Magical Death (1973)
- Directed by
- Tim Asch, Napoleon Chagnon
- Genre
- documentary
- Country
- United States
- Runtime
- 29 min
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
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)
More like this
The Feast (1970)
A Man Called "Bee": Studying the Yanomamo (1974)
The Ax Fight (1975)
Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
Baraka (1992)
The Holy Mountain (1973)
Earthlings (2005)
Tears of Buddha (1973)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.