Thursday, September 10, 2015

Thoughts from History Channel's "Alone"

HT: Trevin Wax

It is not good for man to be alone, God said in Genesis 2. The History Channel may disagree, after considering the success of their reality survival show.
In Alone, ten men seek to outlast each other in the wilderness of North Vancouver Island in order to win $500,000. They are isolated from civilization with a limited number of supplies. Day after day, they must fend off bears and cougars, scrounge up enough food to sustain themselves, and endure the relentless wind and rain. They have no camera crew; they film themselves and the various projects they undertake as they try to survive.
Alone is one part-Survivor, one part-Man vs. Wild, and one part-Blair Witch Project. Which is to say, there’s more than enough suspense and drama to keep you coming back for more.
What I found most interesting was the delicate interplay of immanence and transcendence in what the men express on camera. At various points in the ordeal, the men reveal their worldviews, but they do so in ways that illustrate the tensions and inconsistencies in their view of humanity and our place in the world.
You can read the rest.

No comments: