BBC Hidden Treasures African presents: West African Dogon Masks by David Attenborough
This entire documentary will make you cringe.
From his use of language, and his altogether strange curiosity and fascination with ‘traditional’ artwork (much like that of his Western ancestors that often pillaged African artifacts and stole them, acquired them for their private collections and often made ridiculous amounts of money from them), the showcasing of these works owned by non-Africans who somehow feel as though they have some sort of rightful ownership or authority over these pieces through their unethical acquisition of these artifacts, and the audacity of Attenborough to use his privilege to casually embed himself in this society (taking on the role of the Western anthropologist/tourist) in order to access sacred information and physically partake in activities that would otherwise be reserved for certain people within this society.
It really is a shame that the very source of the destruction of this Dogon art form is now the only thing keeping it painfully alive.
- DynamicAfrica