The Maori culture of New Zealand is a beautiful culture. They serve as a symbol of New Zealand, a people of purity that hallmarks the indigenous side of the country. As human beings, it is hard to face change when we are so used to idealizing the distinct and preserving what makes us the us we are today. Many cultures fall into the inevitable trap that the world has set for each and every one of them. This is the trap of a conflict of interest. The conflict of filmmaking. From religious missionaries to land-hungry colonial "conquistadors" of the British, the Maori have always faced a clash in culture as they've sought to maintain and preserve their cultures in any way possible. Remarkably, one way they have dealt with this clash of culture has been through filmmaking. Television culture planted its first roots into the Maori culture in the 1974 television air of Tangata Whenua that was aired for six weeks on New Zealand television. For the first time, "perspectives" were shown through public broadcast. Many felt proud and touched, while others felt the contrary. Maori sovereignty in the production of the series had non-transparent views towards who really decided what aired on the silver screen. As demonstrated through this example, indigenous filmmaking serves as a negotiating site in the ongoing struggle for indigenous self-determination and cultural survival. Whether to view filmmaking as progress towards an evolving culture, or a fork in the road that can change the face of the Maori, Maori culture will have to face this on-going dilemma as they continue to accept filmmaking as a bigger part of their lives.
References
http://www.isrn.qut.edu.au/
2014. Maori on the Silver Screen: The Evolution of
Indigenous Feature Filmmaking in Aotearoa/ New Zealand. Electronic Document, http://www.isrn.qut.edu.au/publications/internationaljournal/documents/Final_Martens_IJCIS.pdf. Accessed March 25, 2015.
For me, I feel like you can't really fully describe a culture through a book, a novel, or even a movie. People spend years trying to understand a culture, yet they may never feel like a true native to that culture. Strangely enough, this makes me think that cultures are also changing, depending on how they interact with different cultures. Today, people are connected through the internet and the media. It is easy for different cultures to inter-mix and "experience" what it feels like to be in different cultures, through food, clothing, and even language.
ReplyDeleteI like your post; creative title, I mean the ethnographic post, and your reflection is insightful. How about adding some of the Filipino and American culture or perspectives on Filmmaking, and then comparing with your ethnographic post? YOu all still need to work on making your references consistent. Please, do not forget that before the final presentation. Good job David. Thanks for the very proactive work in our course.
ReplyDeleteThanks Professor! I can actually relate to the Maori, as the Phillipines have experienced something similiar. The Phillipines has been under the rule of two tyrants in the past, and as a result, their culture has significantly changed. If you go there today, Filipino culture reflects American culture in many different ways. Movie-going is common, as well as watching television shows, eating bacon, and even spoken english being a common norm in young schools. It is interesting how cultures have a tie with one another in one way or another!
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