Igibia, Papua;
1970

This village was visited a few months ago by a Lowell Thomas film crew. When we arrived a few months later, the villagers didn't know at first whether we were census-takers or malaria- control people or what-have-you, but the instant they saw cameras, they rushed about for props, then sat in front of the cameras, one chopping with a stone axe, another finger-painting on bark, a third starting a fire with bamboo - Santa's workshop. They were all Equity actors.

When the Lowell Thomas film was released by NBC, it was announced that Thomas had "found a village whose inhabitants had never before seen a white man." In fact, the film crew went no more than a few hours' walk from the government base camp at Obeimi & the village they filmed contained a government rest-house. Lowell Thomas himself got no farther than subdistrict headquarters at Nomad, where he stayed eighty minutes, arriving after the entire film had been shot, except for scenes of himself. In what was to be the opening shot, he looked out of the window of the plane & began, "We're now flying over the Great Tibetan Plateau. ..."

"Cut! Sorry Mr. Thomas, it's the Great Papuan Plateau."

When they reached Nomad, the camera was set up for what was to be the final scene. Standing in front of the subdistrict headquarters with Assistant District Commissioner Robin Barclay, Thomas - dressed in cowboy hat & Texas boots - began, "I'm standing here with the Austrian Patrol Officer Ron. ..."

"Cut! Sorry, Mr. Thomas, but Robin's Australian & he's the ADC."

Thomas began again. "I'm standing here with Robin Barclay. Barclay's tough. Why? No one knows."

"Great, Mr. Thomas, just great! But could we have just one more take. Go slower on the 'Why' and very thoughtfully on the 'No one knows.'"

Thomas adjusted his Stetson & started again: "Barclay's tough. Why?????????? No. one. knows."

When Barclay, an Olympic athlete, now walks into a bar in Daru, some drunk begins, "Barclay's tough. Why??????????" and the others all chorus, "No. one. knows."

There was nothing funny, however, about Lowell Thomas' completed film. The most charitable thing one could say was that it was forgettable. Forgettable to us, that is. But to New Guineans? The power of film is such that they may someday accept this as a valid record of their ancestry.