Shackleton’s Captain.
Shackleton’s Captain is a mixed media docu/drama of the highest quality. (Currently available on Amazon Prime.)
Actors, historians, archivists, mountaineers along with recent footage of icy seas and glaciers combined with original footage from the 1914-1916 expedition make an unparalleled retelling of a remarkable instance of human greatness. A failure – they did not reach their goal – they accomplished something so much more lasting: a model (necessarily an imperfect model) of human capability. The human capability which surpasses normal physical limitations.
Every single man came home.
Civility – highlighted at one particular moment – was a necessary part of preserving the sanity and life of each member of the expedition.
The particular moment when civility was crucial was as last traveling cohort – Shackleton, Worsley, and Crean are roped together trekking through the uncharted interior mountain ranges of South Georgia Island. They trekked without proper boots or equipment for the ice and deep snow. When one would sink into deep snow or slip, the others would be dragged down with him. In normal circumstances, men would curse and swear at each other as they picked themselves up and moved on. In these circumstance, indulging in the luxury of demeaning their companions to vent one’s frustration, could have proved fatal.
Worsley wrote:
“I was roped in the rear at this time, and noticed the rope so slack several times that I had difficulty to avoid treading on it, and once, did so. This is irritating to the others in ordinary mountaineering, but with fatigued men it is almost more than they can bear if it happens often, and, following the example of our leader, we did our utmost to help and consider each other and avoid any cause of annoyance, however trivial. Responding to Shackleton’s unselfishness, teamwork was pulling us through.”
Thank you.
Your kindness is much appreciated.