Post by Teddy Bear on Aug 3, 2011 20:55:19 GMT
While this particular documentary was made by a production company for the BBC, it will be interesting to see what the BBC eventually do about this scam.
Till now all they've said is A BBC Worldwide spokesman said it 'is committed to the highest editorial standards and will examine the claims made'.
So let's see what happens after they've 'examined all the claims', and if they continue to use Cicada productions, the team responsible for this shameful misrepresentation of this primitive but honourable tribe.
In principle it's what the BBC do every day to the general public here that they are supposed to serve.
Till now all they've said is A BBC Worldwide spokesman said it 'is committed to the highest editorial standards and will examine the claims made'.
So let's see what happens after they've 'examined all the claims', and if they continue to use Cicada productions, the team responsible for this shameful misrepresentation of this primitive but honourable tribe.
In principle it's what the BBC do every day to the general public here that they are supposed to serve.
Lost in translation: How TV fakery turned peace-loving tribe into savages for documentary shown on BBC
By Paul Revoir on 2nd August 2011
A British TV company faked scenes and mistranslated quotes from an Amazonian tribe to make them look 'savage' and 'sex-obsessed', anthropologists claim.
In one scene the subtitles indicate a tribesman saying: 'We use arrows to kill outsiders who threaten us.'
But a respected anthropologist, who speaks the tribe's language, says they in fact said: 'You come from far away where lots of gringos live.'
He and other experts have now accused the programme-makers of 'gross misrepresentations' in the series Mark & Olly: Living with the Machigenga, which aired on one of the BBC's international channels.
One authority on the tribe in question said despite having spent 35 years living in their villages he had never seen the 'wild pig dance' featured in the programme.
Sexual references were said to be completely out of character for the tribe, which is known as the Matsigenka, as experts said they believe many scenes had been 'staged'.
The six-part series, made by London-based Cicada Productions, was said to have shown British presenters Mark Anstice and Olly Steeds adapting to life on a Matsigenka village in the Amazon.
But Survival International, an organisation which campaigns for tribal people's rights, yesterday released reports from two experts on the tribe, who accused the programme-makers of faking scenes and providing subtitles which were wildly inaccurate.
Dr Glenn Shepard, an anthropologist who has worked with the tribe for 35 years, and Ron Snell, who grew up with the Matsigenka and is fluent in their language, both attacked the programme.
Mistranslation of amazon tribe
In an article for Anthropology News, Dr Shepard said he noticed a number of discrepancies such as the 'arrows' remark.
In another example, he claimed one of the tribe makes a comment about the TV double act during a rafting scene and says 'they're playing instead of rowing', which the programme had translated as: 'They're going to die.'
Dr Shepard said the portrayals were 'false and insulting' and that the 'disrespectful characterisations' had led people to think the tribe were 'mean and savage people'.
He believes a segment in which the village chief supposedly threatens to rub chilli peppers on the men's 'sensitive organs' was 'scripted' as the tribe were normally 'discreet' people and 'loath to offend'.
In another scene, Mr Steeds, an explorer from London, was shown being 'cleansed' by being subjected to ant stings and enduring 'ancient punishments' after he broke the supposed rule of not buying deer meat.
Dr Shepard expressed the belief in his article that the scene was 'fabricated'.
It has also been pointed out that the show had used a less modern name for the tribe on the TV show – and then spelled it wrongly.
Mr Snell said he subsequently met with two of the 'key players' in the film, the translator and the village chief, and that it was confirmed some parts had been staged.
The translator was said to have become disillusioned with the project but needed the money and was now 'ashamed and embarrassed' about his involvement.
The series, which aired on the U.S. Travel Channel in 2009, was also shown on the BBC Knowledge service in South Africa last year.
Cicada Productions did not respond to requests for comment yesterday. A BBC Worldwide spokesman said it 'is committed to the highest editorial standards and will examine the claims made'.
By Paul Revoir on 2nd August 2011
A British TV company faked scenes and mistranslated quotes from an Amazonian tribe to make them look 'savage' and 'sex-obsessed', anthropologists claim.
In one scene the subtitles indicate a tribesman saying: 'We use arrows to kill outsiders who threaten us.'
But a respected anthropologist, who speaks the tribe's language, says they in fact said: 'You come from far away where lots of gringos live.'
He and other experts have now accused the programme-makers of 'gross misrepresentations' in the series Mark & Olly: Living with the Machigenga, which aired on one of the BBC's international channels.
One authority on the tribe in question said despite having spent 35 years living in their villages he had never seen the 'wild pig dance' featured in the programme.
Sexual references were said to be completely out of character for the tribe, which is known as the Matsigenka, as experts said they believe many scenes had been 'staged'.
The six-part series, made by London-based Cicada Productions, was said to have shown British presenters Mark Anstice and Olly Steeds adapting to life on a Matsigenka village in the Amazon.
But Survival International, an organisation which campaigns for tribal people's rights, yesterday released reports from two experts on the tribe, who accused the programme-makers of faking scenes and providing subtitles which were wildly inaccurate.
Dr Glenn Shepard, an anthropologist who has worked with the tribe for 35 years, and Ron Snell, who grew up with the Matsigenka and is fluent in their language, both attacked the programme.
Mistranslation of amazon tribe
In an article for Anthropology News, Dr Shepard said he noticed a number of discrepancies such as the 'arrows' remark.
In another example, he claimed one of the tribe makes a comment about the TV double act during a rafting scene and says 'they're playing instead of rowing', which the programme had translated as: 'They're going to die.'
Dr Shepard said the portrayals were 'false and insulting' and that the 'disrespectful characterisations' had led people to think the tribe were 'mean and savage people'.
He believes a segment in which the village chief supposedly threatens to rub chilli peppers on the men's 'sensitive organs' was 'scripted' as the tribe were normally 'discreet' people and 'loath to offend'.
In another scene, Mr Steeds, an explorer from London, was shown being 'cleansed' by being subjected to ant stings and enduring 'ancient punishments' after he broke the supposed rule of not buying deer meat.
Dr Shepard expressed the belief in his article that the scene was 'fabricated'.
It has also been pointed out that the show had used a less modern name for the tribe on the TV show – and then spelled it wrongly.
Mr Snell said he subsequently met with two of the 'key players' in the film, the translator and the village chief, and that it was confirmed some parts had been staged.
The translator was said to have become disillusioned with the project but needed the money and was now 'ashamed and embarrassed' about his involvement.
The series, which aired on the U.S. Travel Channel in 2009, was also shown on the BBC Knowledge service in South Africa last year.
Cicada Productions did not respond to requests for comment yesterday. A BBC Worldwide spokesman said it 'is committed to the highest editorial standards and will examine the claims made'.