the patience required for appreciating truth is on full display. Someone has wisely observed that "the imagination is the author of all error." I loved how she reflected on shark interactions in the wild in one televised interview, “You should treat them with caution, but you don’t go ‘round being afraid of motorcars…”

The reflection on sand sharks and nurse sharks reminded me of some of our favorite experiences. Our family has really enjoyed visiting marine aquariums over the years. One favorite, near our vacation spot in NC, is Pine-Knoll Shores just outside of Morehead City, NC. It's a great place with loads of educational opportunities. Here's my wife and son looking inside the largest aquarium...

Valerie's chain-mail suit evidence against shark bite force was wild! Again, I think it takes the crazy wild boldness of someone who once went diving on all sorts of fishing expeditions to try things like that. And what a team Ron and Valerie made! Later in the film, her hand-feeding of Great White sharks was very beautiful. Mind you... I'd probably not sign up for it myself due to my flat-line ignorance and inexperience. But her evidence is remarkable.

I loved some of the lines about conservation. “You just cannot continually take something unless you replace it.” I agree. Not that I am opposed to taking, but there needs to be a bigger picture. The fin trade was disgusting to witness. “Every one deserving of our respect…” Agree 100%. I just wish that human beings would agree to this towards other human beings as well as creatures. 

Her aim to build “Enormous marine national parks where you cannot take anything…” is a great concept. Very nice to see some of that happening! I laughed as one commentator said of her, “She’d have the whole world be protected if she had half a chance.” I think that there just needs to be a sense of stewardship with nature.

It was deeply moving to watch through Ron’s passing. It is really quite a touching story through the process of human aging. Elegantly filmed and told. The bull shark sequence off of Fiji was stunning! 

On a more philosophical level, I'll note one point of respectful disagreement: Near the end, she said, “Nature made the perfect animal…” Though I agree that sharks are incredible, I disagree with the underlying premise. I am on the side of adaptive engineering and do not accept that "nature" makes anything. If it did, we would have to accept that "nature" also made shark fin hunters and blood sport great white shark extreme anglers mindlessly destroying marine environments. I do not accept as inevitable the wreckage human beings are capable of inflicting on species. I believe we are responsible to steward life on this planet. So in the end, I agree with her efforts! But probably for some completely different reasons  altogether.

Great film! Looking forward to the next one.

Edited September 3, 2023 by Fish Folk

[nabokovfan87]

On 9/2/2023 at 8:04 AM, Fish Folk said:

Her aim to build “Enormous marine national parks where you cannot take anything…” is a great concept.

It is something I have seen a lot more groups working on.  It takes decades sometimes just to have the data to get one put in place.  Even then, it's sort of weird how people can go to the Galapagos and just go long-lining and get whatever they want.  It's tragic.  I cannot wait for the day when were have the "pacific ocean white shark preserve" and other major areas where fishing of any kind is not tolerated. 

On 9/2/2023 at 8:04 AM, Fish Folk said:

Here's my wife and son looking inside the largest aquarium...

Look at that shark! Absolutely awesome.  I would be laying there on the floor just in awe forever.  It's that sort of awe that you gain as a child and never let go of.  I remember seeing them as a kid with my grandma and just being stuck in that spot watching them do absolutely nothing but rest on the bottom.  I couldn't get close enough...

[AquaHobbyist123]

I'll try to release my pick by Wednesday. Have to pick a new one, because the original pick might not have as many people watch it because of expense and it not being on a conventional streaming service.

[Fish Folk]

On 9/3/2023 at 12:10 PM, AquaHobbyist123 said:

I'll try to release my pick by Wednesday. Have to pick a new one, because the original pick might not have as many people watch it because of expense and it not being on a conventional streaming service.

Interesting you mention this. My “someday” pick would also be described this way. Would us each buying screening be helping some conservation efforts though?