Tales From The Jungle: Margaret Mead - Part 4 of 6

Exploring the work of Margaret Mead, this film investigates the 12 months Mead spent with the Samoans in the Twenties.

Her resulting book, Coming Of Age In Samoa, had a huge impact on Western culture.

Mead believed cultures like the Samoans could teach people how to live in harmony. Her book depicts a society of free love -- devoid of jealousy and teenage turmoil.

But, decades later, her work was criticised as being tainted by her romantic views and strong belief in liberal values.

Tales From The Jungle examines whether Mead's study was merely misinterpretation and romantic wishful thinking.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Mead
• Anthropology
• Samoa
• Biography
• Documentary

[prettypatty21]

ask any Samoan about Margaret Mead and we all say that she got it really wrong, anyone whose grown up there knows that our culture teaches respect at any cost, especially chastity!!! Samoa has one of the highest suicide rates among adolescent males in the world, sound like a perfect adjustment? its hard for some to accept but her research had gaps all through it and derek freeman just exposed it. its funny Samoans always knew she was wrong but no one listened till a white man wrote a book lol

[somor98]

Go Freeman!!

[AndallthatRush]

@islanderws so just curious...your culture is nothing like Mead reported? Was it a "myth"...you make sense..just curious, because I do think its odd...she only studied like a select few of Samoan people.

[Andrew19ao]

"no Amoan that is not part of a religious community".

That is horrible!

[islanderws]

I'm a Samoan who grew up and lived on the island for over 30yrs. Reading Margaret's book and what she did was good for anthropology but a great misunderstanding and misrepresentation of our culture. What Dr. Faanaafi Le Tagaloa said was soo true. Margaret brought her American ideas and believes and used Samoa as a frame for her theory. All based on a lie from a few teenage girls. Thanks to Dr Freeman! You have to live, speak and be part of a culture in order to find the truth.

[manusamoa2009]

Mead look focus with physical apparence idea but not inpersonal features,she didn't interpret the real nature of samoan culture,she doing something very unlikely in samoan people,you never meet with other societies by free of love and hospitaility people unless samoa,which means samoan people firstly say welcome a visitor by smile, pleasure and harmony,but not include in mead romantic idea,

[Featheredman2009]

For Anthropologists they both generalize quite a bit. He observed management, she observed growing up - 2 perspectives. 2 fame seekers

[corban227]

freeman 1

mead  0

besides i don't see any video games out there who's main character is mead.

[AudreyBoston]

Well, Freeman would have access to men in Samoan society, but Mead was a woman who would have a different access. Men wait to dethrone women of power, and then undermine them and try to erase them after they are dead. It's a pattern of male supremacy throughout the ages.

[Twirble]

First off, when the talk about the Mead quote about "Perfect adjustment" why is no mention made of the question mark after that quote?

Also I never got the idea while reading her book that she was discussing anything but that one culture in Samoa.

[HoneySmurf]

Ha!

Thanx 4 pointing that out.

[AsbestosLLJK]

I am not a great of Freeman ... but Freeman had tried to publish even before Mead's death, but was hindered.

It was not because he wanted to wait until after her death.

Objectivity, BBC... Objectivity...