In the early days of documentary filmmaking, one of the first directors of early documentaries, Robert Flaherty, demonstrated an early understanding of documentary film construction. His films aimed to uncover and discuss unknown truths about indigenous people around the world. In the 1926 film “Moana,” Robert Flaherty travels deep into the Samoan Islands to try to unravel the mysteries surrounding this small, exotic tribal culture. Flaherty's film attempts to uncover and provide truths about this group of people, but it challenges issues surrounding the tribe's representation in ethnographic documentary films. Comparing the films of Robert Flaherty and his second feature "Moana" to Bruce Parry's BBC documentary series "Tribe", I will attempt to bridge the gap and discuss the evolution of the documentary since the birth of the genre until post-modern. current state of contemporary ethnographic documentary film which attempts to address recurring and persistent questions concerning the reality of tribal life and the representation of the indigenous person. The concept of representation is valuable when examining the representation of indigenous peoples as in both cases Robert Flaherty and Bruce Parry seek to depict some level of truth regarding the realities and major cultural components of tribal culture. Robert Flaherty takes a “looters” approach to understanding indigenous peoples. He maintains a Western ideology of life and applies this criterion as the basis of his study of Samoans and other indigenous peoples. However, Bruce Parry uses a more ambiguous approach in his research as he attempts to describe the humanity and cultural significance of these people and...... middle of paper ......e. It seems that trying to reach out and understand these people has brought them more heartache than benefit. In Bruce Parry's film, all encounters with the outside world amount to new levels of harm and misfortune, ranging from illness to addiction. Modern man and indigenous man are two distinct entities who cannot coexist in harmony. This means that the best representation for them is to have none. Trying to capture the reality of these people seems to interfere and manipulate them into completely altering their lives. Cinema is a great way to construct and reflect reality, but when the camera begins to shape reality rather than capture it. The documentation of these images is not intended to be an essay in hard facts highlighting a subjective truth, but rather a list of alleged facts that attempt to persuade you of a reality that does not necessarily exist...