Analyse the media texts to establish:
The representation of Kiwi identity they create (Checkppoint 2)
The media create a racist representation of Māori and Māori culture. The representation is that Māori are dumber than the average New Zealander, they can’t speak properly, are poorly educated or not educated at all, and that they are responsible for the majority of crimes and all die at an early age because of laxiness, smoking, drugs and alcohol amongst more.
How they create it
Recent research showed that on the basis of attending national hui; meetings with Ministers and some twelve different Crown agencies, and extensive analysis the Special Rapporteur concluded that the treatment of Maori people and issues was of special concern, and highlighted: “a systematic negative description of Maori in media coverage, an issue that should be addressed through the anti-racism provisions of New Zealand’s Human Rights Act”. and stated that “public media should be encouraged to provide a balanced, unbiased and non-racist picture of Maori in New Zealand society, and an independent commission should be established to monitor their performance and suggest remedial action”.”
The media create this representation in their adverts that are aimed or that involve Māori. An example of this are the huge amounts of Breast Screening ads featuring Māori, while it is not always intended to offend Māori more than it is to encourage Māori and Pacific women to go and have a Screening or Smear Test. Māori and Pacific rates of screening and smears are around 6-9% less than NZ European women and for that reason, Māori and Pacific are used as the prime target in ads like these. Despite Māori population being smaller than NZ European, the amount of Māori who die from Cancer each year is vastly different to that of NZ European. Although the NZ European population is much larger, wouldn’t it be better to encourage a large population whose deaths due to cancer are phenomenal than stereotyping Māori because of their previous rates?
Another example of the representation of Māori in the media are drinking and drug ads. Recent ads relating to Māori feature Māori actors as a majority in drinking and drug ads. Some of these are the recent ad “Blazed” which targets Māori fathers who drive stoned with their children in the car and go on to show the effect it supposedly has on the children and how hey see their fathers actions. Steve Elers, a researcher of Māori in the media said the Transport Agency's Blazed commercial is based on poor-quality research and will likely do more harm than good. The ad stemmed from a statement made by a Māori father who said that they don't like smoking weed around their children yet they have no problem driving with them after a session. Ads like these reinforce the negative stereotypes that Māori are always like this, that is explicitly stating that Maori dads smoke weed and then go drive their kids. It is being singled out that that is the Maori norm, that's how Maori are, when in fact while it is no secret that a number of Māori do consume drugs on a regular basis, there was no sufficient research done into the topic and it is not only Māori who are like this, it is NZ Europeans also. In a recent drink and drive ad known as “Legend” that went viral, Māori feature as the main actors once again. It features a young man "internalising a really complicated situation" as he ponders whether or not to tell his mate not to drive home. The ad continues to stigmatise Māori as alcoholics who think it’s fine to drink and drive and even show instances of Māori at home where they live in poor areas and eat food that is bad for you but affordable. There are times where the main actor says things such as “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head” and this sentence came across as comedic because no one thinks Māori speak like that because the cultural norm is that they are poorly educated.
One more example was the most recent KidsCan ad which feature a well off white NZ European family getting ready for the day. The live in a modern home, have expensive electronic appliances and a huge amount of food in the pantry. It then ads in a Māori girl who watches the family getting ready (although the family cannot see her). The Māori girl doesn’t have breakfast, has hard noodles for lunch, wears the same clothes and has no shoes. It shows her in awe of everything this family has and it comes across once again as negative stereotyping Māori as the poor culture in NZ. There are many Māori who are in the situation of the well off white NZ European family, and the opposite situation for the NZ European family. It could have just as easily been the opposite situation in the ad but because of increasing negative portrayal of Māori in the media, they show Māori as the poor culture and in my opinion it is racistly portraying my culture.
Why do the media create this image? (Checkpoint 3)
In my view, media create this image for impact. Having Māori as the prime targets in these ads make the racist Pākehā feel better that the media are targeting a culture they don’t like rather than themselves.
This negative media bias is all just a ratings game and positive stuff just does not sell, so the sort of representation Maori get on mainstream news is hugely damaging to Maori people, especially when “gangs and killing kids” are frequently seen by viewers and positive things are often not. I know it’s important to show the negative things but what I criticise is how TVNZ especially do not counter those images with positive events in Maoridom.
The media do not always create this image for the benefit of Pākehā in NZ. A lot of the time, it’s because they see Māori as the main targets for fixing issues in New Zealand. The good Maori news often is only seen on Maori television so it can create a bad image for Māori when the opposite is sown on mainstream television, despite media attempts to avoid this.
What is the impact of this representation in shaping Kiwi identity?
Because Kiwi identity is often recognised world wide, it can occasionally be seen as a racist country or a country that is backwards in their traditions. Often people think that Māori still live in the stone age because of their lack of knowledge in Māori culture due to media representations. It can also make people think that Māori are a culture that is producing unwanted statistics in NZ, and that it would be better if they weren’t there at all. Despite the fact that media may not always want this shaping kiwi identity, their representation shapes it so.
Maia Matthews
