Sci-Fi authors are the visionaries of our time, those who can see where society is going and imagine future scenarios that inspire us to live a better present. While their books introduce their ideas to the public, their cinematic expressions are what bring them to life. This review claims that the Chinese blockbuster Wandering Earth does that to Cixin Liu’s writing of apocalyptic hope. The movie is not just entertainment but pertinent material for theological reflection. Its message of hope and cooperation, similar to Eden and Oxygen, sheds light on how we can face the global challenge to avoid climate catastrophe.
A Daring Apocalyptic Vision
Apocalyptic comes from a Greek word that means unveiling. It is about making a hidden meaning show up in plain sight. It is also the name for an ancient type of literature that foresaw end-of-the-world scenarios. In the West, the biblical books of Daniel and Revelation are the most well-known examples of this type of writing.
Science Fiction is the contemporary version of this ancient literature. If you pay attention, most stories in this genre revolve around a moral dilemma that is resolved by the end. While they paint a future world, their implications speak directly to the present environment of the readers. In this respect, Wandering Earth is no different. The movie grapples with how humanity responds to impending doom.
The story happens in the near future where natural disasters become commonplace. A warming climate, droughts, torrential rains, hurricanes happen in higher frequency because the Sun is collapsing and inching closer to Earth. Humanity has 100 years to come up with a plan.
What is the plan? Send a few souls to space in order to start a new civilization? No. Shoot the Sun with a gigantic nuclear bazooka? Nope. How about moving the whole friggin Earth out of the Solar system? Yep, that’s the plan. How? By building enormous reactors in 10,000 places on earth, burning mountains, and sheltering 3.5 Billion people underground.
Talk about a grand plan!
The idea is to shuttle the whole planet 4.2 light-years away into a new galaxy where they can find a new sun. How long will that take? Not 100 or even 1000 years but 2,500 years to complete! Needless to say, this multi-generational project entails immense sacrifice of present generations so future descendants can simply live. The main storyline revolves around one family and their fate in this great scheme. It defines hope as the collective will to persevere for a better future.
A Distinct Story Line
I hope by now you can see what makes the Wandering Earth different from other epic doomsday blockbusters. As the world is facing insurmountable challenges, humanity opts for a daring long-view solution. We also see this theme in Cixin Liu’s award-winning novel The Three-Body Problem, where the planet learns of alien invaders 400 years out.
Could this be a metaphor for climate change? Maybe, but it sure is a refreshing alternative to the once-and-done happy ending prevalent in Hollywood cinematic stories. The deeper question that confronts us is not whether we have what it takes to avert an imminent disaster but do we have the generational resolve to work for long-term plans of salvation?
In this way, the millenary Chinese culture offers the long-view perspective as an alternative route to solving global intractable problems. With that said, the movie is still a blockbuster for a reason. There is no shortage of entertaining visuals and the tech is stunning. On the downside, the personal storylines could have been a bit more polished and the plot is hard to follow at times. Even so, the overall result is still an impressive accomplishment.
The Thousand-Year Reign
Now, let’s turn to some theological reflection. The book of Revelation in the New Testament is filled with mysterious imagery. While many throughout time have claimed to understand it, the imagery continues to elude modern readers and believers alike. As I reflected on the movie, I wondered how would a long view of redemption interact with the Biblical story. Hence, this review probes how Wandering Earth apocalyptic hope squares with the Biblical apocalyptic literature.
At first glance and heavily influenced by dispensational theology, a reading of the last book of the NT may yield a sense of a quick succession of events. That is, the doomsday scenario will unfold in a matter of years and certainly within a generation. No place for a long view plan in this perspective.
However, the text may not lend itself to these certainties. Any text built on imagery is wide open for interpretation. Hence, when John the Revelator talks about 3 1/2 years, these may not be literal years. Furthermore, chapter 20 introduces the idea of the Millenial reign. This is a period of peace where the faithful reign with God as our ultimate enemy is imprisoned and unable to thwart our plans.
This is not to say that the Bible suggests a millenary plan to move earth across galaxies. The idea is more of a dramatic liberation followed by a long period of peace. With that said, the millennial reign does open the way for a human-divine partnership in the service of earth stewardship. In this way, the 1,000 years, literal or not, provides a nod to a long view.
Re-Considering Wandering Earth‘s Long View
At the end of the day, movies like Wandering Earth are meant primarily to entertain us with fantastic visuals and unexpected plot twists. Hence, I don’t claim to speak for the author or movie director. However, there is enough there to give us reason to ponder. In an age where multiple sources fight for our attention in a split second of a finger scroll, it is wise to expand our time horizons. An inordinate focus on the immediate crisis can rob us of the hope and resolve to build a sustainable future for the generations to come. If for nothing else, the movie is worth your time for that alone.
Furthermore, the interaction with the long view also allowed me to re-think the meaning of millenary biblical texts. While Christian theology continues to over-emphasize an imminent redemption through Christ’s return, we do well to take a pause and consider a longer time horizon. If anything, followers of Christ have been anticipating a return for over 2,000 years. Could it be that we missed something about how this is to unfold? As we grapple with these questions, it is wise to engage Eastern voices offering alternative perspectives. As this review stated earlier, Wandering Earth apocalyptic hope can help us better understand a Christian view of the future as well.