National Geographic: Polynesian Adventure (1969)

This National Geographic special resolves around the year spent on the islands of Tahiti, Bora Bora, Raiatea and Tahaa by the Stanton Waterman family of Princeton, N.J., and illustrates how a typical American family meets the challenges of a strange and rather primitive environment. With Waterman, a veteran filmmaker, are his wife and their three teenage children. The purpose of the journey, according to the world-travelling Waterman, is to expose his family to a culture other than their own and to establish an esprit de corps within the family unit that he finds lacking in stateside society. The Watermans shed their suburban dress for traditional Polynesian garb and join their new neighbours in their work, celebrations, and day-to-day living. As he films, Waterman leads his family on undersea expeditions to a world he has long known and that he wants them to experience. They examine the reefs and waters, seeing first hand the awesome creatures of the deep that have challenged Waterman through his professional life. In all these adventures, Waterman films his family’s activities and records the natives’ reaction their presence and intent. 1969 National Geographic 1988 Stylus Video VHS SV1037