The Spirit of the Mask (1992)
Directed by Peter von Puttkamer
Genres - Historical Film |
Sub-Genres - Anthropology, Social History |
Run Time - 50 min. |
Countries - United States |
MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Steve Blackburn
National Geographic explorer-in-residence Wade Davis narrates this award-winning program in the Sacred Ways series. Davis, a Harvard-educated anthropologist and ethnobotanist, introduces viewers to the cultural beliefs and rituals practiced by the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest coast, where masks are not simply art, but are tools for the secular world to access the realm of the spiritual and supernatural. The repression of these masks by Christian Europeans is also explored. The program was written by Davis with director Peter von Puttkamer.
Characteristics
Keywords
ceremony, Native-American, ritual, sacred, spiritualism, tradition, tribe, mask [disguise]