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Clip description
Evelyn Spence (Maya Stange) asks the pearl trader Mick Carpenter (Rufus Sewell) what brings him to the Trobriand Islands. Carpenter then argues with Evelyn’s husband, Dr Phillip Spence (Martin Donovan), over whether Phillip’s research into the nature of human society has the same aim as merchants: to plunder.
Curator’s notes
All the Westerners are exploiting the Trobriand Islands culture and people for personal gain and arguing with each other about their rights and intentions. Some come to make money from artefacts or natural resources, some to save souls or ‘civilise the savages’, some to build their own status through academic work. Egos abound.
