Vent?

So-called “Lost Tribe” discovered

OK, so it’s not exactly the latest news, but I only found out today. I’m talking about the recent release of photo’s of a ‘lost tribe’ in Brazil. This just blows me away- not so much the fact that “uncontacted” tribes (as would be a more correct term — I’m pretty sure they know where they are) still exist, but moreso the fact that they are still so … well … tribal. On top of that, there’s the language used in pretty much all of the thousands of articles covering this story that can be found… somewhat misleading.

First, there’s the use of the term ‘lost’ tribe. It’s just sensationalism, really, and it works. Just the idea of a ‘lost’ tribe evokes visions of Indiana Jones… But in reality, they live in such a rugged area that us developed lot just don’t pass them by that often… In reality, they are more ‘isolated’ than ‘lost’.

Then there’s the use of ‘recently discovered’ in virtually every article. The pictures were fairly recently taken, and they were very recently released, but in all of those same articles, it is mentioned that the researchers involved have known about this specific tribe for about 20 years! Again, it’s just due to the onset of the electronic age. If you’ve ever had a website and read about SEO (search engine optimisation), then you’re probably fairly well aware of what is being done here. It’s likely that these would be terms that the majority of readers would be searching for (I myself used “lost tribe discovered’ and found over 700 related articles in Google News), and on top of that, these are the sensational terms that keep people reading. Still, it’s a little misleading.

I didn’t want to write about the fickleness of society, I just wanted to write about how awesome it was that there were people out there that knew very little of western society- so little in fact that they were firing arrows at the airplane that flew over them to take photos. Such a primitive (for want of a better word) tribe that they painted their whole bodies red and black (and it looked damn cool- makes me realise that the movies aren’t that far off the mark sometimes! Surprise!) and lived in thatched huts built in clearings. Sure, there are plenty of tribes in Africa, etc., but the majority of them have had various dealings with the western world, and could therefore be regarded as somewhat more ‘civilised’. This article mentions that one lucky researcher was able to enjoy a friendly arrow to the face when he presented himself to one such isolated tribe! But then again, even that information may have been… embellished somewhat.

Sigh… You just can’t trust the news these days. Unbiased? Perhaps. Accurate? Somewhat. Hyperbolic? You bet! Makes for good reading, though.

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