Film Lens
Cannibal Tours is a 1988 documentary directed by Dennis O'Rourke, focusing on affluent European and American tourists visiting the Iatmul people along the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea. The film critiques modernity through the lens of tourism, depicting how tourists engage with local cultures by bargaining for crafts, taking photographs, and participating in staged performances. It contrasts the tourists' ethnocentrism with the practical nature of the local people, who are shown as rational compared to the bizarre behaviors of the visitors.
The film's title suggests multiple interpretations, particularly regarding the concept of cannibalism. While tourists inquire about historical practices of cannibalism and headhunting, the film positions the tourists themselves as the real 'cannibals,' consuming local culture through their arrogance and fantasies. The climax features tourists painting their faces in 'native fashion' and mimicking local customs to classical music, further emphasizing the disconnect between their perceptions and the reality of the indigenous people.
Why Watch
- •See affluent tourists bargain for Iatmul woodcarvings.
- •Find out how tourists misunderstand local customs.
- •Meet the Iatmul people and their practical responses to tourism.
Did You Know
•The film was released in 1988 and directed by Dennis O'Rourke.
•Most villages featured in the film are inhabited by the Iatmul people.
•The film lasts 72 minutes and includes scenes of tourists bargaining for local crafts.
•A German tourist discusses cannibalism and takes photos of historical locations related to headhunting.
Perfect For
Cultural anthropologyTourism studiesEthnographic film