Fantastic Show On National Geographic

Living in Asia, one can never tell how far behind the times our cable programming is that of Europe's and America's. However, a new show is playing here on National Geographic called "Meet The Natives". I watched the first episode last night and it was fantastic.

I certainly have thought — and I'm sure many of you have too — whenever watching those National Geographic documentarians harshing their way through dense tropical jungle to spend time with some remote native population who live lives only slightly more advanced than those of cavemen... I have thought: What would those natives think of the world which the documentarians came from, with the cars, the houses, the hustle and bustle, the technology?

Well, National Geographic brought five men from a tiny Pacific Island, who knew nothing of "the outside world" to England for a month, gave each of them camcorders, and let them loose. (I understand that there was also a foray into America as well with a different set of Islanders.)

I was a little surprised at the ignorance. I would have thought that even people from such a deep distance in the jungle would have known that other cultures sit down at tables to eat their meals instead of sitting on the ground, or would have known what beer is.

What I enjoyed most about the show was that these natives aren't unwise. They are obviously ignorant and unlearned, but you can't fault them that. Their points of view are interesting, but not particularly profound (at least so far). What is most interesting is the commonalities they are able to find, the differences they are able to overlook (or appreciate), and their reaction to all of it. Most importantly though, these men can look at our world through simple eyes and see the obvious... but things that we, as modern folks... have simply stopped thinking about.

Anyway, here is a news article on their visit (very highly recommended). Below is part of the video of the series, which seems to be found in its entirety on YouTube if you are not able to receive National Geographic at home, or attend their programming schedule.