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annoyedSo I've been loosely following this show on the Travel Channel. It's called "Meet The Natives USA". Featured is a group of five men from a small village on the remote island of Tanna (elected by their fellow tribesmen as "ambassadors") who are flown to the United States and taken on an extensive tour through the country. As anyone could guess, the culture shock is more than they could have ever imagined.
I think I'll take the typical "good news, then bad news" approach on this one, and begin with the plus sides of this show.
I find this show heartwarming, and admittedly a little amusing. Watching the looks on these men's faces as they are introduced to the countless aspects of American living can be intriguing, and beckons the viewer to explore the idea of a life far different from our own; a life where none of our societal norms exist, from money to clothing style to what is important for survival to social relations and groupings. I have to give it to the Travel Channel - they have made me think. But they've also saddened me, looking at the many ways that these villagers are so much wiser. This brings me, however, to the "bad news".
The bad news is: a lot of things on this show are coached. Very obviously. So obviously, in fact, it's just infuriating. Many times throughout the show, you see the appointed spokesman of the villagers' group giving a formal message to each person they meet or stay with along their travels. And an alarming percentage of these times, the message is brimming over with propaganda. Sappy, pleading environmentally-friendly messages; messages about President Obama; messages about tolerance (by an overly liberal definition, that is: which comes to mean, "preferential treatment for special groups of people rather than true equal treatment for all human beings")...it's everywhere. And you can tell, if you stop to just watch the body language of the villager as he speaks. Eyes seem to shift, there is a look of "Am I doing this right?" and a sort of uneasiness and uncomfortable air around them. Much in contrast to all the other messages, such as that of peace, or when they speak about their own ways of living. Being villagers, after all, and not politicians...well, they suck at acting. Even when coached.
The thought also struck me: Who the hell is narrating this thing? With the obvious propaganda interwoven into the show, I have to question the narrative. The words of the natives themselves I will trust a little more readily...when it's not coached.
In a way, it is as if the viewer is meant to feel ashamed of their plush life in America, ashamed of their selfishness. The viewer is expected to learn the message of being, in essence, just like these all-knowing villagers. Shame on us for being rich, for waging war, for destroying the planet and trampling others! Shame on us for being civilized!
Now let me say, there are lessons to be learned, indeed. A no-nonsense approach to life is always good, such as these guys have. When given the opportunity, for example, to "Look ten years younger" by a worker at a spa in Orange County, one villager gives a funny sort of look and says "No, I'd rather live longer instead." When introduced to the great divide between the rich and the homeless in our country, the looks on their faces say it all: "Why? How could this happen?" They show patience, and a sort of calm wisdom in the face of things so foreign and strange.
However... There are things to be discarded. Here we are, being not so subtly shamed for our ways of living - and yet, why? I agree, we could use some more sound, down-to-earth, no-nonsense wisdom in this country. It is so easy to forget the truth as we watch these men dressed in our clothing, eating our foods, and participating in our everyday activities. The truth, that is, that they live a kind of life we could never begin to survive in. They are villagers, remember? In a remote island, far removed from society. If you know me, you know I am not a respecter of persons - I don't give a crap where you're from or what you look like or sound like, I judge based on character. So of course, I respect the villagers intensely - especially considering they are going to basically have a blast in the US, and then get dumped back into their own lives in the jungles of beautiful, yet merciless Tanna. However, why are we being beaten over the head with this? Personally, I find it an outrage.
While mildly good for entertainment value (culture shock of this magnitude can be interesting, amusing and even tug at one's heart strings) - I must ask the question: Why the hell did they even create this show? It's useless. All it's good for, in truth, is to tout a bunch of political and moral lessons as if we are children to be indoctrinated. And what's worse, how dare they uproot these villagers only to dump them right back where they started - all for the purpose of spreading their own sickening extreme Leftist messages!
I watched this show once, and kept coming back for more. But now that I've seen a good two or three episodes, I am just sick of it. Seriously, Travel Channel. What the hell.
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confusedWritten while listening to a couple of songs very loudly. Enjoy!
Without Music
Send the music soaring right through my soul
Waves of vibrations in sweet melody, sweet harmony
Sing to me the music of the universe
The song of the very heavens and earth
Soul upon soul upon soul in unified vibration
I could never live without music
Bass and tenor and alto and soprano
Sing, sing, sing to me again!
Never let it die, never let it fade away
No,
I could never live without music
The pounding of the drums, the bass
In rhythm, oh, godlike rhythm,
Carrying and cradling my soul to and fro
Fast and furious
Slow and gradual
If spirits were to make love
They would make love in the form of song
A single note, another, another
Like the caress of gentle fingers
Rising chords and intensity
Like the greatest foreplay imaginable
A peak and a slow winding down again
To a single note, a single chord again
No,
I could never live without music...
