Popular Perceptions of Anthropology in Movies and Opinions

Imagine travelling to places like South America in search for a rare and valuable golden statue. You enter the cave in which the golden statue is hidden and discover that the cave contains many dangerous traps such as poison darts and giant holes that you could easily fall in to. After making it through the caves and evading the traps, you finally find it! The golden statue! However, just as you lift the statue off its pedestal the cave starts to collapse. Now you must run for your life! You miraculously escape from the poison darts and falling rocks, but now you are being chased out of the cave by a gigantic boulder. And even after escaping from being crushed, you are cornered by the Hovito Indians. What an adventure! Instances like this one exemplify popular perceptions of Anthropology. Anthropology is perceived to be an intriguing yet adventurous field. This can be demonstrated by examining the way Anthropologists are portrayed in movies and how ordinary people view the field of Anthropology.

The Mummy, for example, demonstrates excitement in the field of Anthropology. In The Mummy, Evelyn Carnarvon, an amateur archaeologist, teamed with an American refugee, discover Hammunaptra, the city of the dead. The team was hoping to discover lost treasures, but instead disturbed the tomb of high priest Imhotep. (More than 3000 years ago, Imhotep fell for the pharaoh's mistress and out of jealousy and love killed the pharaoh. As punishment, Imhotep was buried alive and doomed to suffer eternal life in his tomb.) The cursed priest rose from his grave with one mission in mind, to unleash his vengeance on the world. Evelyn had to figure out a way to put Imhotep back to rest. Though something such as this could never happen in today's world, The Mummy holds its truths about Anthropology. In Archaeology, one studies human cultures through the material remains that are left behind. In Evelyn's adventure she had to examine the artifacts in order to determine the meaning behind them. For example, before she had even known of Imhotep, she was able to see by his tomb and the remains of his body that he had done something terrible. Though The Mummy is not a completely accurate account of the work of Anthropologists, Anthropology is perceived to be adventurous as in movies like The Mummy.

Ordinary people tend to view the field of Anthropology as fascinating. I asked three acquaintances what they thought Anthropology was. The first acquaintance told me, "Anthropology is the study of civilizations." The second acquaintance told me, "Anthropologists solve crimes." The final acquaintance told me, "Anthropologists study old artifacts and bones." The first acquaintance is most accurate about the definition of Anthropology. When considering the other two definitions, one can see that each is referring to specific fields in Anthropology. Although Anthropology is more than the study of civilizations, the definition leads one to see that "the study of civilizations" is the most accurate perception people have about Anthropology. The second acquaintance's definition refers to a new popular perception that advertises Forensic Anthropology. Forensic Anthropologists specialize in the identification of human remains for legal purposes. Newer television shows like Bones and CSI, give the younger generations the impression that Anthropology is used to solve crimes. People who believe Anthropology is used to solve crimes tend to see Anthropology as interesting. People love to watch Bones and CSI because they are intrigued by the mysteries of the crimes. They see that solving crimes is exciting yet challenging. Once the crimes are solved, the murderers are locked away, portraying the forensic anthropologists as heroes. Forensic Anthropology may be an intriguing field but it is not the only field in Anthropology. The third acquaintance's definition of Anthropology refers to both Archaeology and Biological Anthropology. The third acquaintance has a more typical "Indiana Jones" perception of Anthropology. Though people may have varying definitions of Anthropology, they still tend to view the field of Anthropology as mesmerizing.

By examining the way Anthropologists are portrayed in movies and by analyzing the way ordinary people view the field of Anthropology, it is easy to see that the field of Anthropology is perceived to be adventurous, exciting, heroic, thrilling, exhilarating, risky, epic, captivating, fascinating, intriguing, magnificent, impressive, amusing and everything in between. Though Anthropology may not be as exciting as portrayed in movies and novels, it is still a very fascinating field. Whether you are studying human evolution, adaptation, or variation, whether you are studying the thoughts and behaviors of the Yanomamo in Venezuela, whether you are studying ancient Egyptian tombs and artifacts, or whether you are studying the lost language of the aboriginal Tasmanians, you are bound to learn something new about people. After all, Anthropology is the study of people.

Sources:

Stephen Sommers The Mummy