Disappearing World (TV series)


Disappearing World was a British documentary television series produced by Granada Television, which produced 49 episodes between 1970 and 1993. The episodes, each an hour long, focus on a specific human community around the world, usually but not always a traditional tribal group.

Series title

The title of the series invokes salvage ethnography, and indeed some of the early episodes treat small societies on the cusp of great changes. However, later the series tried to escape the constraints of the title and already in the 1970s produced several episodes about urban, complex societies. In 1980, Peter Loizos characterized the series title as "something of an albatross"; some filmmakers had suggested alternatives they saw as less problematic, but Granada declined to change it. David Wason, the series producer in the 1990s, observed, "We recognise that the series title can be misleading. Our films more often reflect a changing world than a disappearing one."

Filming of episodes

Each episode was filmed on 16 mm film, on location, usually over the course of about four weeks. They were then edited in the Granada studios in Manchester, usually allowing three months, for the process. Each episode was made in consultation with an anthropologist, working with the producer from the episode's conception, and building off of their personal relationships with the featured community.
In the United States, some of the episodes were re-edited as part of the PBS series "NOVA", and Odyssey, indeed, they made up a quarter of the first season. Later, episodes from the original Disappearing World ran but received little publicity.

Broadcasts

The series was made available outside of broadcasts early, and proved themselves successful for teaching undergraduate anthropology. Already in 1980, Granada Television had made the series available on videocassettes for educational purposes. Most of the films are held in the Royal Anthropological Institute film library. Much of the series is now available on DVD. The Network imprint issued a 4-DVD set of the first 15 episodes in 2010.

History

In the 1960s, Denis Forman, the chairman of Granada Television, saw an amateur film made in the Amazon and became convinced that well-researched and well-made ethnographic films could have a broad appeal. He sought out its producer, Brian Moser, and had him train professionally at Granada, in exchange for backing for a series of documentaries about indigenous people in South America. The show debuted in 1970 with A Clearing in the Jungle, and Moser remained the series editor until 1977, when, despite its success, the series went on hiatus due to production disputes.
Production resumed in the early 1980s, producing three episodes most years, under a succession of series editors including André Singer, Leslie Woodhead, and David Wason.

Reception

The series received unusually high ratings for a documentary. In 1978, it was voted the best commercial series in that year.
The series was largely well-received by anthropologists. Of its initial run in the 1970s, Gregory A. Finnegan said: "The series has brought an unprecedented wide awareness of anthropological subjects and, arguably, anthropology to the British public." Peter Loizos wrote that the series had had "the most positive influence in the British mass media on public views both of 'primitive people' and of social anthropology." Among anthropologists, it led to a great deal of writing, discussing documentary film style, working conditions, cooperation between filmmakers and anthropologists, and accounts of films; assessments had been both positive and negative.
Upon the broadcast of the series in the United States, John Corry in The New York Times characterized its approach as a "throwback" to "the old days of educational television," with an "austere ethos" that allows viewers to make their own judgments.
After reviewing The Last of the Cuiva, Pia and David Maybury-Lewis, Cultural Survival Inc. and Harvard University said, "We saw the film twice because we had to, but I would recommend that anyone else should do the same for enjoyment, awe, sorrow, and time to contemplate what is going on in the indigenous world, if one can use such a term. The Last of the Cuiva is first and foremost an anthropological film that tries to tell “how it was” and “how it is now.” One hopes against hope that the latter is overdone, but of course, if one reads the newspapers, one knows that the film is right."

Awards

It was nominated for the BAFTA award for Factual Series every year from 1975 to 1978, winning in 1976. It was nominated again in 1991. The episode We Are All Neighbors won an International Emmy Award for Best Documentary at the 21st International Emmy Awards, sharing the honor with Monika and Jonas – The Face of the Informer State.

Episodes

Episode No.TitleEthnic groupDirector/producerAnthropologistBroadcast date
1A Clearing in the JunglePanareCharlie NairnJean-Paul Dumont19 May 1970
2The Last of the CuivaCuivaBrian MoserBernard Arcand8 June 1971, as part of NOVA series 31 March 1974
3Embera: The End of the RoadEmberáBrian MoserAriane Deluz15 June 1971
4War of the GodsMaku and BarasanaBrian MoserPeter Silverwood-Cope and Christine and Stephen Hugh-Jones22 June 1971
5The TuaregTuaregCharlie NairnJeremy Keenan18 April 1972
6The MeoMiaoBrian MoserJacques Lemoine4 July 1972
7Kataragama: A God for All SeasonsSri LankanCharlie NairnGananath Obeyesekere20 November 1973
8Dervishes of KurdistanKurdsBrian MoserAndré Singer and Ali Bulookbashi4 October 1974
9The MursiMursiLeslie WoodheadDavid Turton13 November 1974
10MehinacuMehinakuCarlos PasiniThomas Gregor20 November 1974
11Masai WomenMaasaiChris CurlingMelissa Llewelyn-Davies27 November 1974
12QuechuaQuechuaCarlos PasiniMichael Sallnow4 December 1974
13Ongka's Big Moka: The Kawelka of Papua New GuineaKawelkaCharlie NairnAndrew Strathern11 December 1974
14The SakuddeiSakuddeiJohn SheppardReimar Schefold18 December 1974
15Masai ManhoodMaasaiChris CurlingMelissa Llewelyn-Davies8 April 1975
16The KirghizKirghizCharles Nairn and André SingerNazif Shahrani29 December 1975
17The ShillukShillukChris CurlingPaul Howell, Walter Kunijwok, and André Singer5 January 1976
18Eskimos of Pond Inlet - The People's LandInuitMichael GrigsbyHugh Brody12 January 1976
19Some Women of MarrakeshMoroccanMelissa Llewelyn-DaviesElizabeth Fernea26 January 1977
20The RendilleRendilleChris CurlingAnders Grum23 February 1977
21SherpasSherpasLeslie Woodhead and Pattie WinterSherry Ortner13 April 1977
22UmbandaBraziliansStephen CrossPeter Fry23 November 1977
23The PathansAfghansAndré SingerAkbar Ahmed and Remy Dor20 February 1980
24Witchcraft Among the AzandeAzandeAndré SingerJohn Ryle9 March 1982
25Asante Market WomenAsanteClaudia MilneCharlotte Boaitey16 March 1982
26The KweguKweguLeslie WoodheadDavid Turton23 March 1982
27Inside China: Living with the RevolutionChineseLeslie WoodheadClaire Lasko27 April 1983
28Inside China: The Newest RevolutionChineseLeslie WoodheadClaire Lasko4 May 1983
29Inside China: The Kazakhs of ChinaKazakhs in ChinaAndré SingerShirin Akiner18 May 1983
30The MigrantsMursi and KweguLeslie WoodheadDavid Turton14 October 1985
31The KayapoKayapoMichael BeckhamTerence Turner3 June 1987
32The Basques of SantaziBasquesLeslie WoodheadSandra Ott10 June 1987
33The Lau of MalaitaLauLeslie WoodheadPierre Maranda1987
34The Whalehunters of LamaleraLembatansJohn Blake and David WasonRobert Barnes13 July 1988
35Across the Tracks: Vlach Gypsies in HungaryVlachsJohn BlakeMichael Stewart20 July 1988
36The WodaabeWodaabeLeslie Woodhead and David WasonMette Bovin27 July 1988
37The Kayapo: Out of the ForestKayapoMichael BeckhamTerence Turner13 June 1989
38Villagers of the Sierra De GredosSpaniardsPeter CarrWilliam Kavanagh20 June 1989
39The Herders of Mongun-TaigaTuvansJohn SheppardCaroline Humphrey27 June 1989
40The MendeMendeBruce MacDonaldMarianne Ferme18 July 1990
41Trobriand Islanders of Papua New GuineaTrobriandersDavid WasonAnnette B. Weiner25 July 1990
42The Kalasha: Rites of SpringKalashaJohn SheppardPeter Parks1 August 1990
43The Mursi - The Land Is BadMursiLeslie WoodheadDavid Turton17 July 1991
44The Mursi - NithaMursiLeslie WoodheadDavid Turton24 July 1991
45The Albanians of RrogamAlbaniansDavid WasonBerit Backer31 July 1991
46Cakchiquel Maya of San Antonio PalopoKaqchikelBruce MacDonaldTracy Bachrach Ehlers7 August 1991
47War: We Are All NeighboursBosniansDebbie ChristieTone Bringa11 May 1993
48War: Orphans of Passage - SudanUdukBruce MacDonald18 May 1993
49War: The Longest StruggleKarenJohn SheppardTom Sheahan25 May 1993

At the request of the Mongolian government, the episodes filmed in Mongolia during the 1970s were not distributed under the title Disappearing World, but should be considered in essence part of the series.
Episode No.TitleEthnic groupDirector/producerAnthropologistBroadcast date
On the Edge of the GobiKhalka MongolsBrian MoserOwen Lattimore1975
The City on the SteppesKhalka MongolsBrian MoserOwen Lattimore1975