Story
The documentary In the Shadow of the Moon focuses on the achievements of the men involved in Apollo space missions between 1968 and 1972. In this time, nine Apollo space craft visited the moon and 12 men walked on its surface.
The film’s story is told via the personal stories and reminiscences of the remaining Apollo astronauts. They include 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. It notes that in the early stages of the Apollo program, failure was more common than success. For example, rockets blowing up on the launch pad was 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. They also discuss how the experience became more exciting as it became higher, faster and more dangerous. The astronauts talk about the guilt they suffer in relation to the Apollo 1 disaster, in which fire killed the three-man crew. They reflect on 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 13 is discussed and depicted. And the Apollo astronauts talk about what they gained and learned from their experiences. For example, they reflect on how the Apollo missions changed their perspectives on life, humanity and the universe.
Themes
Risk taking; death; war; life-changing experiences
Violence
In the Shadow of the Moon contains some archival footage that depicts violence, talk about violence, and accidental harm. For example:
Sexual references
None
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
There is some brief use of substances in this movie. For example:
- There are 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.
Nudity and sexual activity
None
Product placement
None
Coarse language
This movie contains infrequent mild coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
This documentary tells the story of the Apollo space missions from 1968 to 1972. The story is told through interviews with the actual Apollo astronauts and digitally remastered archival film. The documentary is a reminder of just how awe inspiring and life changing the achievements 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. There is a feeling of connection or oneness with the universe, and there is something out there that is much larger than us.
- We need to cherish and protect our environment.
- Things that seem impossible can be accomplished if people put their minds to it.
You could talk to your child about these messages and also about the values of perseverance through adversity, courage and the spirit of exploration presented in this movie. You could also discuss some of the following issues:
- 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?