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Alone-TitlecardIt 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.

Tension #1: The Dilemma of “Finding Yourself”

Embedded deep within the American psyche is the idea that human flourishing depends on a person discovering their true self in order to fulfill their destiny. The purpose of life is to “find yourself” by breaking free from the expectations of your family and community and then determining your own path forward.

Not surprisingly, several of the men in Alone speak of their period of isolation in these terms – as a semi-spiritual quest of self-discovery. Going into the woods means getting rid of all distractions – which include technology and even people. In order to be at peace with yourself, you’ve got to get away from everyone else.

But Alone also reveals the impossibility of such a quest. The deeper these men retreat into their inner selves, the more they realize they cannot get to the bottom of themselves on their own. They cannot help but consider their lives in light of the people closest to them, the people they love and miss the most.

It is almost as if these men descend into the darkness of a well, only to find the reflection of the water at the bottom reveals all their family members and friends – not just their inner essence. In the end, there is no “solitary self” to be discovered, except for the self that longs for communion with others. It is not apart from others, but through others that we find out who we are.

Tension #2: Seeking Transcendence in the Immanent World

In ancient societies, men and women saw isolation as a way of experiencing “the divine” – whether (for Christians) the triune God or (for pagans) the divinity on display in nature. The immanent world was a portal through which transcendent truth could travel, a reality that could touch and change us.

The men in Alone see their journey into the wilderness differently. There is a quest for transcendence here, but it is assumed that any transcendent experience will occur on this side of the heavens. They speak of spiritual purging, and dealing with guilt, but there is no expectation to go beyond the present world and encounter God.

The immanence/transcendence tension also shows up in the simultaneous embrace of naturalism and creationism. One character explains the difference between the “survival of the fittest” and the more accurate description of Darwinism as “survival of the most adaptable.” A quote from Carl Sagan opens one of the episodes. Human adaptability is credited with our ascendance up the evolutionary chain.

At the same time, the characters refer to nature as a “work of art.” They speak of themselves as “designed” for some things and not others. Whenever one of the men catches a fish, a mouse, or something that can be cooked and eaten, they are overcome with gratitude. Only one gives thanks to God. The others express gratitude but never direct that sentiment to anything other than the animal that has died. It’s as if thanksgiving bubbles up from their hearts but has nowhere to go.

Tension #3: Nature as Hostile and Friendly

One of the main characters of Alone laughs at people who talk about man battling nature. Rest assured, “nature will win,” he says. The key is to work with nature, not against it.

Here we see the third tension running through the show. Nature is a beautiful place where these men can find sustenance and build their shelters. But the wilderness is also hostile. The winds pummel them; the animals stalk their camp; the tides take over; and the rain won’t let up.

Alone taps into the romanticized vision of nature that many Americans have – a romance that may be due to the infrequency of our encounters with nature’s terror. It was striking to me how Africans who heard about Cecil the Lion cheered the hunter who felled a beast that strikes terror into the hearts of the populace. Americans who heard about Cecil the Lion were outraged, perhaps due to the fact the only place we encounter such predators is at the zoo or on an endangered species list.

Alone is intriguing because it draws you in with the romanticized vision of “finding yourself” in nature, and then rips off the façade and shows you nature in all its fury.

Conclusion

If you get a chance to see Alone, pay attention to these lines of philosophical and theological tension running through the show. You’ll get a glimpse into the worldview of a society that is longing for spiritual purgation and earthly significance – but doesn’t know where to find it.

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