The danger of Mainstream Media.
With our ever-changing society, the dominance of media becomes much apparent. Magazines, newspapers, television and films enclose significant messages within them. However what happens when these underlying themes and messages are contradicting, negative and perpetuating a particular stereotype, social group or people?
This is where we are presented with Linda Pihama’s idea that films are dangerous influenced by Patricia Grace where she mentions:
• if books include stories about ourselves but are “untrue” or “are negative and insensitive” then they are dangerous.
• if books never tell us about ourselves, then they are saying “you don’t exist”.
• if books include stories about ourselves but are “untrue” or “are negative and insensitive” then they are dangerous.
The message of danger within books and films can be extended to the wider media inclusive of newspaper, news coverage and the internet. There is a strong need for one to be educated about the constant dominance and power media holds. I would primarily like to highlight how Maori are represented in these forums and convey the idea of how and why they are dangerous to the vast majority.
The internet is something which anyone can access and anyone technically literate is able to contribute to the social networking sites, public forums etc. For example Facebook, a social network site which is internationally popular. On the website everyone is able to create pages which one can then “Like”, through “liking” the group you agree and support the main message of this particular group. The groups typically consider witty and humorous ideas which we as an audience can relate to. Liking these groups has become very popular and because of this has seen the emergence of thousands of new ideas. Some very controversial, one which stroke my attention was
“GETTING A UNI SCHOLARSHIP IS SOOOOO HARD lol jk i'm 1/64th maori”
A mass of 13,068 people have liked this group, and to make matters worse the comments are fueled with even more ignorance, uneducated and racist comments including:
“Yeah, white privilege doesn't exist. In this country there's only Maori privilege and the rest can f off!”
“kick them out of parliament aswell”
“…because by 2050 half of nz will be maori. At the rate now, that means like a third of the country will be on the benifit…”
The main messages I understood from other comments were that Maori are being advantaged and Pakeha are disadvantaged. Having Maori scholarships is “racist” and that university is free for Maori.
These people clearly have no understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, New Zealand History, Te Ao Maori and the structures of Media. These stereotypes of Maori are generated through the Media and are “untrue…negative and insensitive” therefore dangerous.
The idea of the Government “pandering” Maori has stemmed through the representation of Maori converge on the mainstream news channels, typically when covering a story to do with land settlements, initiatives to improve disparities between ethnic groups or broadly anything political to do with Maori.
Another interesting feature of the Facebook page was putting Hone Harawira as the profile picture. It is almost as if he is the mascot for all negative things associated with Maori. Through publishing his photo will of definitely evoke tension to its Pakeha audience. It is as if the media have done their job so well that they are not needed anymore. The community is voicing their inaccurate views by themselves even including the right images to market their story. Hone is framed so negatively by the media that everyone will associate the Maori scholarships as “racist”.
“Colonisation has not ceased; it continues through the capture of our
images”. As Leoni Pihama explains Hone’s depiction and association with
Maori being “unfairly advantaged” is a form colonisation.
These are the new forms of colonisation that emerge from our media are
dangerous. Such colonisation is embedded through one buying into ideas of
the media and taking the information like it is gospel.
When is something significant going to happen to stop this negative
representation of Maori?
How are Maori supposed to strive for further education such as University
when they discriminated against?
This page degrades the efforts of Maori who have received Maori Scholarships but furthermore Te iwi Maori. The view is from a “colonist perspective and gaze” and the argument is based on no factual evidence.
Something needs to be put in ensure proper representation of things Maori of we want to see change in perspectives and ideologies in our society.
