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If you're interested in the people and personalities and activities at the South Pole, the Werner Herzog film Encounters at the End of the World is a revealing

by dpflan 4y ago

If you're interested in the people and personalities and activities at the South Pole, the Werner Herzog film Encounters at the End of the World is a revealing and interesting documentary. It includes a fascinating part about a deluded penguin choosing to leave its flock and begin a fatal journey towards the center of the island... - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encounters_at_the_End_of_the_World https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encounters_at_the_End_of_the_W... - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1093824/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1093824/

4gotunameagain 4y ago
The famous scene[0] from this film is a masterpiece. It never fails to sink me to my nadir, so I avoid watching it even if I love it so much. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnTU_hJoByA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnTU_hJoByA
- dpflan 4y ago
  Understandable. It struck a deep chord with me, became a larger metaphor applicable to all life.
- boredemployee 4y ago
  Amazing, thanks for sharing.
- Forgeties79 4y ago
  Herzog laying it on thick with the music as per usual lol but that is a beautiful, haunting sequence nonetheless. I like to rag on Herzog but he really is a unique mind and an incredible documentarian.
- sph 4y ago
  Beautiful, thanks for sharing. That penguin walked to his certain death, while his mates swam and caught fish, to their certain death. Sadness for it and his supposed insanity only exists for a fleeting moment. In a long enough timespan, it lived and died like any other penguin has or ever will. Nihilism is not necessarily pessimistic. It presents our universe, and life itself, as a glass half full, but it's up to you to decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Thanks for this evening philosophical reflection.
  - zeagle 4y ago
    I speculate, but I imagine that that type of behavior by a group of individuals on a long timescale where most but not fail is one important mechanism of how remote Polynesian islands, ice age American via Beringia, and other areas of the world get populated.
    - jxramos 4y ago
      That’s what I was thinking—-the occasional outlier’s success in pioneering out into the new.
  - 2-718-281-828 4y ago
    at least for most of us it is not pessimistic only as long as one can muse about it while sitting comfortably in a warm place with a full stomach.
    - sph 4y ago
      You are mistaken. Being at peace with the universe isn't only available to wealthy people. This is a very materialistic view. There is someone out there in abject poverty that is more content than anyone with a warm place and a full stomach. They are hungry, they are cold, yet they are at peace. Likewise, I believe one can reach inner contentment even if fed and clothed. It is not a path accessible only to the poor.
      - kortilla 4y ago
        Food and shelter isn’t materialistic. The lack of them have have severe psychological and physiological consequences.
      - throwaway675309 4y ago
        "There is someone out there in abject poverty that is more content than anyone with a warm place and a full stomach" This is a statement without meaning, e.g. so what? I would wager that it's easier to "come to peace with the universe" if your basic needs are met: warmth, shelter, friends, food, etc. (it has nothing to do with materialism or wealth).
- julienchastang 4y ago
  Thanks. I remember that scene well. Herzog at his finest. I had the privilege of seeing Herzog speak in person at a conference around the time when this movie was released.
- 2-718-281-828 4y ago
  The top rated comment is spot on: > Werner Herzog tells a joke: > "Why did the penguin cross the road?" > "To die. Alone. Insane and unnoticed."
- throw0101c 4y ago
  > It never fails to sink me to my nadir, so I avoid watching it even if I love it so much. Of course the sound track to that scene is a Russian Orthodox religious chant: * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LVHl3HTBoA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LVHl3HTBoA
- cableshaft 4y ago
  Insightful comment on that video by Chudea. Reposting here so I'll remember it: "All death is certain. This penguin didn't go to the mountains to die. He went on the journey in order to live. Rest in peace on the top of that mountain, penguin. Your frozen grave will be your place of victory over monotony."
foobarbecue 4y ago
FYI, many people who spent time at McMurdo around the filming of Encounters are not big fans. The interviews were intentionally set up to make people look weird. The narration implies there's something wrong with "polar people." You might find us dissapointingly normal. A Year On Ice is a more accurate representation. I'm in Frozen Planet, but you can't believe all the narration in that either.
- dpflan 4y ago
  I can see that, with only a few hours of footage to portray the situation they want. Is there not something interesting or an underlying personality trait that makes the voluntary inhabitants of the frozen world different from the average person? How much time have you spent there?
  - foobarbecue 4y ago
    7 summer seasons, about 2 months each. Most of that was in a tent up on Erebus, but about a week transitioning through McMurdo at the beginning and end of each season.
    - dpflan 4y ago
      Interesting, doing field research?
      - foobarbecue 4y ago
        Yeah, here's a taste: https://aaroncurt.is/frozenplanet.html https://aaroncurt.is/frozenplanet.html
        dpflan 4y ago
        (Heh, a taste of fooBBQ.) Thank you for sharing. While we're here and discussing the documentaries: care to share a highlight anecdote of your time there?
tecleandor 4y ago
That has certain crossover with the mockumentary / sci-fi movie "The Wild Blue Yonder". I love that one. They use footage by one of the McMurdo station occupants of the film you mention, as if it were images from a remote planet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wild_Blue_Yonder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wild_Blue_Yonder
leemailll 4y ago
There also is a japanese movie based on a chef in Antarctica: The Chef of South Polar (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1345728/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1345728/)

by dpflan 4y ago

4gotunameagain 4y ago

The famous scene[0] from this film is a masterpiece. It never fails to sink me to my nadir, so I avoid watching it even if I love it so much. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnTU_hJoByA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnTU_hJoByA

dpflan 4y ago
Understandable. It struck a deep chord with me, became a larger metaphor applicable to all life.
boredemployee 4y ago
Amazing, thanks for sharing.
Forgeties79 4y ago
Herzog laying it on thick with the music as per usual lol but that is a beautiful, haunting sequence nonetheless. I like to rag on Herzog but he really is a unique mind and an incredible documentarian.
sph 4y ago
Beautiful, thanks for sharing. That penguin walked to his certain death, while his mates swam and caught fish, to their certain death. Sadness for it and his supposed insanity only exists for a fleeting moment. In a long enough timespan, it lived and died like any other penguin has or ever will. Nihilism is not necessarily pessimistic. It presents our universe, and life itself, as a glass half full, but it's up to you to decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Thanks for this evening philosophical reflection.
- zeagle 4y ago
  I speculate, but I imagine that that type of behavior by a group of individuals on a long timescale where most but not fail is one important mechanism of how remote Polynesian islands, ice age American via Beringia, and other areas of the world get populated.
  - jxramos 4y ago
    That’s what I was thinking—-the occasional outlier’s success in pioneering out into the new.
- 2-718-281-828 4y ago
  at least for most of us it is not pessimistic only as long as one can muse about it while sitting comfortably in a warm place with a full stomach.
  - sph 4y ago
    You are mistaken. Being at peace with the universe isn't only available to wealthy people. This is a very materialistic view. There is someone out there in abject poverty that is more content than anyone with a warm place and a full stomach. They are hungry, they are cold, yet they are at peace. Likewise, I believe one can reach inner contentment even if fed and clothed. It is not a path accessible only to the poor.
    - kortilla 4y ago
      Food and shelter isn’t materialistic. The lack of them have have severe psychological and physiological consequences.
    - throwaway675309 4y ago
      "There is someone out there in abject poverty that is more content than anyone with a warm place and a full stomach" This is a statement without meaning, e.g. so what? I would wager that it's easier to "come to peace with the universe" if your basic needs are met: warmth, shelter, friends, food, etc. (it has nothing to do with materialism or wealth).
julienchastang 4y ago
Thanks. I remember that scene well. Herzog at his finest. I had the privilege of seeing Herzog speak in person at a conference around the time when this movie was released.
2-718-281-828 4y ago
The top rated comment is spot on: > Werner Herzog tells a joke: > "Why did the penguin cross the road?" > "To die. Alone. Insane and unnoticed."
throw0101c 4y ago
> It never fails to sink me to my nadir, so I avoid watching it even if I love it so much. Of course the sound track to that scene is a Russian Orthodox religious chant: * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LVHl3HTBoA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LVHl3HTBoA
cableshaft 4y ago
Insightful comment on that video by Chudea. Reposting here so I'll remember it: "All death is certain. This penguin didn't go to the mountains to die. He went on the journey in order to live. Rest in peace on the top of that mountain, penguin. Your frozen grave will be your place of victory over monotony."

foobarbecue 4y ago

FYI, many people who spent time at McMurdo around the filming of Encounters are not big fans. The interviews were intentionally set up to make people look weird. The narration implies there's something wrong with "polar people." You might find us dissapointingly normal. A Year On Ice is a more accurate representation. I'm in Frozen Planet, but you can't believe all the narration in that either.

dpflan 4y ago
I can see that, with only a few hours of footage to portray the situation they want. Is there not something interesting or an underlying personality trait that makes the voluntary inhabitants of the frozen world different from the average person? How much time have you spent there?
- foobarbecue 4y ago
  7 summer seasons, about 2 months each. Most of that was in a tent up on Erebus, but about a week transitioning through McMurdo at the beginning and end of each season.
  - dpflan 4y ago
    Interesting, doing field research?
    - foobarbecue 4y ago
      Yeah, here's a taste: https://aaroncurt.is/frozenplanet.html https://aaroncurt.is/frozenplanet.html
      - dpflan 4y ago
        (Heh, a taste of fooBBQ.) Thank you for sharing. While we're here and discussing the documentaries: care to share a highlight anecdote of your time there?

tecleandor 4y ago

That has certain crossover with the mockumentary / sci-fi movie "The Wild Blue Yonder". I love that one. They use footage by one of the McMurdo station occupants of the film you mention, as if it were images from a remote planet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wild_Blue_Yonder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wild_Blue_Yonder

leemailll 4y ago

There also is a japanese movie based on a chef in Antarctica: The Chef of South Polar (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1345728/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1345728/)