Nanook of the north (youtube)

Nanook of The North (1922) Based on the ic movie, ethnography has been portrayed in a distinct manner. The movie brings about an unknown culture to the modern world. It portrays the life of an Eskimo (Nanook) and his family. Through the life of Nanook, we get to know how the traditional society practiced fishing, hunting, frequent migrations of the group in search of food and trading in the Northern Canada (All Classic Video 1922).
Assumptions in culture can also be made based on the Nanook movie. It could be noted that the modern clothing was not present at the time because of how Nanook and his ethnicity used to dress in animal clothing (All Classic Video 1922). Modern weapons were also absent due to the use of traditional homemade weapons like the harpoon and knives.
The images of the movie also illustrate the pre-industrial period. The movie uses white and black image visualizations to indicate the colonial period before the industrialization took place. The movie is shot in a remote place where there is barely any modern development but only the presence of natural environment (All Classic Video 1922). The movie portrays empathy in the way the Inuits used live for example through the building of Igloos’ during the harsh winter period.
Some problems can be noted from the movie. There is some lack of realism in the movie like during the killing and pulling of a seal from a 10 to 12 feet hole. We cannot see how the seal was killed and how it was pulled from underwater which clearly indicates that it was killed by a gun and pulled using a modernized tool which was hidden during the cast (All Classic Video 1922). In the social context, it can be noted that almost everything the Inuit’s used came from animals: the food, clothing, tools and fuel.
Work Cited:
All Classic Video. “ Nanook of the North (1922): Classic Documentary” Online video clip. YouTube, 16 Dec. 2012. Web 16 June 2015.