Magical Death (1973)

Directed by

Tim Asch, Napoleon Chagnon

Genre

documentary

Country

United States

Runtime

29 min

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This documentary shows how a Yanomamo shaman uses ritual and politics in his society. It includes scenes of symbolic death and cannibalism that caused disagreement between the filmmakers.

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What happens

Magical Death is a documentary film by anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon, that explores the role of the shaman within the Yanomamo culture, the film also examines the close relationship shamanism shares with politics within their society. Chagnon and frequent collaborator Tim Asch allegedly disagreed over the content of the film, when Asch objected to its graphic depictions of the Yanomami, engaging in symbolic death and cannibalism. The film was awarded the American Film Festival Blue Ribbon. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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• Earthlings (2005)
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