Bruce Parry

CatchHellBlues

New Member
Dec 12, 2010
3
0
Essex
I thoroughly enjoyed it. And talk about an amazing area, i have always been fascinated by the insanely remote areas of Russia.
 

addo

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 8, 2006
2,485
9
Derbyshire
Cheers Hog, with all the xmas madness I forgot to set the sky box. I'll watch it later on I player.
 

Tengu

Full Member
Jan 10, 2006
13,031
1,642
51
Wiltshire
No, I thought the Shamanism was correct.

It is still important in such areas after all.

The otherday i was being patronised by a neopagan friend, so I asked them what they knew about Shinto, they did not find it relevant, But I think a modern society of pagans a Good Thing
 

Mikey P

Full Member
Nov 22, 2003
2,257
12
53
Glasgow, Scotland
I think the bit where the guy was telling him about his problem with alcohol was the most patronising bit - Bruce made a comment at the end which I thought was cringeworthy. Perhaps I'm just a little cynical.

In terms of Shamanism as a belief - horses (reindeer?) for courses.

I did appreciate the fact that these people were closely in contact with their natural environment. That, however, is not Shamanism - it's a gift that can be seen in many societies and many religions and should not be claimed by any as their own.
 
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Cromm

Full Member
Mar 15, 2009
1,312
5
47
Debenham,Suffolk.
Saw it and loved it. Bruce always has a go. What was the name of the thing the guy was playing that kind of sounded like a didgeridoo??
 

John Fenna

Lifetime Member & Maker
Oct 7, 2006
23,312
3,092
67
Pembrokeshire
I did apprciate the fact that these people were closely in contact with their natural environment. That, however, is not Shamanism - it's a gift that can be seen in many societies and many religions and should not be claimed by any as their own.

Very well said!
As I see it all religions are equally valid - if the belief is true and not just window dressing for the purpose of exploitation - and no-one has the right to decry anothers belief system.
The more we learn of others religions the more we understand of the totality of the world and how people understand even the incomprehensible parts of existance.
Thats why I found the parts of the prog on the Shamanistic side of things so interesting :)
I am sorry if this sounds like religious discussion (banned) - it is not meant to be that....just trying to explain why I liked that bit of the prog!

Personally I did not find tany of the prog patronising - perhaps I am not cynical enough:D
 

treadlightly

Full Member
Jan 29, 2007
2,692
3
65
Powys
I agree John. I didn't feel it patronised the people BP visited and it was interesting to see that indigenous belief systems survived Stalinism in Siberia just like Christianity did in the more mainstream parts of the old Soviet Union.
 

Mafro

Settler
Jan 20, 2010
598
2
Kent
www.selfemadeknives.co.uk
Saw it and loved it. Bruce always has a go. What was the name of the thing the guy was playing that kind of sounded like a didgeridoo??

I know its name as a Jew Harp, but they called it something different. They are great fun, but if the metal spring hits your teeth it blooming hurts.

The program itself was brillaint. I was most excited to see Bruce Parry back on the box, I love the way he does his utmost to become one of the tribes people that he is staying with.
 

Aristotle

Forager
Jan 13, 2010
246
78
NW England
It was an excellent programme, but just sight of the constant flies and mozzies made me itch...

Bruce Parry does appear to get very involved with what people he is visiting are doing, to his credit. Fair play to him for riding the horse and reindeer.

I liked the local council's 'van'!

The landscape was like the northern Scottish Highlands on a vast scale (complete with insect life).
-I was wondering if people ever climbed the hills just before the 'race' was suggested.

I'm certainly not one for 'the spiritual', but it is a part of their history, some of the people seemed to believe in it and they took part in the traditional ceremonies, on camera.

It did make me chuckle when Bruce Parry asked Yigor(?) if the tent was positioned for spiritual reasons and Yigor said No, it's because of the wind ;)
 

firecrest

Full Member
Mar 16, 2008
2,496
4
uk
Aww I missed it :(
did Bruce spew up? Its not worth watching if he wasnt sick at least once!
 

Shambling Shaman

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
May 1, 2006
3,859
6
55
In The Wild
www.mindsetcentral.com
Very well said!
As I see it all religions are equally valid - if the belief is true and not just window dressing for the purpose of exploitation - and no-one has the right to decry anothers belief system.
The more we learn of others religions the more we understand of the totality of the world and how people understand even the incomprehensible parts of existance.
Thats why I found the parts of the prog on the Shamanistic side of things so interesting :)
I am sorry if this sounds like religious discussion (banned) - it is not meant to be that....just trying to explain why I liked that bit of the prog!

Personally I did not find tany of the prog patronising - perhaps I am not cynical enough:D

Very well said, Fully agree.
 

shutz

Forager
Jan 5, 2011
124
0
cumbria
Just to echo others great programme..
The scale of the place is just awe inspiring....
I do like bruce parrys approach and really enjoyed tribe (how do you get those jobs). However did chuckle when he asked the reindeer herder "do you have the tent pointed that way for a spiritual reason? To which the reply "No thats the way the wind is blowing". Para phrasing I know but you get the jist....
 

darrenleroy

Nomad
Jul 15, 2007
351
0
51
London
I find the BBC's approach to factual programming more and more disheartening. In the old days an unseen narrator (or sometimes an expert in the relevant field) would lead us on a fact filled journey that gave the view an insight into how indigenous people lived. Crammed full of facts and observations in a way that was entertaining and factual.

Now they get a camera trained on a celebrity who is on his own journey of self-discovery while forgetting to garner any facts about the place and people they've come to examine. Parry's another example of this. Why did these people have Russian names? How did vodka effect the populace and was it always the alcohol of choice? How did the locals deal with the mosquitoes that were obviously a problem for the reindeer? What did they use for fuel? What was the traditional clothing? Do they still practise the old crafts? But we got NONE OF THAT. Just Parry talking shamanistic nonsense and running up a mountain (no explanation of how the other guy won) and staring thoughtfully at his new best friends. Pathetic.
 

rik_uk3

Banned
Jun 10, 2006
13,320
28
70
south wales
I find the BBC's approach to factual programming more and more disheartening. In the old days an unseen narrator (or sometimes an expert in the relevant field) would lead us on a fact filled journey that gave the view an insight into how indigenous people lived. Crammed full of facts and observations in a way that was entertaining and factual.

Now they get a camera trained on a celebrity who is on his own journey of self-discovery while forgetting to garner any facts about the place and people they've come to examine. Parry's another example of this. Why did these people have Russian names? How did vodka effect the populace and was it always the alcohol of choice? How did the locals deal with the mosquitoes that were obviously a problem for the reindeer? What did they use for fuel? What was the traditional clothing? Do they still practise the old crafts? But we got NONE OF THAT. Just Parry talking shamanistic nonsense and running up a mountain (no explanation of how the other guy won) and staring thoughtfully at his new best friends. Pathetic.

You didn't like the programme then.
 

rik_uk3

Banned
Jun 10, 2006
13,320
28
70
south wales
Ha ha. I liked bits of it. but I wanted more information and less Parry's serenely gurning mug. I'm getting on a bit. Time is short!

As your getting on a bit (as am I) I'm sure you will have realised that programme makers have to cater for the shortened attention span of the younger audience who have been 'dumbed' down by our ludicrously poor educational system, games consoles and Facebook. :crutch:
 

treadlightly

Full Member
Jan 29, 2007
2,692
3
65
Powys
Could I interrupt the pensioners' convention with a vote for Brucie? Nothing wrong with this format imho. If he wasn't making programmes about the native peoples of the arctic who would be?
 
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