Yap...how did you know we'd like TV?

During the negotiations leading up to the “Compact of Free Association” with the USA, the people of the small Pacific island of Yap learnt that they were to get a television station and a regular supply of American programs, complete with advertisements for Big Mac hamburgers, vaginal deodorants, Californian Ford dealers, and carpet shampoo. All this was to be provided by the mysterious “Pacific Taping Company” of Los Angeles. Many Yapese are opposed to television. They see it as a threat to their fragile culture and an outsider’s attempt to foist changes on them. They believe the “Pacific Taping Company” is a front for a conspiracy to create dependency and promote US cultural values in an otherwise insignificant but strategically important island. Photography by Dennis O’Rourke.

Credits

producer/director

Dennis O'Rourke

Duration

00:56:33:00

Production places

Australia

Production dates

1980

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

323877

Language

English

Audience classification

Exempt

Subject categories

Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Propaganda

Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Television

Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Television - Psychological aspects

Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Television advertising

Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Television broadcasting

Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Television programs - United States

Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Yap (Micronesia)

Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Yap (Micronesia)

Documentary

Documentary → Documentary films - Australia

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Propaganda

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Social influence

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Social values

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Sociology

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → United States - Foreign relations

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Yap (Micronesia)

History → History

History → Propaganda

Places → Yap (Micronesia)

Television

Television → Television programs → Television programs - United States

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Holdings

VHS; Access Print (Section 1)

16mm film; Access Print (Section 1)

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. Sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are progressively filling these in with further research.

Cite this work on Wikipedia

If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/78496--yaphow-did-you-know-wed-like-tv/ |title=Yap...how did you know we'd like TV? |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=22 May 2022 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}

Australia, 1980

Please note