“My year with the tribe” BBC series.
Idealistic Welshman goes to visit the Korowai people of West Papua.
They are remote ‘noble savage’ material.
They live in high tree huts and walk around naked.
But appearances can be deceptive. There have been visits from other documentary makers in years gone by and the natives have learnt to give them what they are looking for. When there are no cameras, these people wear clothes and live in villages, in clearings, at ground level.
In the course of the series the natives look for cash gifts. These gradually escalate. When they are refused there are threats of violence and bows and arrows are produced.
Lots of conflicted feelings for the documentary maker. The cash is not a lot for a TV company though and if they had been calculating they could have manufactured the clash to make a more interesting TV show.