Secrets of the Tribe (2010) Reviews

• Fascinating look at anthropology.

  lfearns2011-02-16

  So what happens when the ethics and the methods of a anthropological scientist come into question? A bunch of academics slinging barbs at each other and trying to destroy each others' careers and it makes for a fascinating documentary. The field of anthropology made some great discoveries in the 60's and 70's when they came upon the tribe of Yanomami Indians in the Amazon; a tribe that had been untouched by civilization. From there various anthropologists spent time with the tribes and published all kinds of seminal papers and textbooks. Years later there came accusations of impropriety, including rape, paedophilia, and prostitution, calling into question all of the data gathered from the tribe, but also the anthropological community as a whole! It's essentially a talking heads documentary, but with a damn interesting subject matter. Highly Recommended!

• Not a straightforward documentary, but recommended nonetheless

  kaycebasques2011-03-25

  This is not a straightforward documentary that presents easily digestible facts that can be carried away and recited. For me, it was more like a trial where many perspectives are laid out for the audience, and it is up to each person to decide where they stand. I think the documentary did a great job in sympathizing with each side and making judgment truly difficult. It's the story of a traumatic epistemological division within an academic discipline. The stakes are high. The divide is nothing short of a disagreement about human nature. One side thinks that there is something in humans that predisposes them towards violence. The other rejects this as a dangerous notion and, even if true (which they probably sincerely do not believe), it is still completely contradictory to the their ethical purpose as academics which is the proliferation and attainment of peace. Complications arise when we learn that the involved parties did some super shady stuff while they were conducting their research. Each side ushers as much incriminating evidence against the others as they can in order to discredit them. They aren't just mindlessly bickering, they are doing this because they have very different epistemological perspectives on human life. On top of this, the documentary calls into question problems that are inherent in the entire field of anthropology (or at least anthro at this time period). I think it would be most enjoyable for people who are interested in this idea that I touched upon--- that it is a story of an academic discipline in epistemological turmoil--- because this happens all the time throughout all of academia.

• Over the line?

  lastliberal-853-2537082011-03-02

  My knowledge of anthropology is limited to repeated watching of Bones, but I found this documentary to be extremely interesting. The fact that there is such disagreement among anthropologists makes it difficult to consider that they are truly scientists. It's somewhat akin to Psychology, where there are several right answers to every question. What was most amazing, however, was the actions of some of these scientists while they were out in the field. Studying a people is one thing, but apparently some are not content to do just that and started making changes in their lives. There were indications of pedophilia and even prostitution was introduced in some villages. The value of this film lies not in the anthropological facts, which are quite interesting, but in the discussion of behavior of anthropologists that went clearly over the line.

• The Truth, Finally

  dreamride-10-8903142011-03-24

  I am a filmmaker, former teacher of personal documentary. I have been adopted into two Native American tribes, one by virtue of assistance with a documentary that helped stop, at least temporarily, a huge mining company from poisoning native people. My ONLY heroes have been, and still are, AIM leaders who warned against the "Anthros" in the 60's, who understand that "civilization" as defined by western intellectuals, is not civil at all, and that associating with these people is extremely dangerous culturally. I have personally witnessed Native American Church members used by a very compromised "scientist" in "drug" research (Harvard, to be precise), and noticed the detrimental effect on traditional peoples I have grown to consider family. "Secrets of the Tribe" was the first time I have ever witnessed examination of atrocities and the perverse self-aggrandizement of grant-supported idiots who call themselves "scientists" so objectively documented, and so very EFFECTIVE. As I say to my Native American friends, whenever a white person shows up saying he or she is going to "help" them, and he or she uses the word "research" in the same paragraph, it would be best to simply beat the living crap out of them on the spot. I cannot wait for this documentary to be available commercially. I will buy a dozen copies and sent it to all my native friends who get an ego boost from associating with a white "doctor." Amazing work! Thanks to everyone involved in this wonderful documentary.

• a critique of biological anthropology and scientific method

  denizzerin2012-02-25

  The documentary portrays the complex web of relations around the discovery of indigenous rain forest tribe, the Yanomami, by Napoleon A. Chagnon. These relations of anthropologists of different schools, and their conflicts has ended in or added up to the total devastation of the members of the tribe, as a consequence of the method and the objective of Chagnon. Biological anthropologists, who in an attempt to critique the inaccurate representation of the Yanomani people as peaceful, develop the argument that the chances of transferring of genes (taken as the main motives of human 'subjects', the natives in this case) increases in war making tribes compared to more peaceful tribes. However, how can one prove this argument, especially when there is active interference of the anthropologists? Exchange of information and sexual favors with subsistence tools and diseases can leave an 'unacculturated' sphere, as the scientific approach requires? We are presented a picture of the inner workings of the relations of power between anthropologists of various schools.(structural anthropology and biological anthropology appear, not as opposite poles but dominant elements of a complex network) The ethics of anthropological research has been compramised; and the whole process of research has been devastating to the community. In short, this documentary presents a powerful critique of the practices of field work in the 60's and 70's, the disciplines relations with government/military complex and the question of the value of the anthropological knowledge over the lives of its subjects.