The documentary was infuriating yet unsurprising, revealing that many of the same themes from the past remain prevalent today, just more disguised and normalized. To travel nowadays is only valid if you have documented it as proof.
So often in society, we have to prove that our life is better than others in any way or capacity; whether it be to post about a job promotion, a life accomplishment, or a vacation. In one scene, one of the ladies tried to take pictures with the children and motioned them as if they were props to the image she wanted to portray; the image that she was a kind and thoughtful person who could attract children who did not look like her. However, a kind and thoughtful person would not have done that, because they would have realized that many of the kids were uncomfortable in the first place. Many people put up these performative posts with very similar themes; such as a picture with kids on an immersion trip, or taking pictures with the people they have volunteered with once.
The one thought that kept recurring in my head was the idea that these indigenous and native people were treated as if they were in a zoo. While these communities went about their day-to-day lives, tourists would stare at them with no regard for their privacy or their wants. Tourists see the way these communities live and think of them as fictional characters in a story they get to tell their friends when they go back to their version of reality.
I do 100% believe that tourism is another form of superiority and is also essentially a game to tourists while it is the livelihood of the people who live there. The locals who were expressing their emotions over how the tourists who were not buying their art or were bargaining were completely valid in their experiences. Tourists see this handcrafted art and try to bargain for the lowest price possible. Most of the time people can afford the asking price (which is usually reflective of the work and time put into the product), but get some sense of pride when asking for a lower price. They derive satisfaction and pride from negotiating a lower price, but while they perceive it as a victory, it represents money, time, and passion lost for the artist and local.
Most of all what infuriated me was the normalization of this transaction. Due to the influx of these tourists and the introduction of money and ideas of ‘modern day society’, these communities are pressured to attain these external factors and then are made to believe that it is the correct pathway. Their art, once created for use and collective purpose, is now commodified to earn money for the things tourists claim they need to incorporate in their lives. Nowadays, their purpose is not to live authentically but to perform, and unfortunately, the future generations are growing up in that very atmosphere.
