From Merata to Waititi: Māori perspectives in media
In a Māori waka. Source: Olivia Welsh.
“The public is conditioned to accept negative images of the Māori. The values and worth of Māori people are continually overlooked.” – Merata Mita, 1989
There is a tremendous amount of cultural significance in the world of Māori media, especially in our bicultural society of Aotearoa New Zealand. This can range from news coverage and journalism to television and the film industry, and the documentaries that capture the growth and struggles of Māori individuals as they create art, and showcase their heritage on the big screen.
“Māori are the consumers of media just as much as everyone else are,” said Lucy Jessep, a University of Canterbury student and member of the Kāi Tahu iwi.
There is also a significance in individuals seeing themselves in stories that aren’t directly linked to them. Take the Te Reo versions of Frozen and Moana that came out, having been translated and re-dubbed by incredible Māori screenwriters and people involved in the industry.
“[The] opportunity to see ourselves or people who look like us… similar language, culture… is hugely positive,” said Jessep.
The likes of Utu (1983), Once Were Warriors (1994), and Whale Rider (2003) have garnered praise since their release, yet some of the most universally recognised films by a Māori individual are made by filmmaker Taika Waititi.
Taika Waititi at San Diego Comic Con in 2017. Source: Gage Skidmore.
Known for his top-grossing Aotearoa films Boy (2010) and Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), Waititi is potentially the only Kiwi director whose work many Americans have seen – sighting the cultural barriers between us as a smaller country, and Hollywood.
He has proven himself to be quite versatile with his work with Marvel, and black comedies What We Do In The Shadows (2013) and Jojo Rabbit (2019). But there is so much more out there than what is mainstream and usually at the centre of discussions. One of the most beautifully tender works of Māori media is a 2018 documentary, Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen.
This documentary presents the life and work of Merata Mita, the first Indigenous woman, and the first woman in Aotearoa, to solely write and direct a dramatic feature film: Mauri (1988). Her international influence led to the creation of the Sundance Institute’s Merata Mita Fellowship.
Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen is directed by Mita’s son Heperi Mita, and was released eight years after her death.
Reviewer Peter Calder of The Listener noted it as “…a loving and often revealing portrait of a seminal figure in the development of this country’s film culture.”
Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen was screened at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Source: New Zealand Film Commission.
It’s deep with admiration for whānau, the strength of a driven wahine, and an exploratory piece that doesn’t shy away from hurt.
Muru (2022) is another notable work. It is loosely based on the 2007 New Zealand police raids against Ngāi Tuhoe and received overwhelming positive reviews.
“In terms of storytelling, a film that comes to mind is Muru. To watch a rendition of an extremely trying time in Māori-Pākeha-state relations was pretty confronting,” said Lily, a UC student in Māori and Indigenous Studies.
“As Tangata Tiriti, I think it’s essential to go and experience whatever emotion [and] thoughts may arise after witnessing a film like this.”
UC offers a Kiriata: Māori Film and Media course, which examines the intersections of Māori identity across numerous creative works. Garrick Cooper, an Associate Professor for Aotahi – the School of Māori and Indigenous Studies, spoke of the importance of having these kinds of teachings.
“The different types of media often provide very good material to ask these types of questions of them and in doing so, encourage critical analysis and thinking,” said Cooper, when asked about how Kiriata fosters an open dialogue about issues of identity, representation, and power dynamics in the media.
“We often use, for example, media stories as part of our assessments, and ask students to analyse issues of representation, narratives, and [how] those interests are being served by such narratives.”
“At another level, the form of the stories also reveal much of the deeper level assumptions and beliefs,” he said.
Cooper specifically cited John Rangihau when addressing cultural advocacy.
“John Rangihau, the well-known Māori elder, for example, once famously said, ‘I am Ngāi Tuhoe before I am Māori’. For many Māori, this is understood not as a repudiation of being identified as a Māori, but a call for more nuance in understanding the layers of what it means to be Māori,” said Cooper.
Whether it’s the films that grace our theatre screens, limited series on TVNZ+, or Aotearoa’s first Te Reo Māori broadcast Te Karere, Māori media is different time after time, because each voice echoes something new. But there is still a lack of visibility for Māori in entertainment spaces.
“Obviously this government is proving extremely difficult in terms of the erasure of te reo Māori across mainstream government departments in political spaces. This then impacts mainstream news and everyone who watches it, which is pretty disappointing to see,” said Lily, when speaking about current key challenges.
However, there have been wins. There’s the Broadcasting Act 1989, a legislation that reflects a huge societal change by increasing funding to Māori-language programming, Before then, use of te reo Māori was heavily discouraged through laws like the Native Schools Act.
Creative pursuits, in whatever part of the entertainment world, should reveal parts of ourselves that we never considered showing. By encouraging fresh narratives and stories, we begin to understand more about our country, and the people within. But we should never forget the history, and why some perspectives are less visible than others.
Media for, and by, the Māori community are a central point of Aotearoa, and in order to increase cultural competency and proficiency, this cannot be forgotten.