Going Tribal?
I want to put this out there to get some feedback. Has anyone seen this show on the discovery channel? Has anyone read any criticisms among the anthropology community?
I checked Bruce Parry's bio on the site and it only lists him as a British Marine and expedition leader, whatever that means. Has he written anything? Who writes the material for the narration or tells him what questions to ask of his informants? I will withhold my judgement of his abilities at relating to the people he visits, as I have only seen one episode. Nevertheless, I can't help but fear this is like an anthro version of Crocodile Hunter, in the cloak of educational programming. He even does that whisper to the camera man thing when running through forests, etc., with various peoples, toting a camera man and who knows who else behind him.
Can someone tell me I am being too judgemental?
This whole series appear to me another instance of exploitative media, capitalizing on misconceptions about tribal groups and while much of the content is informative about the basic cultural practices and structures, I find the sensationalist titles (the chapter on West PNG is called Living with Cannibals) a bit abrasive, as well as some of his methods. What are the costs and benefits of mainstreaming such information/allowing heavy media access to these cultures and their practices (other programs talk about shamanism, indigenous rituals)? How accurate is the content?
I know I have other questions, but I think you get my point.
(x-posted to my journal)
I checked Bruce Parry's bio on the site and it only lists him as a British Marine and expedition leader, whatever that means. Has he written anything? Who writes the material for the narration or tells him what questions to ask of his informants? I will withhold my judgement of his abilities at relating to the people he visits, as I have only seen one episode. Nevertheless, I can't help but fear this is like an anthro version of Crocodile Hunter, in the cloak of educational programming. He even does that whisper to the camera man thing when running through forests, etc., with various peoples, toting a camera man and who knows who else behind him.
Can someone tell me I am being too judgemental?
This whole series appear to me another instance of exploitative media, capitalizing on misconceptions about tribal groups and while much of the content is informative about the basic cultural practices and structures, I find the sensationalist titles (the chapter on West PNG is called Living with Cannibals) a bit abrasive, as well as some of his methods. What are the costs and benefits of mainstreaming such information/allowing heavy media access to these cultures and their practices (other programs talk about shamanism, indigenous rituals)? How accurate is the content?
I know I have other questions, but I think you get my point.
(x-posted to my journal)