Are You Game for ‘Taboo’? :: video|jot
Series Shocks As It Educates
TV watchers with basic cable, diamond-strong constitutions, and an affinity for truly unique programming have a great option tonight when the National Geographic Channel premieres the second season of Taboo. Promoted as a series that will “test your boundaries,” “push beyond your comfort zone,” and help viewers “understand seemingly bizarre and shocking practices from around the world,” the show does exactly what the descriptions claim. I doubt there are many, if any, other series on television that give viewers as up-close a look at the striking rituals and largely unknown traditions of cultures worldwide.
The first installment at 9pm EST tonight, titled “Initial Rituals,” explores rites of passage that incorporate pain as a core component, including one in Australia that requires hanging from the ceiling supported only by hooks through the skin (Yeah—you read that right). Then, at 10pm, “Skin Deep” looks at such body modification procedures as scarification (slicing the flesh to leave permanent raised scars) and tattooing of unusual places. Five subsequent episodes will then delve into the topics of nudity, manhood, group and sexual identity, and other body modification customs.
Below, find three goodies that complement Taboo: a miniature version of the series’ accompanying How Taboo Are You? game, which quizzes players on which unusual traditions they find most or least palatable (play it—it’s fun!); a “Hanged Men” initiation clip highlighting the aforementioned ceiling ritual; and a “Skin Deep” clip featuring a tribal scarification practice among teenage boys who slice their skins to mimic crocodile hides. If you can’t see the videos, then jump to Hanged Men or Skin Deep.*
WARNING: All three extras contain graphic images, particularly the video clips. Do not watch unless, as I said before, you have a diamond-strong constitution. FYI: I played the relatively mild How Taboo Are You? game, watched about twenty seconds of the “Skin Deep” scarification clip, and skipped “Hanged Men” all together; my constitution is made more of opal, one of the least durable of gems.
How Taboo Are You?
Hanged Men
Skin Deep
*These videos do not include closed captions or subtitles for the deaf, hard of hearing, or non-fluent in English.
Taboo premieres tonight at 9pm EST on the National Geographic Channel and will subsequently air Wednesdays at 10pm
Taboo photo courtesy of the National Geographic Channel
