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Clip description
Islanders on the 'Blind Man’ team dance in formation with arms outstretched, performing an entrance ritual to start the game. This is contrasted by historical footage of Allied soldiers marching in formation during the Second World War and then again by the opposing Trobriand Islander 'Tapioca’ team performing their dance, which is more expressive and erotic.
Curator’s notes
There were Allied airbases in the Trobriand Islands during the Second World War. The formations in the Blind Man cricket team’s dance come from observations by the islanders inspired by the way the soldiers marched. There are quite a few examples in the film of this kind of appropriation from the colonisers.
