Six Americans' Views on What "Primitive" Means: An Anthropological Field Study

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the adjective form of the word "primitive" as "not derived...original," "of or relating to the earliest age or period," "belonging to or characteristic of an early stage of development, "and as "of, relating to, or produced by a people or culture that is not industrial and often non-literate and tribal" (Merriam-Webster, Inc. 2007). This report will detail what six individuals from the United States of varying ages and backgrounds define as being primitive. It will also examine how "primitive" culture is portrayed in popular media.

The first person interviewed was Alison, a 26 year-old, Syrian/Caucasian/American Female. Alison was born in California, and grew up from age 8 in Hawaii, where she still resides. Alison defined the word "primitive" as "how the cave men lived. " When asked to give an example of a living primitive group, Alison exclaimed, "The Amish!" Then, as if questioning her first instincts, she added, "I guess those would be primitive people."

The second person interviewed was David. David is a 32 year-old, Caucasian/American male. A long time resident of Texas, he now resides in Arizona. When asked to define "primitive," David answered that it "means uneducated, simple. It means 98% of Americans." His example of a modern primitive group was "the Christian right." His reasoning is that he thinks "their thought process is limited" and they have a "barbaric ideology." He furthered his statement by adding, "They are not progressive thinkers" and he ended with the quote "Evolve or Die."

The third and fourth interviewees are a couple that has been together for over 50 years. Wanda, a 73 year old Caucasian/Cherokee/American that grew up in California, and Wayne, a 72 year-old Caucasian/American male who grew up in Arkansas. They both now reside in Arkansas. Elwanda said "Primitive to me means things like wooden buckets, old crocks, and antique stuff. Old wagons. Old things that we don't use anymore. Washboards.

Those are primitive things." She said that "The Amish are primitive people in the U.S., but then you have your other countries, like Africa, that have very primitive people." She then added, "The people up in the hills of Arkansas who are backwoods hippies that grow marijuana are primitive, too." Wayne defined "primitive" as "caveman style" and "old, lacking modernization." When asked for an example, he boisterously replied, "They live in the jungle! Primitive natives in the jungle."

Dianna, the fifth interviewed, is a 44 year-old, Caucasian/American female who grew up in Arkansas. Her definition of "primitive" was "ancient, uneducated, unique." When first asked to give an example of a primitive group today, she said that "terrorists come to mind, but I don't think that is right." She then went on to say that the Amish are primitive, because "they have old world traditions that they follow."

The sixth and last interviewee was Derek. Derek is a 29 year-old Hawaiian/Caucasian/American male who grew up in Hawaii. Derek is in the military and just got back to the islands from Iraq. He defined "primitive" as "somebody or something that isn't as advanced as civilized humans or things." His example of a primitive group was the "gothics, because they believe in the old dark ways."

Out of the six people interviewed, The Amish were mentioned three times as being a modern primitive group and cavemen were mentioned twice. Primitive was often described as being uneducated and as an old, obsolete, way of life. Pretty much everyone interviewed displayed stereotyping in their answers. It seems that primitive is mostly thought of as being negative.

Next we will look at how primitives are portrayed in American media. The first example will be of how the Amish are portrayed since they were mentioned most frequently. The Amish appear in several American movies such as Witness, a 1985 film directed by Peter Weir and starring Harrison Ford, Kingpin, a 1996 comedy directed by the Farrelly brothers starring Woody Harrelson, and For Richer or Poorer, another comedy from 1997 directed by Bryan Spicer and starring Tim Allen. According to an article from the Amish Country News website, there are inconsistencies in just about everything produced that portrays the Amish, although some do better than others.

The Amish often appear with pitchforks and other various farming items and are dressed in plain black and white clothing. This particular article of the Amish Country News, written by Brad Igou (2005), states that "for many people, their "knowledge" of the Amish comes almost entirely from TV and movies." In the same paragraph the writer says that "While such shows may be entertaining, they also stereotype and make it difficult to separate fact from fiction."

Cavemen were also mentioned, and are currently being portrayed by the popular GEICO commercials. GEICO, an American insurance company, started the caveman campaign with their slogan, "So easy a caveman can do it" (Wikipedia 2007). The cavemen in the commercials often seem disgusted by their being stereotyped by the GEICO slogan, because the cavemen are seemingly intelligent and in modern dress. The cavemen are visually stereotyped by their disheveled, long, stringy hair, beards, and by the shape of their faces.

In the popular 2006 comedy, Grandma's Boy, directed by Nicholaus Goossen and starring Allen Covert, a character named Dr. Shakalu portrays an African tribesman, who seems to be a Shaman. The character of Dr. Shakalu does not have much dialogue and is even mockingly spoken to with a clicking noise by the film's main character. This shows the stereotype that people from Africa speak by making clicking noises. Dr. Shakalu's character is further stereotyped by being able to supply another character with various wild animals and potent marijuana. Dr. Shakalu is visually stereotyped by wearing face paint and a sarong.

It is apparent that stereotyping and misconceptions are prevalent in our society today. It does not seem that the stereotyping is always intentional, especially when coming from the people interviewed. It can be harmful nonetheless, because it promotes discrimination and misunderstanding. Media is a reflection of what people think and believe, and can also be an educator, leading people to think and believe that what they see, read, and hear is correct. The people who are responsible for the creation of mass media should not take this responsibility lightly and should do their best to correctly present the cultures they choose to represent in their forms of entertainment.

Bibliography:

For Richer or Poorer. Directed by Bryan Spicer, USA: Universal Pictures, 1997.

Grandma's Boy, DVD Directed by Nicholaus Goossen, USA: Happy Madison, 2006.

Igou, Brad. 2005. Amish Country News. http://www.amishnews.com/amisharticles/amish inthemedia.htm (accessed November 20, 2007).

Kingpin. Directed by Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly, USA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1996.

Merriam-Webster, Inc. 2007. http://m-w.com/dictionary/primitive (accessed November 20, 2007).

Wikipedia, 2007. GEICO Cavemen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geico_Cavemen (accessed November 20, 2007).

Witness. Directed by Peter Weir, USA: Paramount Pictures, 1985.