PBS Delves Into the Origins of Cannibalism
Jonathan Barkan
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One of the subgenres within the horror world is based on films centered around cannibalism. I’m talking movies like The Green Inferno, Cannibal Holocaust, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Ravenous, and many more like them. For some, the thought of being eaten is so revolting and nightmarish that films about them are one of the purest forms horror available.
But where does this fear come from? What is the foundational history behind cannibalism, its practice, and the ways that it was used. While the practice may have been around for millennia, the idea of “savage cannibals” is, according to PBS, a relatively new one. In fact, they posit that this particular theory can be traced back to one Christopher Columbus!
To see how they came to this conclusion for yourself, check out the below video.
Synopsis:
How did Christopher Columbus invent the idea of “Cannibals?” While evidence of people who eat other people existed long before Columbus, the idea of tribes of “savages” in the jungle who hunt other people for food was truly birthed with Columbus. He is even the first person to ever use the word “Cannibal” to describe such people. The problem is, no such people really existed in the Caribbean islands where Columbus landed. But the myth of the savage Cannibal took on a life of its own and became a common way to excuse colonization and slavery. How did it happen?
Categorized:News
