A while ago, I mentioned that I was listening to a podcast with an intriguing premise: to find the Yeti. Two friends, Andrew Benfield (the believing Mulder of the pair) and Richard Horsey (the cynical Scully of the pair) were investigating the yeti. Over 10 episodes, Benfield talked about the origins of his interest in the yeti whilst the two were schlepping off to numerous Himalayan countries and following old clues and sightings to see if they could get to the truth.
I had issues with it is that any little clue was presented in an over the top 'OMG!' way by the believer; it got rather grating when it is debunked or evidence to the contrary is given. It was not as ridiculously contrived as 'Most Haunted' or that ilk of programme but the 'I want to believe' shtick was definitely there. The fact that the expedition was being closely followed by the Royal Geographical Society means that it has the approval of academia but still.. a pinch of salt would help.
The most fascinating part for me was that it placed the sightings and events into a chronological history and this was a fascinating insight into the evolution of this cryptid. As a former student of anthropology, it made me consider the relationship between folklore, mythologies and the sprititualismof the area.
The finale of the series, where they had found some hair from the ‘yeti’, had yet to be revealed but I was not expecting much from this grand reveal which kind of reminded me of Jeremy Kyle envelope opening, after the break of course. So, on the 10th October 2023 the reveal happened and, whilst I won't spoil it here, the fact that you haven't see the Yeti's face all over Time magazine as Cryptid of the Year or had The Sun release an exclusive interview with the woman who apparently had a love child with the creature should tell you that it didn't go to plan.
Overall, this is an interesting thought experiment but works less well as a 10 part series. The fact that it ends with the typical, 'There are different ways of thinking about the creature, for the West it's a search for a physical creature whereas for much of the area where the yeti has been sighted, it is a mystical creature who is symbolic of their spirituality and our connectedness to nature' shtick is aggravating.
This finale pretty much sums up the orientalism that the topic is dealt with and it doesn't sit right with me. Anyways, if you have an interest in the topic as a whole go for it but if you want a Western man trying to go on a modern Grand Tour and be a bit 'I've read The Alchemist so I'm profound now' then this is for you.
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