Yes Children of Magenta is a good video and makes many valid points - great idea to take out the autothrottle if you fly Boeings but not such a good idea on the Airbus. Airbus teach autopilot off then flight directors off to get the autothrust into SPEED mode.
Not true. Airbus golden rule number 6: When things don't go as expected - TAKE OVER.
That includes the ATHR. "Children of the Magenta" is a good video and it is even more valid today, for both Boeings and Airbuses, than it was in 1996 when it was recorded. Today we have a vast army of new entrants to the profession who have NO IDEA how to fly a swept wing jet transport aeroplane without AP/FD and ATHR because they have little or no bank of experience to fall back on when it doesn't go as expected. Too many are even
scared to fly manually.
This stuff is BASIC, folks. A basic understanding of power and attitude = performance and a basic ability to fly an aircraft manually is still essential. That is why manual raw data flying exercises are an integral part of every check at the company where I work.