Meet the Natives- Must watch TV!

[Wifezilla]

yup...cause China's and India's factories puff out rainbows. Only the evil US pollutes

 

[bibliophile birds]

oh I know they weren't saying that factory....but it would be nice to include the 50 other countries that produce the factory smoke also.
oh well...blame the USA for everything in this world right?

no, i agree, it's not just the US. but that's where they are, so i don't blame them for thinking that way. i mean, they've only ever been to Fiji and the US, and Fiji most definitely does not have large factories. it's understandable, right?

 

[FarmerChick]

absolutely

I just hate when the USA always seems to be the bad guy...LOL
tired of it

 

[Beekissed]

I don't plan on watching it, it sounds painful. What do the Natives get out of it?

i think it's wonderful for them. i mean, for decades the Western world has been invading them with cameras for specials on the lives of "primitive peoples." to me, as an Anthropologist, this show is a sweet dose of payback. it's about time some of those "primitives" got to follow us around with a camera and comment on our weird behavior.

the 5 men that came on this trip said they wanted to understand our lifestyles. which makes sense. they (well, their grandparents probably) worked with the Americans during WWII, so they feel they have some connection with us. they wanted to come to spread a message of peace and hope. that's enough to make me want to watch.

I just saw this show at my Sis's house and I loved it! I agree with the above post....it is indeed time for payback. These gentlemen are so intelligent and intuitive that it makes us Americans seem quite primitive and bizarre acting....and I would have to agree.

I loved the statements they made about the cattle in WY....I really thing they should take them to visit Joel Salatin.... I think they would get on like a house afire!

It was a very sad slice of American life that they chose to show these fellows, but very revealing about us as a nation, if this is who they chose as "average" Americans.

 

[FarmerChick]

I see it different. Our American lives are not sad. The people they were introduced to are leading normal american lives truly. I don't see us as sad or pathetic or backward or anything...and we are wise.

I am not for putting down our country and how citizens are allowed to live free and choose as they will. I stand by our country and all the good it does in this big bad world.

We (as a world) can not go back to living as "these" natives. It will not happen. Progress is to move forward, something these natives have not done actually. (is that good or bad, I don't know....) but being that most of the world is technology and progress, best we can hope for is to find ways to improve what we do have at this point.

 

[bibliophile birds]

i think the sad thing is that so many Americans have stopped thinking critically about our own way of life. the way of life itself, and the people, aren't sad or pathetic, but we've become so complacent in thinking about how and why we do certain things that it can take someone from a vastly different culture to make us realize things like canned sweet potatoes aren't "normal." that's why i love the show. it jars us into remembering that our life isn't LIFE, it's just how we do things.

have any of you read the article "Body Ritual among the Nacirema"? this show is that article made live for me. if you haven't read it, give it a moment (it's short) and tell me if you spot the joke.

 

[Beekissed]

That is what I was referring to as sad, also. That these men from what is probably considered a primitive culture, can tell at a glance that the cattle were not eating a healthy, meant for cattle diet. That they had reservations about eating some of the "lifeless" foods that we eat as a matter of course, because we have become so used to eating canned, boxed, processed foods.

That they felt it was "tragic" that this rancher had accumulated all these cattle, machines and a fat wallet...but couldn't figure out how to live forever. In other words, why would he want to accumulate all these things if he can't keep them forever. Very astute thinking on their part....just another way of saying, "You can't take it with you, so why spend so much time and effort getting it?"

If that is normal in America, then, yes, it is sad. And even these fellows can see that it isn't exactly a smart or good to do.

 

[FarmerChick]

for me it depends on the definition of how people want to live their life.

some people want a fat wallet so they can have adventures such as sky diving, maybe afford a trip to climb Mt. Everest, money to donate to help others improve horrible living conditions.

People with desires can obtain wonderful lives and not be a sad situation.

But of course that is how people search the way they want to live out their lives. And it sure isn't just us, a whole big bunch of the world lives like the USA....lol....somehow it must be acceptable for many? LOL

Many people want to open up a can of lifeless yams and get on with their lives as they want to live it and see it...lol
Just cause a native pulls into town, I can't be saying that our great lives in the USA, Canada, Europe, Germany, etc. are crud.

but I do know what you mean about getting further away from food sources and such.

 

[lorihadams]

I just watched the entire series, marathon the other night, and loved it. I thought they made a lot of good points and it was very obvious that the experience had a profound affect on everyone involved. I think it was a lesson that we need to be happier. It seems like we have lost the joy in simple things with all the stuff that we have, you know. Those guys were just full of joy all the time.

 

[GardenWeasel]

I have only watched some of the series, I think my favorite contrast was the homeless man and in another episode the pet store. OK dog lovers don't hate me but their amazement over the clothes and designer foods was compelling.