“The Poseidon Adventure,” a 1972 film about a passenger ship overtaken by a tidal wave, asks tough questions about prayer, survival and the responsibility to save ourselves and others, according to Zach Jansen, digital content producer for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Jansen told “Practicing Catholic” host Patrick Conley on the program set to air at 9 p.m. Jan. 10 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM, “There are a lot of tense moments. This was one of the first disaster movies from the 1970s disaster cycles if you saw movies like “Earthquake,” “Towering Inferno,” “Airport,” “Airport ‘77,” “Airport 1975.”
Jansen explained that faith is front and center in “The Poseidon Adventure.” For example, the main character, Rev. Frank Scott, portrayed by Gene Hackman, discusses the role of prayer with the ship’s chaplain. Jansen explained that Hackman’s character believes that God helps those who help themselves.
“Five centuries before Christ, people were relying on themselves before calling on to God,” Jansen explained. “It’s something that we have to think about when we want God to help us. We have to remember that God created us, and he gives us the strength. We have to be the ones that put our best foot forward and hope for the best.”
In one scene, a group of people are in the ballroom waiting to be rescued. Hackman urges the people to leave and go to the rescuers because the ship will soon be underwater. Jansen said only a handful of characters survived the disaster and none of them stayed in the ballroom.
“The movie does push that theme really hard, and it does show that if you want to survive, if you want to do well, you have to make that effort yourself,” Jansen said. “You have to be willing to sacrifice and then you get your just reward. In this case, the just reward for everybody in the film who sacrifices themselves is hopefully that heavenly reward that they get because they did all they could, and the best that they could.”
To learn about more themes from the movie “The Poseidon Adventure” from Jansen, tune into “Practicing Catholic,” which repeats at 1 p.m. Jan. 11 and 2 p.m. Jan. 12.
As part of the program, don’t miss the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ small groups facilitator, Gizella “Gizzy” Miko, and her discussion on how small groups can create authentic community, foster deeper connections and help one grow in faith. Also, Amee Heigl, a mother of four, talks about her faith journey through a burgeoning family and two miscarriages.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, “Practicing Catholic” can be heard after it has aired at archspm.org/faith-and-discipleship/practicing-catholic or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
