Taboo

Season 4

TV-MA
Around the world there are people of different cultures who take actions and decisions that seem out of the ordinary to the average westerner. Considered taboo, these people and their stories are now being known.

Where to Watch Season 4

15 Episodes

  • Initiation Rituals
    E1
    Initiation RitualsDifferent cultures' initiation rituals. Included: a Brazilian tribe's bullet-ant glove; an urban Australian subculture's practice of suspension from fishhooks.
  • Skin Deep
    E2
    Skin DeepSpotlighting the Latmul tribe of Papua New Guinea and a coming-of-age ritual that requires teenage boys to have their skin repeatedly cut so that it resembles crocodile skin. Also: Maori tattoos.
  • Sexual Identity
    E3
    Sexual IdentityProfiling people who push gender boundaries. Included: transsexuals in San Francisco; Thai katoey or “ladyboys”; Samoan fa'afafine.
  • Signs of Identity
    E4
    Signs of IdentityProfiling young women of Ethiopia's Hamar tribe who voluntarily submit to brutal beatings to show loyalty to male relatives as they participate in a coming-of-age ceremony. Also: the Japanese horimono; branding.
  • Proving Ground
    E5
    Proving GroundIn San Francisco, ordinary people can become members of an underground fight club. In Indonesia, men prove themselves by throwing spears at each other. In Benin, boys become men by enduring extreme whipping.
  • Body Modification
    E6
    Body ModificationWhy would people choose to radically reshape their bodies? Some women wear heavy brass rings that push down on their collarbones, giving the appearance of elongated necks, a sign of beauty. Elsewhere, an estimated one in four girls undergo a practice known as breast ironing. See how some men—for vanity’s sake—are augmenting their bodies through plastic surgery.
  • Nudity
    E7
    NudityFor some, shedding clothes is an act of expression, of liberation, even a means of worship. Wiccan witches perform rituals in the nude, or “skyclad,” to express their truest form and bring themselves closer to the natural world. Some devout Christians worship together naked in the name of the Lord. In a unique festival, one man is chosen to be the spirit man and must run naked to the shrine.
  • Trials of Faith
    E8
    Trials of FaithExploring how far some people will go to test their faith. Included: Christians who subject themselves to suffering similar to that of Jesus Christ in the Philippines; Thai believers who impale their flesh with various objects to get closer to Chinese gods that watch over their land; a group of U.S. Christians that put their lives at risk to affirm their faith.
  • Pets
    E9
    PetsIn Los Angeles, Jackie stuffed her dog after its death. In San Francisco, Tia keeps the dead animals in the freezer in order to stuff them. In Nevada, a mother treats her monkey pet as her own daughter. In Fort Lauderdale, Ilene sees her iguana as her baby. In Miami, a family owns 500 snakes.
  • Gross Food
    E10
    Gross FoodA look at food customs that are practiced in some cultures but rejected in others. Included: the lethal fugu in Japan; a six-course insect meal in rural Vietnam; tarantulas and bear claws at a dining club in Manhattan; deadly serpents in Hanoi.
  • Extreme Performers
    E11
    Extreme PerformersProfiling performers who engage in extreme entertainment. Included: bullfighters in Mexico; members of a North American sideshow; a transsexual beauty pageant in Thailand.
  • Jobs
    E12
    JobsSpotlighting less-than-desirable professions. Included: a man cleans up violent death scenes; a forensic anthropologist works with rotting corpses; an Indonesian miner extracts sulfur from an active volcano.
  • Mating
    E13
    MatingA look at ancient and modern rituals humans use to demonstrate love and devotion.
  • Marked for Life
    E14
    Marked for LifeAn exploration of ritualistic body markings, such as branding and scarification, and the sociological effects of these practices.
  • Quest for Acceptance
    E15
    Quest for AcceptanceIt's a basic human need. We all seek acceptance. But our motivations vary. Some seek beauty, while others want to show devotion. Sometimes acceptance comes through conformity while other times it comes from breaking boundaries and creating our own path. How far would you go to be accepted? How far is too taboo for you?

 

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