Flaherty's Film 'Nanook Of The North'

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When first hearing Nanook of the North (1922) our minds may go straight to the great hunter, Nanook. However; packed into Flaherty's film is much more than just a hunter's story. It is human's first exposure to a people who are very unlike themselves on film. With no actual voices; it can impact our emotions greatly. The music drives us in; as do a people who are so unlike ourselves. And perhaps we can even see the use of imperial nostalgia (Rosaldo, 1989), where humans even in the year of 1922 were yearning for the past that was actually very long gone; even for its' time. Nanook of the North (1922) can also make the viewer question what a documentary is. Can we still see truth beneath the money? Can Nanook of the North (1922) still touch us even in 2015? …show more content…

To be frank; we are affected by this in our everyday modern lives. However; this does not take away from the fact that Nanook of the North (1922) and his fellow people did truly have skill; which is portrayed in this film; however they were made to seem like “untouched people”. To quote Edward Bruner “In what he calls imperialist nostalgia, Rosaldo (1989) notes that colonialism frequently yearns for the "traditional" culture, the very culture that the colonialists have intentionally altered or destroyed. But it is precisely this traditional culture that the tourists come to see, and as it no longer exists, the culture must be reconstructed for them.” (Bruner, 439). Meaning that this primitive world no longer exists, and because it is what the viewers pay to see; it must then be rebuilt for them. The viewers do not want to see what modern day technology the Eskimo's may have had for the time; they want the cuddly; fun; untouched

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