Hello!
Our family has been watching the new series, “Pole to Pole with Will Smith.” It’s about this journey that Will Smith took, starting in Antartica and reaching the South Pole, stopping in several parts around the world, and ending at the North Pole. He goes on adventures and meets lots of people. We have two episodes left, which is why I put “most of” in the title. There’s been parts that I’ve liked and parts I’ve disliked, I will talk a bit more about it below.
What’s something you liked about it (and why)? I’m really enjoying seeing these amazing places around the world, and the animals! This series has shown some beautiful places, and the aerial shots are really good. It’s been so cool and inspiring and makes me want to visit these places. They’ve also shown a lot of neat animals, including an anaconda, other jungle animals, and fish in a coral reef. I loved wild animals when I was younger, and watching this has helped rekindle that in me, at least I’m into it right now. I’d love to learn more and watch more shows about beautiful places around the world, and the animals living there.
What’s something you disliked about it (and why)? I don’t like how the show has been talking about and showing things that aren’t good, and acting like they are good. As some examples of things I don’t agree with, the whole premise is that Will is trying to find the answers to life’s biggest questions out in nature, in this whole experience, and maybe in himself too. There was also a whole episode about finding true happiness and they talked about and showed things that I don’t agree with, and acted like these things were good. There were people who seem to idolize and delight in nature (in an unhealthy way) rather than God, the Creator. They’ve showed some different cultures and people who live in the jungle, on an island, in the mountains, and Buddhist monks. There’s a lot I think about all this, and there may be some partial truth in some of this. I do know that I don’t like how the show has been acting like all this is good, including the stuff that goes against Catholicism and God which I know is not good. I don’t like it because I feel like it may be causing me and my family to sin, it’s sending a bad message to people who watch the show, and it’s not right. And I feel bad for the creators of the series and everyone they’re highlighting because they’re in sinful ways and missing so much.
What was your biggest takeaway or lesson? I think my biggest takeaway is feeling even stronger that God may be calling me to serve people in other countries, and to share Jesus with them. I’ve felt a draw to something like this before, but while I was watching this, and then after and having seen a little bit more of what it could be like, I feel even stronger that God may be calling me to something like this.
Another takeaway is the fact that these people who are searching for answers and happiness, even though they’re not looking to God for it, they’re still close. There was a whole episode about finding true happiness. They talked about things that are very close to Catholic teachings, such as remembering your death, surrendering, how suffering and happiness are related, and realizing that pleasure does not equal happiness. I think there was also something said at one point that reminded me of St. Teresa’s idea of the Interior Castle and that God is within us (I don’t actually know much about her teaching with that so that may be inaccurate). Us as human beings are still drawn to this stuff and these people figured them out in a way. Yet they don’t have the whole truth.
What is something you’re curious to learn more about as a result of this experience? Because of what I mentioned above, I’m curious to learn more about being a FOCUS Missionary or something similar!
Thanks for reading!
Lucy