Thoughts on Vocation in Popular Culture

Credit to owner.

So, I was thinking about Frozen II the other day (possibly because one of my siblings was singing it? or maybe I was?) (this was before I left home, so more like the other month than the other day tbh) and it occurred to me...that two of the most recent Disney movies, Frozen II and Moana, explore primarily the theme of vocation. 

But, interestingly, from two different perspectives. Frozen II is more about the internal journey of vocation, what the person who is called goes through, while Moana is more about the external, if that makes sense...the resistance one gets from one's family in doing the thing that God wants you to do. 

If I'm being honest, I do more relate to Frozen II on this one. 

But semantics aside, what I find most interesting is that these are mainstream movies dealing with vocation, even if they don't realize it.

And when the MCs of these movies follow their calling, they become happier.

Just look at Elsa at the end of Frozen 2. 

Next to the first gif? There's no comparison!

And Moana at the end of her movie? 

She's doing what she loves, and it makes her happy. Look at that grin!

"Sam," you may be saying at this point, "okay, vocation. It makes people happy. This is basic knowledge. Why are you bringing it up? Why is this surprising?"

It's surprising because we live in a world that fundamentally has no concept of vocation. No concept of a special calling that's entrusted to each person. No concept of listening to God about what will make you happy. (Which is, at the root of it, pretty much what happens in both those movies, wrapped up in a slightly multi-theistic or multi-sub-theistic package.)

No, the world wants us to believe that we live in a choose-your-own-adventure story. Make your choices, do what you want, when you want. And if you want to choose to not have an adventure story, that's a valid option, too. 
And then they're surprised when they're unhappy.

The thing is, we do live in an adventure story. It's just a listen-to-the-storyteller adventure story. That's not a popular thing, for two reasons:

Reason #1: This world is one where where everything is about me. Not "listening to other people". No, me. 

Reason #2: Vocation is hard. Look at Elsa--she almost died multiple times! Look at Moana--she also almost died and/or was stranded, AND she had to fight a giant crab. 

As Sam Gamgee says:

"Full of darkness and danger, [the adventures] were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something."

This is just about as true for life adventures as it is for story-adventures, adventures wherein one is literally taking the ring to Mordor. No vocation is easy--each has its own challenges. Jesus did not say "have fun while following me." No, He said, "take up your cross daily and follow me." 

Suffering is, shall we say, about the opposite of popular these days. As our pastor says, the new "worst evil" of our time is suffering, not sin. People avoid suffering at all cost, rather than avoiding sin as they should. But it's only through the suffering that we reach the joy, the joy of being where we are truly meant to be, even if we are still carrying our crosses.

The joy of following God's will for us outweighs any sorrows that go with it. (I think/in theory. I'm still working on that, m'self. Plus I haven't found my final vocation yet, so...😅 But one of our priest friends says that he only became truly happy and fulfilled when he found his vocation. And that seems like a common experience. So I'm going with that.)

So, this vocation thing is such a fundamental part of us, part of the God-shaped hole of us, the restlessness, that modern movie makers are putting it into their movies, and including, in that, the fact that it takes suffering, and it's resonating with people. 

Do you find that surprising? I find it surprising. I kind of thought that the idea of vocation was a uniquely Catholic thing. But if you think about it, everyone has a vocation, even if they don't acknowledge it. So it's not that surprising that the pull, the yearning for something beyond, the feeling that maybe there's somewhere that I am meant to be, even if it's reached through suffering, is universal. 

And that's pretty cool, if you think about it. 

Can you think of any other mainstream pop culture things that have the theme of vocation? Which did you like better, Frozen II or Moana? (Hint: there's a right answer to this question) Do you have any thoughts, ideas, musings, etc. about your own vocation? Because if so, I'd love to hear them.