“This basic concept begins again.”

January 31, 2008 – “Ethnocentrism” (Jamake Highwater’s documentary)

Today in class we watched a documentary on ethnocentrism and the Native Americans. It’s interesting to note that I recently studied ethnocentrism in my Anthropology 101 class, so the term isn’t unknown to me. While watching Highwater’s film, I tried to avoid biasing myself so I could properly understand the subject. I may have only succeeded partially, since I didn’t quite agree with some of his observations.

For example, Highwater compared the “ritual” dances of the Native Americans (or, rather, as it was pointed out in class, his sect of Native Americans) to that of European ballet in a manner that I didn’t find very partial at all. I think that dance in general is something that applies more to individuals than to a People as a whole; after all, some people enjoy it, some people don’t, and some are completely indifferent. What sort of culture you’re raised with doesn’t necessarily change that.

I suppose what bothered me the most about the documentary was his attitude that Native Americans had done things “Right”, and that the White People were, and still are, bent upon the destruction of the known world. Which obviously isn’t the case. It’s, rather, a clash of cultures, and you’re going to get bias when someone from one of the cultures is doing the explaining. I’m of the opinion that to effectively study a culture, you need to completely disengage yourself from culture yourself.