Dugan McShain

Anthropological Film Comments on La Pareja Enjaulada (The Couple in the Cage)

A century ago people were more interesting exhibits than animals. If you had a native from some far off land, you could make a fortune peddling their freakishness around rural America and Europe; stopping in bars and taverns or at fairgrounds, just so that people could ogle your strange savage. 

The organizers of the worlds Colombian Exposition in Chicago set up one of these 'exotic creatures' exhibits. 100 years later and the practice can still draw a crowd. Coco Fusco and Guillermo Gomez-Pena locked themselves in a ten foot by ten foot gilded cage, and present themselves as a recently discovered tribe off the coast of Mexico. They were the inhabitants of a small Caribbean island, a "lost" isle. 

The anthropology documentary that they made raises interesting questions and important issues about race and culture. It includes interviews with audience members from throughout the world who got a chance to see the strange creatures cavort for the low price of entry into their local museum. The couple had agreed to display themselves as people had been in the 19th and 20th centuries. Intercut with archival footage of humans displayed in cages and on leashes, perceived as freaks and curiosities. 

The couple's discoveries of people's perceptions concern racial, ethnic, and Hispanic/Latino, identity in particular. "In this project the Coco Fusco and I did a parody of the great traveling "multicultural" exhibitions of principles of the 1900, revealing their inherent political contradictions, by means of the violent juxtaposition, although comedian, of true pre-Columbian and colonial art, with examples of tourist art and contemporary conceptual work."-(Guillermo Gómez-Peña: Text/Archive, Hemispheric Institute)

While the artists' intent was to create a satirical commentary on the notion of discovery, and colonization, they soon realized that many of their viewers actually believed the ruse. These 'modern' people all believed that the two were real and were actually long lost savages. "One is to articulate, to visualize and to anthropomorphism to the monsters that the same public projects when trying to include/understand or simply to enjoy another culture, in our case, the Mexican and the baffle plate."-(Guillermo Gómez-Peña: Text/Archive, Hemispheric Institute) 

The record in the film about their interactions with audiences in four different countries exemplifies the fact that there is a long history of cross-cultural misunderstanding that still permeates our society today. Archival footage of the past ethnographic displays gives a historical dimension of truth to the otherwise almost laughable display. The couple in the cage is a powerful blend of comic fiction and a reflection on the morality of treating humans as exotic animals.

Americans have in the past couple of hundred years come to think of themselves as white; a category that they use to distinguish themselves apart from their own ethnic backgrounds and against racial 'others'. This significant other is used as a measuring stick on which we would like to measure ourselves. 

The other is needed to proclaim us better, stronger, smarter and more importantly more cultured. And since the other is usually from a society that has little to do with our customs and practices it has typically been easy to judge ourselves as better than these people. Using morals, ethics and an inflated sense of importance that we have given to ourselves. In the film, the tourists are directed to take pictures, and to donate money to the savages in return for cultural dances, and other telltale 'odd' activities. 

Some of the viewers were extremely confused, others; privy to the satire thought it an excellent way for people to realize what hundreds of years of colonization and cultural imperialism has done to societies the world over. 

Surprisingly, more Europeans were fooled than any other nation. This may be because of a greater distance between Mexico and Europe, creating a larger gap of knowledge. Or possibly because the issue of multi-race varied background relations is more prevalent in Northern America. One girl interviewed wept openly in a display of sadness over the injustices visited on the peoples of the world in the name of entertainment and progress on the various people that the couple represented.

"It is in field work that the Anthropologist is perhaps like the playwrights he observes human behavior and looks for that which is significant either in itself or by comparison with other forms of behavior." -(pg.258 Picturing Culture Turnbull 1979:2 Ruby) It is satirical plays that hold a larger thrall over our life. We are not sure how to interpret a performance, so we prescribe certain traits to it to make it more homogeneous and help ourselves swallow it. 

Satire like so many forms of comedy expresses freely the feelings which are too harsh or dangerous to acknowledge if the two stood there and ranted on about the injustices of the world they would never have had such a lasting impression on the audiences that observed them. Their performances therefore were designed to be subtler and seat themselves in institutes of higher learning. 

There's was a message designed for "Everyman", it was designed for a crowd of people whom the actors knew could appreciate and dissect the message that they saw in an environment fit for proper discussion of a difference in cultures. Emphatically, the "Couple in the Cage" triumphs because of subtlety... not simply because they went after the brain's of their audience instead of their ears. But because the message they portray is one of hope.

The documentary is a form of non-fiction storytelling that aims to present factual information, insights, and perspectives on real-world subjects, events, issues, or people. Documentaries can cover a wide range of topics, including history, science, culture, social issues, nature, biographies, and more.

Dziga Vertov in Man with a Movie Camera (1929)

The drama genre is a broad category that features stories portraying human experiences, emotions, conflicts, and relationships in a realistic and emotionally impactful way. Dramas delve into the complexities of human life, often exploring themes of love, loss, morality, societal issues, personal growth, with the aim to evoke an emotional response from the audience by presenting relatable and thought-provoking stories.

Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)

The short form refers to creative works characterized by their brevity and concise storytelling. Unlike full-length feature films, short films have a running time of less than 45 minutes, while TV shorts have a running time of less than 22 minutes.

Benedict Cumberbatch in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)

A witty satire about cultural stereotyping.

Get a closer look at some of Hollywood's perfect pairs.

Hollywood Power Couples

Get a closer look at some of Hollywood&#39;s perfect pairs.

"The Gentlemen" and "Slow Horses" return this fall, while the "Reacher" spin-off series "Neagley" makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

2026 Fall TV and Streaming Watch Guide

&quot;The Gentlemen&quot; and &quot;Slow Horses&quot; return this fall, while the &quot;Reacher&quot; spin-off series &quot;Neagley&quot; makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

See who dazzled on the red carpet and took home gold at the 78th Primetime Creative Emmy Awards.

The Couple in the Cage

Photos1

Top Cast2

User reviews2

Related interests

Storyline

Top picks

Details

Tech specs

Contribute to this page

More to explore

Recently viewed