Flaherty and Film; 2; Moana

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Series
Flaherty and Film
Episode Number
2
Episode
Moana
Producing Organization
WGBH Educational Foundation
Contributing Organization
Library of Congress (Washington, District of Columbia)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip-512-ft8df6m08w
NOLA Code
FYFM
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Description
Episode Description
In discussing Moana, a story of Samoans made in 1926, Mrs. Flaherty expands on her term non-preconception, explaining it as the exploratory way. The Flahertys arrived on Samoa with a preconceived idea of what they would find. Although they searched throughout the island they did not find it. Only when they stripped their minds of set notions could they perceive authentic impressions and then film them. A large segment of the film depicts the ordeal of tattooing. Perhaps because of this, Mrs. Flaherty says, the film was not a success in the United States, although it found an audience in Europe. The excerpts show fishing sequences, preparation of food, and tattooing. Again, because the film was silent, the titles are read aloud. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
Series Description
Mrs. Robert Flaherty, widow of the great filmmaker who is known as the father of the documentary, talks about her husband and his contribution to the history and art of the cinema. Each episode concentrates on one of the four Flaherty film classics: Nanook of the North, Moana, Man of Aran, and Louisiana Story. Mrs. Flaherty is interviewed by Robert Gardner, director of the Film Study Center, Peabody Museum, and Harvard University. At the beginning of each episode Mrs. Flaherty tells how the film was made and describes the special qualities with which Flaherty endowed it. Ten- to fifteen-minute sections of the films are shown for illustration. Mrs. Flaherty, herself a writer of great style, is an attractive television personality, a gentle woman with an aura of strength and wisdom. She imbues the programs with a poetic quality. We learn that Flahertys purpose was to show how the peoples whose lives he captured on film came to terms with their environment, and we learn that his method was essentially that of non-preconception. He trained his camera and let it reveal the truth, believing that, if left to itself, the camera can see better than the eye. Art and science merge in this kind of exploration. This, we discover, is what is called the Flaherty Method. Frances Hubbard Flaherty collaborated with her late husband in the making of all his major films. Following his death in 1951, Mrs. Flaherty and friends in the US and England established the Robert Flaherty Foundation in Brattleboro, Vermont, to perpetuate his way of making films and to preserve his films for future generations. Mrs. Flahertys nationwide lectures also pass on the spirit of Robert Flaherty and his films. The Flahertys were married in 1914. Flaherty had begun his adult life as an explorer of the Hudson Bay area, leading four expeditions there between 1910 and 1916. Mrs. Flaherty accompanied her husband on some of his journeys. Her books Samoa (1932) and Elephant Dance (1937) provide background on the making of his films. Her newest book, Odyssey of a Filmmaker, was published in 1960 by Beta Phi Mu, Urbana, Illinois. The Robert Flaherty Foundations annual summer seminars are attended by enthusiastic devotees of the art of film. At these seminars leading filmmakers display their work and explain their methods. Flaherty and Film was produced by WGBH-TV, Boston. The 4 half-hour episodes that comprise this series were originally recorded on videotape. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
Broadcast Date
1961
Asset type
Episode
Genres
Talk Show
Topics
Film and Television
Media type
Moving Image
Duration
00:29:55.327
Credits
Producing Organization: WGBH Educational Foundation
AAPB Contributor Holdings
Library of Congress
Identifier: cpb-aacip-bb7264e0f7f (Filename)
Format: 2 inch videotape
Generation: Master
Duration: 0:29:00
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Citations
Chicago: “Flaherty and Film; 2; Moana,” 1961, Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed April 30, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-ft8df6m08w.
MLA: “Flaherty and Film; 2; Moana.” 1961. Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. April 30, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-ft8df6m08w>.
APA: Flaherty and Film; 2; Moana. Boston, MA: Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-ft8df6m08w