12/1/2004: Cargo cult

Undertoad · 12-01-2004, 12:31 PM

Axlrosen suggested this image as part of a larger web presentation on the cargo cults.

Most people don't know the story of the cargo cults, it seems, and so the above image will be mindboggling as part of that larger story. I'm kind of amazed that a photo even exists...

Axlrosen also suggests the Wikipedia entry on them, which I'll simplify for our purposes.

In WW2, planes started to land on New Guinea and Melanesian islands, where they had never landed before. The planes - not understood by the islanders - brought wonders and wealth that the islanders had never seen. Manufactured clothing, canned food, tents, weapons suddenly arrived in vast quantities to equip soldiers. But it also tantalized the islanders who were their guides and hosts. And then suddenly the war ended... and so did the planes and the wealth.

Well the islanders had no idea where all this incredible bounty came from, but they had to develop some theories. And they came to believe that if they could just duplicate the airstrips, they could get the same thing to happen again. Maybe they believed that the foreigners got the bounty from the "ancestors", and if they had airstrips they could encourage the ancestors to visit directly.

You can imagine them trying to get it right - building the towers, "turning on" the landing signals. They even carved headphones from wood. If only they could get what it was that made those planes arrive!

Kitsune · 12-01-2004, 02:54 PM

I have no idea why, but this really sets off my bullshit alarm. Maybe its the headphones carved from wood, but it seems way too similar to the Tasaday hoax.

Clodfobble · 12-01-2004, 03:17 PM

Oddly enough, I just finished reading "Dream Park" by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes, which goes into decent detail about the Cargo Cult as a basis for the plot. There's an afterword suggesting several books for those interested in further information on the history and beliefs of the culture. I'm pretty sure it's real.

Troubleshooter · 12-01-2004, 03:25 PM

It certainly makes more sense than any of the other cults in the world like judaism or the moonies.

At least these guys actually saw something.

capnhowdy · 12-01-2004, 04:13 PM

Very interesting idiom. I'm still unclear as to when they finally gave up on the "gift" planes. IMHO this is a classic case of uncivilized ignorance. Imagine what yield of goods they would have had, had they chanelled their energies into productive survival techniques as opposed to waiting for it to fall out of the sky. There are places now whose behavior correlates to this. Send them seeds and they eat them. To hell with agriculture, let's eat and wait for the next plane!
All the images of the natives are all but too real. All the images that would verify this are highly distorted. Looks like the "paint" program in windows.
Parallel these thoughts: Cargo Cults & Santa Clause.
Interesting, no?
Great thread!

richlevy · 12-01-2004, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Undertoad

This picture was made for make-you-own captions.

"So if we build this, USAir won't go bankrupt?"

The Stone Temple Pilots at the site of their next video.

Clodfobble · 12-01-2004, 07:49 PM

"Oh great--I always get seated next to the fat guy. Shit, he's gotta weigh like 180 pounds..."

Kitsune · 12-01-2004, 08:01 PM

"Oh, no! A second plane is headed towards the other tower!"

(yep -- going to hell)

Bitman · 12-01-2004, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Undertoad

If only they could get what it was that made those planes arrive!

They're on the right track. All they need to do is just make the plane fly! Then they can go get their own cargo.

Elspode · 12-01-2004, 10:55 PM

"This week on Survivor - Soloman Islands, the Yubangme Tribe must get their aircraft off the ground and over to the next island before the Imadouchebags can swim the same distance. At stake...immunity!"

"Professor...you can built a bamboo airplane, but you can't patch a fucking hole in the SS Minnow!?"

xoxoxoBruce · 12-01-2004, 11:47 PM

National Geographic has done stories on these cults several times. They exist on several different islands.

Griff · 12-02-2004, 06:25 AM

Darn I was kinda hoping this was another rip SUV owners thread. Uncivilized guy can't fit a sheet of plywood in his car so on the off chance he ever needs to carry a sheet again he spends $40,000 on a... Never mind, too tortured.

Cyber Wolf · 12-02-2004, 06:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Undertoad

If only they could get what it was that made those planes arrive!

All they need to do is start putting together a 'secret' cache of WMDs and threaten themselves with it. Then they'll have all the troops and planes over there they could possibly want.

axlrosen · 02-14-2006, 05:36 PM

Smithsonian Magazine has a new article about the author's visit to a John Frum cargo cult.

Caption: Barefoot "G.I.'S" tote bamboo "rifles" with scarlet tipped "bayonets."

xoxoxoBruce · 02-14-2006, 06:03 PM

They look more like fountain pens to me.

12-01-2004, 12:31 PM	#1
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	12/1/2004: Cargo cult Axlrosen suggested this image as part of a larger web presentation on the cargo cults. Most people don't know the story of the cargo cults, it seems, and so the above image will be mindboggling as part of that larger story. I'm kind of amazed that a photo even exists... Axlrosen also suggests the Wikipedia entry on them, which I'll simplify for our purposes. In WW2, planes started to land on New Guinea and Melanesian islands, where they had never landed before. The planes - not understood by the islanders - brought wonders and wealth that the islanders had never seen. Manufactured clothing, canned food, tents, weapons suddenly arrived in vast quantities to equip soldiers. But it also tantalized the islanders who were their guides and hosts. And then suddenly the war ended... and so did the planes and the wealth. Well the islanders had no idea where all this incredible bounty came from, but they had to develop some theories. And they came to believe that if they could just duplicate the airstrips, they could get the same thing to happen again. Maybe they believed that the foreigners got the bounty from the "ancestors", and if they had airstrips they could encourage the ancestors to visit directly. You can imagine them trying to get it right - building the towers, "turning on" the landing signals. They even carved headphones from wood. If only they could get what it was that made those planes arrive!

12-01-2004, 03:25 PM	#4
Troubleshooter The urban Jane Goodall Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Florida Posts: 3,012	It certainly makes more sense than any of the other cults in the world like judaism or the moonies. At least these guys actually saw something. __________________ I have gained this from philosophy: that I do without being commanded what others do only from fear of the law. - Aristotle

12-01-2004, 04:13 PM	#5
capnhowdy Blatantly Homosapien Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 6,200	Very interesting idiom. I'm still unclear as to when they finally gave up on the "gift" planes. IMHO this is a classic case of uncivilized ignorance. Imagine what yield of goods they would have had, had they chanelled their energies into productive survival techniques as opposed to waiting for it to fall out of the sky. There are places now whose behavior correlates to this. Send them seeds and they eat them. To hell with agriculture, let's eat and wait for the next plane! All the images of the natives are all but too real. All the images that would verify this are highly distorted. Looks like the "paint" program in windows. Parallel these thoughts: Cargo Cults & Santa Clause. Interesting, no? Great thread! __________________ Please type slowly. I can't read very fast............... and no holy water, please.

12-01-2004, 10:55 PM	#10
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	"This week on Survivor - Soloman Islands, the Yubangme Tribe must get their aircraft off the ground and over to the next island before the Imadouchebags can swim the same distance. At stake...immunity!" "Professor...you can built a bamboo airplane, but you can't patch a fucking hole in the SS Minnow!?" __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

12-01-2004, 11:47 PM	#11
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	National Geographic has done stories on these cults several times. They exist on several different islands. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

12-01-2004, 02:54 PM	#2
Kitsune still eats dirt Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 3,031	I have no idea why, but this really sets off my bullshit alarm. Maybe its the headphones carved from wood, but it seems way too similar to the Tasaday hoax.

12-01-2004, 03:17 PM	#3
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Oddly enough, I just finished reading "Dream Park" by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes, which goes into decent detail about the Cargo Cult as a basis for the plot. There's an afterword suggesting several books for those interested in further information on the history and beliefs of the culture. I'm pretty sure it's real.

12-01-2004, 07:49 PM	#7
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	"Oh great--I always get seated next to the fat guy. Shit, he's gotta weigh like 180 pounds..."

12-01-2004, 08:01 PM	#8
Kitsune still eats dirt Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 3,031	"Oh, no! A second plane is headed towards the other tower!" (yep -- going to hell)

12-02-2004, 06:25 AM	#12
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	Darn I was kinda hoping this was another rip SUV owners thread. Uncivilized guy can't fit a sheet of plywood in his car so on the off chance he ever needs to carry a sheet again he spends $40,000 on a... Never mind, too tortured. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

02-14-2006, 05:36 PM	#14
axlrosen Major Inhabitant Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 125	Smithsonian Magazine has a new article about the author's visit to a John Frum cargo cult. Caption: Barefoot "G.I.'S" tote bamboo "rifles" with scarlet tipped "bayonets." Attached Images __________________ Warp Bill Gates

02-14-2006, 06:03 PM	#15
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	They look more like fountain pens to me. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

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