Mythologizing the History of Easter Island Through Documentary Films

Abstract

WHEN I SET OUT TO MAKE A DOCUMENTARY concerning an invasive plant species on Easter I land, it soon became obvious that many people are misinformed about the island and its history. Many believe that the island is treeless and the ancient people mysteriously vanished, leaving only the great statues for Europeans to find (Easterbrook 2005:10). A more recent concept has pervaded public opinion: that Easter Island stands as a metaphor for the end of the Earth, associating the great moai statues or icons of the island with eco-disaster (Diamond 2005:119).