The Mission

The Mission (NATGEO)

Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Mission:

Should have listened the first two times.

Quick synopsis:

The story of missionary John Chau who died attempting to evangelize to the people of North Sentinel Island.

Fact for Non-History People:

We know so little about the North Sentinelese that we don’t even know how many of them there are.

Fact for History Nerds:

North Sentinel Island is only 23 square miles.

My Take on The Mission:

Let’s get this out of the way, first. The people of North Sentinel Island do not want us to come near them. And by “us” I mean literally everyone that is not already an inhabitant of North Sentinel Island. It is illegal to go near it. Almost everyone who has gone near it has been attacked or killed. They could not be any clearer.

Enter John Chau. Chau was a 26-year-old from Alabama who was a Christian missionary who decided to make North Sentinel Island his mission since it might be, “Satan’s last stronghold on Earth.” Yes, that is a direct quote. He made three landings on the island. All three times he was violently attacked to make him leave. On the third visit, the North Sentinelese killed him.

The documentary looks at how Chau became a missionary and chose this as his mission. Chau was definitely not a bad person who deserved to die. In fact, nearly everyone explains he was a wonderful person. However, more people than I expected willingly say on the documentary that he was, at best, naive, and, at worst, thinking with a colonial mindset.

I found this doc to be well-done and balanced. I went into it thinking that John Chau was entirely at fault. The North Sentinelese made their wishes clear. The doc does suggest that Chau may not be the only one at fault. The lesson is pretty clear, though.

Leave them alone.

Verdict:

Definitely worth a watch. Watch it here!

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