First contact - homework PDF

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First Contact Response! First Contact is a documentary that depicts how Australian settlers, specifically Michael “Mick” Leahy and Dan Leahy explored the island of Papua New Guinea, an island north of Australia, and how they interacted with the island’s natives. On the search for gold, they carried a movie camera. The film footage of their unanticipated confrontation with people of PNG who had no concept of human life beyond their designated territories served as the foundation for the documentary. ! The film demonstrates the presence of distinct differences between Australians and the native people. In addition to language barriers and differences in technology advancements, the two parties held different viewpoints on the world. The settlers had a one goal throughout the expedition - collect as much gold as they could, and utilise all resources available to facilitate that goal. Their interactions with the natives did not involve much communication apart from the basic “pig”, “go”, “give” and “shoot”. The settlers established a hierarchy within the community of natives, naming some as their right hand, and going as far as making the natives call Mick “Masta”. The natives, however, thought of the settlers as their ancestors, “bleached by the sun and returned from the dead”. To them, meeting people who came from beyond their valleys was a life-changing experience. They made assumptions and created stories about the settlers’ origin and biologies, and went as far as calling them the demons from the other side.! This could explain why the native people surrendered to and help serve the settlers without resistance, the idea of curiosity definitely played a part. However, it is still puzzling to me why the natives showed such little measured of opposition. ! To utilise the natives efficiently, the Leahy brothers established a system that rewards the natives for their hard work. Having no currency in their society, the native men’s status was judged based on how many shells and pigs they have. Thus, by compensating the tribes, the settlers were making small sacrifices to acquire the most gold they could. In the eyes of the natives, however, the deal wasn’t so bad. For them, things that would decorate their bodies and feed their tribe held the most value. Using tin lids and biscuit packaging for bodily accessories, the natives of Papua New Guinea demonstrated the importance of body rituals within the tribe as described by Horace Miner. Not knowing how ridiculous the idea of wearing a tin lid on one’s forehead, the natives were averting the “ugliness" of the natural body and simultaneously increasing their social status amongst other tribes.! The Leahy brothers tried to justify the killings and the unequal treatment of the native people by stating that their interference with the native lifestyle has helped the natives develop a societal culture, and provide new beginnings for those who follow the setters’ orders. But is it really fair, that after all that the settlers made a fortune for themselves, while the native people were left to be discriminated against for the generations to come? Had Leahy collaborated with the natives instead of dominating them, would their acceptance in the Australian culture been more prevalent? ! Although these events took place in the 1930s, their foundations still live in today’s Australia. Throughout the years of settlement, the Aboriginal culture and lifestyles were seen as savagery, and the settlers justified all the inflicted inequality as sacrifices needed to give the natives a better life. But in my opinion, their ways of life have some essential beliefs that we tend not to follow - the standing respect of nature, and the tendency to take only the things they truly need.. Being an Australian, I might shape my perspective on the film with some bias. By learning Aboriginal culture throughout my entire time in school, I have become less fond of the settlers’ perspectives on colonialism. Yet, I still think that unless the sufferings were repaid equally to the benefits of the antagonist, and the native culture was welcomed and not opposed in the perfect society, the methods used in colonialism of the past cannot be justified.!...