Rethinking the Manitoba Video
Posted by: Loren Coleman on October 24th, 2005
Coming to the Defense of the Manitoba Sasquatch Video – Sort of
Remember the Manitoba Bigfoot videotape taken by Bobby Clarke last spring? Why are people so quick to criticize it because of where it first appeared? Why is everyone surprised that it was on A Current Affair initially? I personally feel we should not judge the possible linkage between the foggy image of a Bigfoot on that footage, and where it first was screened. Ask yourself, without bias, what worth might we discover in this tape in the future?
There’s been a rush to discard the Manitoba tape merely because of its association with A Current Affair. But hold on. Could it be that A Current Affair went for it because Bigfoot and related topics are an entertaining part of the diet of such reality television programming? Could it be they knew they could make a lot of money in ad revenues by getting an exclusive during sweeps month? Could it be that they obained the rights because they offered more money than 20/20, Dateline, CNN, or anyone else?
Examine the history of where the initial places past footages have been broadcast. Ivan Marx’s film was on You Asked for It (1972), Paul Freeman’s video appeared on Hard Copy (1992), Dennis Sweeten’s Texas tape was screened on Strange Universe (1995). How about the “Redwoods Video,” when it was still known as the “Playmate and the Primate” footage? It was on Hard Copy (1995). The “Snow Walker” footage was on Paranormal Borderline (1996). Ray Wallace’s initial hoaxing claims, before they made it to the national broadcast media, were screened on Inside Edition (in January 2003). Some people feel some of these examples may, indeed, hold images that can assist us in understanding the reality of Bigfoot. Others seem to clearly be hoaxes and fakes.
The history of the initial release of the mixed bag of Bigfoot news, traditionally but unfortunately, has been, on tabloid television. No matter what the final analyses or in whose credible documentaries they eventually appear, Bigfoot videotapes are broadcast in television tabloids, in general, first.
I wish this was not true. Nevertheless, we must not judge any videotape or photography too harshly based upon where we first view it. I’m afraid to say it, but if we consider that the first lengthy discussion of the Patterson-Gimlin footage (along with its stills) occurred in a men’s magazine, Argosy, that is no reason to discount it, is it? After all, as most of us know, today that bit of film is one of the best pieces of evidence we have for the reality of Bigfoot.
I’m not sure if there’s anything to learn from the Manitoba video about Bigfoot, but for now, I think it is best to keep an open mind, as opposed to closing it just because of who got the first rights to show it.
- Similar Phenomena:
The 1975 RCMP reports from Norway House (eastern shore of Lake Winnipeg) as well as reports over the past century from north-central and northwestern Ontario make a strong case for zeroing in on this region. While for the most part utterly uninhabited save for scattered native communities, a canoe makes this region much more accessible than the mountainous ranges of western Canada and the US. Maybe the secret is in finding a promising area between James Bay and Lake Winnipeg, settling down for an extended period (the summer)and, in the words of Elmer Fudd, being ‘wery, wery qwiet.’ Chasing Sasquatch seems fruitless…waiting for Sasquatch may be the key.
Thanks for sharing this. The area is an active one, and definitely the Jane Goodall-Dian Fossey model of “living in their space” and “becoming part of their environment” is the way to go with Sasquatch, an intelligent primate.
Thanks, Loren and great to hear from you again (we traded emails a few years ago re. JR Colombo’s books).
One other consideration in terms of Ontario are the number of trappers who are still active (with all due respect to PETA et al). One trapper I have known all my life recently related the tale of a deer kill he came across that showed all the signs of being brought down by a large cat (brought down from behind with long claw marks along the back and hindquarters). I agree with him that’s it’s most likely an eastern cougar though the province of Ontario still lists them officially as entirely absent from this former range. Now we just need to get a photograph.
As for Sasquatch, trappers may well be an as yet untapped source of information in terms of strange prints, prey kills, vocalizations or even sightings. It’s also important to remember that the Ojibway/Nipissing/Nipigon native communties have an oral tradition featuring the ‘Waywaygweshi’, a mischievous creature often described as hairy and man-like. If these traditions are anything to go by, it is slightly smaller than the western bigfoot and ‘follows the water’ much like the unidentified subject in the Manitoba video.