Deep Blue

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details about Deep Blue's classification and consumer advice lines
• a review of Deep Blue completed by Young Media Australia (YMA) on 1 February 2005.

Overall comments and recommendations

Deep Blue is a documentary that takes the viewer to the breadth and the depth of the ocean. The cinematography is superb and it reveals some astonishing wonders, particularly at the very bottom of the ocean. Deep Blue is made to be educational and visually entertaining however there are some distressing scenes showing animals killing and eating their prey.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) and the associated consumer advice lines.

YMA review

This review of the movie Deep Blue contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• use of violence
• material that may scare children
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie's message

A synopsis of the story

Deep Blue takes the viewer on a journey through and above the ocean, following schools of dolphins, flocks of albatross, a colony of sea lions and Emperor Penguins and many other creatures. A submersible vehicle travels to the bottom of the ocean revealing the most extraordinary creatures and very interesting features of the ocean floor. In one scene, sharks are shown hunting in a pack and go into a feeding frenzy when they find a large fish who has been hiding. The sea lion colony is delightful and shows the pups playing in the shallow waters but a killer whale comes close into shore and captures one to eat.

Use of violence

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.

There are some violent scenes in this movie depicting animals killing for food:

• A killer whale captures a young sea lion and it is shown repeatedly throwing the sea lion into the air.
• The sharks attack a fish in a feeding frenzy.
• A polar bear attacks a whale
• Killer whales stalk a mother grey whale and its calf and eventually manage to separate the calf from its mother. They then drown the calf and kill it; blood is shown pouring out, and what is left of the calf is shown.

Material that may scare children

Under eight

Children under eight are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations, the death of a parent or child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

The above mentioned scenes would scare children in this age group. Also some of the creatures in the ocean are quite grotesque and scary looking.

Aged eight to thirteen

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.

Children in this age group would probably not be scared by this movie, but they might find some of the scenes distressing.

Over the age of thirteen

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.

Children in this age group would not be scared by this movie.

Sexual references

There are no sexual references in this movie

Nudity and sexual activity

There is no nudity or sexual activity.

Use of substances

There is no use of substances.

Coarse language

There is no coarse language.

The movie's message

As this movie is a documentary, there is no message or values presented.