An interesting 10 part podcast which finds two friends, Andrew Benfield (the believing Mulder of the pair) and Richard Horsey (the cynical Scully of the pair) investigating the yeti. Now, many would say that the yeti is obviously a myth but when David Attenborough said he believed that there was something to the yeti sightings in 2015, you can't help but sit up and take notice.
The pod starts off with Benfield talking about the origins of his interest in the yeti. After that, our our intrepid travellers schlepp off to numerous Himalayan countries and following old clues and sightings to see if they can get to the truth.
They are aware of colonial and cultural bias, the old belief that it only really exists if it has been seen and documented by a middle aged Western white guy, but my issue with it is that any little clue is presented in an over the top 'OMG!' way by the believer, it gets rather grating when it is debunked or evidence to the contrary is given. It's not as rediculiusly contrived as 'Most Haunted' or that ilk of programme but the 'I want to believe' shtick is definitely there. The fact that the expedition is being followed by the Royal Geographical Society means that you do have to take the search more seriously than you otherwise would but still... a pinch of salt would help.
It's an interesting podcast though and does make you think about where folklore mixes with the real world to create mythologies. It also places the sightings and events into a chronological history and this is a fascinating insight into the evolution of this cryptid. The different ways of thinking about the creature are profound, 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. The finale pretty much says this and, whilst I agree, it is a cop-out for a 10 episode podcast.
The finale of the series, where they test some hair from the ‘yeti’, is yet to be revealed as I write this but I’m not expecting much from the grand reveal. Overall, this is an interesting thought experiment but works less well as a 10 part series.
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