Romantic Primitivism vs Anti-primitivism
The discussion on the noble savage or romantic primitivism vs rational thinking and anti-primitivism has been going for a couple of centuries now. It all comes down to a vision of what the inner nature of humans is. Is it essentially good or evil? Can a civilised man return to its primitive state and forget civilization and become a feral animal? Or perhaps to a state of primitive goodness an innocence? Can a wild uncivilised person integrate in society? Can a person grown in the wild become as civilised as those already 'civilised'? Is there anything that qualifies human nature in all humans? Can we even speak of human nature?
This is an ongoing list on films that depict these two opposing views, sometimes confronting both views in the film, some others presenting just a view of one of them. There is a majority of films about the noble savage and not as many showing anti-primitivism approaches.
This is an ongoing list on films that depict these two opposing views, sometimes confronting both views in the film, some others presenting just a view of one of them. There is a majority of films about the noble savage and not as many showing anti-primitivism approaches.
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- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsFrançois TruffautJean-Pierre CargolFrançoise SeignerIn a French forest in 1798, a child is found who cannot walk, speak, read or write. A doctor becomes interested in the child and patiently attempts to civilize him.noble savage vs anti-primitivism
- DirectorDaniel SousaStarsElsie McKendryBrett TobaskyA wild boy is found in the woods by a solitary hunter and brought back to civilization. Alienated by a strange new environment, the boy tries to adapt by using the same strategies that kept him safe in the forest.noble savage vs anti-primitivism
- DirectorJon FavreauStarsNeel SethiBill MurrayBen KingsleyAfter a threat from the tiger Shere Khan forces him to flee the jungle, a man-cub named Mowgli embarks on a journey of self discovery with the help of panther Bagheera and free-spirited bear Baloo.noble savage
- DirectorHugh HudsonStarsChristopher LambertAndie MacDowellRalph RichardsonA missing heir of respected Scottish family, raised in African jungles by animals, finally returns to his estate only to realize that difference between the two worlds is really significant.noble savage vs anti-primitivism
- DirectorDavid YatesStarsAlexander SkarsgårdRory J SaperChristian StevensTarzan, having acclimated to life in London, is called back to his former home in the jungle to investigate the activities at a mining encampment.noble savage vs anti-primitivism
- DirectorMichel GondryStarsTim RobbinsPatricia ArquetteRhys IfansA woman is in love with a man in love with another woman, and all three have designs on a young man raised as an ape.noble savage
a comedy - DirectorHarry HookStarsBalthazar GettyChris FurrhDanuel PipolyStranded on an island, a group of schoolboys degenerate into savagery.anti-primitivism
- DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsDan O'HerlihyJaime FernándezFelipe de AlbaThe classic story of Robinson Crusoe, a man who is dragged to a desert island after a shipwreck.noble savage
- DirectorJack GoldStarsPeter O'TooleRichard RoundtreePeter CellierDuring the 17th century, shipwrecked English seaman Robinson Crusoe, after years of solitude, spots natives on his deserted Pacific island and befriends one who he names Friday.noble savage vs anti-primitivism
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsTom HanksHelen HuntPaul SanchezA FedEx executive undergoes a physical and emotional transformation after crash landing on a deserted island.noble savage vs anti-primitivism
- DirectorJames CameronStarsSam WorthingtonZoe SaldanaSigourney WeaverA paraplegic Marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.noble savage
- DirectorJohn BoormanStarsPowers BootheMeg FosterYara VaneauAfter the son of engineer Bill Markham is abducted by an aboriginal tribe on the edge of the rain forest, the engineer spends the next 10 years searching for him.noble savage vs anti-primitivism
- DirectorCarlos SauraStarsIsmael MerloAlfredo MayoJosé María PradaThree men go hunting rabbits during a hot day. Heat and talking about events happened in the past make them angry, until they go totally crazy.anti-primitivism
a classic by Saura - DirectorCornel WildeStarsCornel WildeGert van den BerghKen GampuDuring the 1800s, a safari guide, two elephant hunters and their crew run into trouble with the natives in the South African veld when they refuse to offer gifts to the tribesmen.anti-primitivism
- DirectorKyle Patrick AlvarezStarsEzra MillerTye SheridanBilly CrudupIn 1971, twenty-four male students are selected to take on randomly assigned roles of prisoners and guards in a mock prison situated in the basement of the Stanford psychology building.anti-primitivism
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMalcolm McDowellPatrick MageeMichael BatesIn the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.anti-primitivism
difficult to watch but absolutely mind-blowing - DirectorFrank McDonaldStarsAdam WestLori SaundersLelia WalshA young woman who has lived only with the wolves for company in the wilds of Alaska is discovered by an anthropologist and, at the same time, by a brutal hunter.
- DirectorChristopher CainStarsCharles DurningAlessandro RabeloAjay NaiduAn orphaned boy who was raised in the Amazon jungle is brought back to civilization by a priest who knows his father.
- DirectorWilliam HaleStarsDavid JanssenTrish Van DevereBen BottomsA young boy who had been abandoned as a child and raised by wild dogs is taken to a university, where a team attempts to teach him civilized behavior.
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsJodie FosterLiam NeesonNatasha RichardsonIn a remote woodland cabin, a small-town doctor discovers Nell - a beautiful young hermit-woman with many secrets.
- DirectorRandal KleiserStarsBrooke ShieldsChristopher AtkinsLeo McKernIn the Victorian period, two children are shipwrecked on a tropical island in the South Pacific. With no adults to guide them, the two make a simple life together, unaware that sexual maturity will eventually intervene.
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsNicole KidmanPaul BettanyLauren BacallA woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado community in exchange for labor, but when a search visits the town she finds out that their support has a price.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsBruno S.Walter LadengastBrigitte MiraA young man named Kaspar Hauser suddenly appears in Nuremberg in 1828, barely able to talk or walk, and bearing a strange note.
- DirectorPeter BrookStarsJames AubreyTom ChapinHugh EdwardsSchoolboys marooned on a Pacific island create their own savage civilization.
- DirectorDavid LoweryStarsBryce Dallas HowardRobert RedfordOakes FegleyThe adventures of an orphaned boy named Pete and his best friend Elliott, who happens to be a dragon.