Into the wilderness pbs5/6/2023 ![]() ![]() Proenneke represents in his own person the gifts and talents given to him by God, as well as the wisdom acquired and developed through his own efforts and the education afforded him by a life in the civilized world. He had learned through hard work in the military, and then later as a renowned professional mechanic, the skills that would allow him not merely to survive but in fact to thrive in such adverse conditions. But even beyond this sort of mundane if only sporadic contact with others, when he moves to Twin Lakes, Proenneke brings with him a lifetime of experience and training. He does have some ongoing and periodic contact and help from the outside world. This is a man of significant character and ability.Īnd it is in recognizing these abilities that we begin to see that Proenneke – even though there isn’t another human being around for many, many miles – isn’t really alone. Over the course of the documentary we see the cabin take shape, and Proenneke’s talents and tenacity are on full display. By all appearances, Proenneke really is “alone” in his wilderness, and his achievements are indeed remarkable. ![]() ![]() And particularly in a place like Alaska, Proenneke works in a visually stunning setting, albeit one with an extreme climate often unfriendly to human habitation. On a superficial level Alone in the Wilderness taps into the deeply romantic vision of the human person single-handedly carving out an existence in the harsh and threatening natural world, “red in tooth and claw” in Tennyson’s words. Proenneke’s adventures are the closest real-life analog to the fictional adventures recorded in classic tales like Robinson Crusoe (1719) and The Swiss Family Robinson (1812), or more contemporary examples like the TV show Lost (2004-2010). In this remote location Proenneke builds a cabin by hand, and the documentary captures his labors with a variety of hand tools and resources taken from the surrounding countryside. One of the more intriguing shows that PBS runs occasionally (especially during its pledge drives) is the documentary Alone in the Wilderness, which chronicles the exploits of Dick Proenneke, who retired in 1967 to Twin Lakes, Alaska. ![]()
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