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Hostile Planet: We Will Survive

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(National Geographic)

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to view a few scenes from a new show on National Geographic called Hostile Planet (Mondays, 9 PM/8 CT).  Being an avid nature enthusiast, I was thrilled to spend some time with God’s creation since I don’t get outdoors as much I would like.  However, I found myself cringing quite a bit as I watched.  Perhaps it’s because I have an idyllic view of how nature works.  Yes, I’m sure it can get rough from time to time, but do baby birds really have to suffer the consequences of learning to fly in the form of smashing their heads repeatedly against the side of a mountain as gravity takes them hundreds of feet to the ground?  Somehow, I found myself intrigued, in a macabre sort of way.

The first episode aired on April Fools’ Day and did not bring the baby birds I remembered.  Instead, it focused on the polar regions of our planet and provided an air of familiarity in the form of penguins, seals, and bears with white fur.  I found myself transported to a winter wonderland where the narrator was describing behavioral patterns of artic wolves.  But the voice of David Attenborough’s was not there, replaced with that of outdoor enthusiast Bear Grylls instead.  Grylls made a few brief appearances in the episode, then got out of the way to let the animals and cinematography do the talking.

We’ve been trained to know that life in the Artic is brutal and that only a few animals can survive the harsh conditions. Those are put on display as male penguins stay alive while keeping an egg warm enough to hatch, then giving it enough food so that the two don’t starve to death.  This has been seen multiple times on nature documentaries.  The hostility is upped a notch when leopard seals decide to have a feeding frenzy and a baby penguin gets to fight for its life on a submerging ice floe.  It’s pretty harrowing to watch.  Artic wolves struggle to survive, but when they need to eat, they can group together and take down a baby musk ox.  When its mother stays behind to watch her offspring die, she suffers the same fate.  Is there blood?  Yup.

Outside of these two examples, Hostile Planet is more like watching a generic nature documentary, albeit with significantly better camera work (thanks to Academy Award-winning cinematographer/director Guillermo Navarro (Pan’s Labyrinth).  This is not a bad thing, but there wasn’t enough hostility for me.  Perhaps that will change in subsequent episodes.

(National Geographic/Tom Hugh Jones)

While watching the struggles of these animals—especially a polar bear attempting to navigate a never-ending maze of ice—I began to think about how life is for humans.  We might not live in the Artic, but we face struggles that seem to never go away—slogging in a dead-end job we’re unable to get out of; watching loved ones fight diseases; making ends meet for our family.  It can get to a point where we’re ready to just give up.  Yet we are able, somehow, to make it to the next sunrise.  The apostle Paul noted that for followers of Jesus, there is a hope that can be held on to in those difficult times: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NIV).  Life can certainly be hostile, but we definitely have the ability to not only rise up, but thrive in the face of adversity.  If there’s a lesson we can learn from the penguins, polar bears, and artic foxes, that is it.  Thanks for the reminder, National Geographic.

The Story of God with Morgan Freeman S2E3: Just Look

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(Photo Credit: National Geographic/Savas Georgalis)

I think there comes at least one time in every person’s life where s/he seriously contemplates if God exists. Perhaps it’s in a time where everything in life is falling apart and there is nowhere else to turn (see Job). Perhaps it’s a reflection about the words someone else has said on the subject.  It could even be a realization that something seems to be missing in life.  For me personally, it came from sitting on a vacant beach one afternoon and watching the waves crash on the shore.  My thought was simply this: “I cannot understand how someone can look at the ocean or the beauty of nature and not believe there is a God.”  The final episode of the second season of The Story of God with Morgan Freeman (Monday, 9PM/8CT Nat Geo) discusses the proof of God we all look for.  The answers have the ability to drive us right to him—if we’ll allow for it.

(Photo Credit: National Geographic/Seth Nejame)

In my opinion, this was the strongest episode this season by a large margin.  It felt like a return to the questioning, inquisitive nature that encouraged people to take an interest in faith.  Freeman showcases his usual alluring charm and sharp analysis as he introduces a number of ways people find personal proofs for God.  Sujo John’s story was fascinating—he survived 9/11 after climbing down 81 floors to escape. There’s more, but I won’t give it away.  These times of crisis will often drive us to a realization that God is real.  Of course, this also brings up the question of why God allows some to live and others to perish in situations.  John’s comment involved peace and the confidence that if he was to die, everything would be okay.

Some people see miracles as proof—the dancing of the sun in the sky in Fatima, Portugal (top photo) is one example. Some people find their proof in healing others via dead ancestors, such as villages in Namibia.  Others find God’s proof within themselves, like some Buddhists who have the ability to channel what they call “inner fire,” giving them the ability to raise their body temperatures through meditation. Many Muslims see their proof in the words of their holy book, the Qu’ran.  Even scientists aren’t immune to looking for proofs of God, as theoretical physicist Art Lovie shares by describing nature and mathematical equations that demonstrate the existence of life itself.

(Photo Credit: National Geographic/Reza Riazi)

Freeman ends the episode by noting that we’ll find God in the space between knowledge and doubt. If this is to be taken at face value, it means that somewhere within us is a space only he can fill. The French mathematician Blaise Pascal said something to that exact effect: “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing.” Christians believe the form of the filling comes only through Jesus, who is proof of God in human form. He calmed the wind and waves (Mark 4:35-41), healed people (see Matthew 15:30 for one example), and even sweat blood at one point (Luke 22:29-44).  But without Jesus’ return to life after death, his life was lived in vain.  And yet God allows nature, individual situations, and other people to help bring about the filling of the vacuum.  This way, people are without excuse regarding a proof of God, because it’s seen every day (see Romans 1:18-20).  All that has to be done is to slow down, stop, and look around to see it.

I’m looking forward to a third season of The Story of God with Morgan Freeman.  There’s way more to God than meets the eye, and the show has just scratched the surface.  Who knows what will be found as we go deeper?

tiff16: VOYAGE OF TIME: LIFE’S JOURNEY

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voyage-of-time

Terrence Malick is an acquired taste.

The mysterious director has built a prolific career, to be sure, but his style of filmmaking can be polarizing, with it’s emphasis on visual narratives and fractured style.  Some have written him off as self-indulgent while others have looked upon him as a prophetic and profound.

Personally, I fall somewhere in the middle.  While some of his films have left me awestruck (TREE OF LIFE), I have found others to be less focused and, ultimately, missed opportunities (TO THE WONDER).

Thankfully, VOYAGE OF TIME: LIFE’S JOURNEY lands in the former category.

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There is little to tell in terms of a ‘story’, per se.  But that’s not really how Malick works anyways.  Essentially chronicling the creation of the Earth, VOYAGE OF TIME wants you to experience its narrative, rather than explain it.  By revealing the evolution of the planet with blistering colour and elegant music, Malick wants us to witness the terrifying beauty of nature in all its glory.  A burst of colour explodes into the darkened sky.  Volcanoes erupt to form land.  Lightning strikes the earth and life begins in the seas.  Through this style of storytelling, the result is both violent and graceful as we bear witness to Malick’s depiction of the evolutionary process.

voyage-of-time-trailer

Narrated by Cate Blanchett*, Malick also poses some fascinating spiritual questions by asking “Where did I come from?” and even, “Do you love me?”  While there will be some who object to the fact that Malick takes an evolutionary approach in his film, they would be missing out on his larger argument that all creation has purpose.  By the end of the film, as Blanchett claims that “we are bound with You in love”, Malick has deftly demonstrated that the beauty and violence associated with nature is in fact evidence of a Divine interaction with humanity.  Yes, we are broken but there is something larger going on around us.  In this way, Malick plays the role of psalmist, speaking truth and life into visual wonder.

Without question, there will be many who dismiss this film for its very slow pacing and accuse it of over-indulgence.

Still, I found this to be one VOYAGE that was worth the trip.

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*(A shorter version of the film, entitled VOYAGE OF TIME: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE will be released exclusively in IMAX with Brad Pitt’s narration instead.)