Papua New Guinea: Anthropology on Trial (1983) dir. Barbara Gullahorn-Holecek

Remote tribes and exotic islanders have been made known to the world through the lens of anthropology. But beginning in the late 1970s and early 1980s, some of these people have begun to object. Required viewing for most introductory anthropology courses, this film profiles Margaret Mead’s Papua New Guinea and looks at anthropology from the other side. Narrated by Ruby Dee for the public television series NOVA. Investigation of the relativity of cultures and the methodology of traditional Western anthropology, as exemplified by Margaret Mead’s work in Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island. A visit to Manus Island reveals some surprising biases in Mead’s work, the lessons of which are explored by both Western and native anthropologists.
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