Media Representation of Polynesian Men

Modern day media have the tendency to twist the view of the Polynesian culture specifically Polynesian men. They often put their focus around the bad things that the Polynesian men do however a positive light is shone on New Zealand media when a rugby or netball game/championship is won and a Polynesian is in the midst of it because this is what gets them their 10 percent and their big cover piece. There are a bunch of stories and reality shows made in New Zealand which portray similar aspects of the Polynesian Community. 

The way that the suspect is described as is a complete stereotype. They personally don't know him so who knows which cultural group he belongs to.

In Police Ten 7 which airs on channel 2, Thursday nights at 7.30pm there is an obvious but distinct focus around the Polynesian men community, thus making New Zealand a good example of misrepresentation in the media. The Polynesian men who appear on Police Ten7 are often if not always pinpointed as criminals, ruthless, immigrants, alcoholics, drug users and people who just have nothing else better to do. And in the profile of their supposed criminals they often describe their (Polynesian People) body type as Medium build, dark or tanned skin, tattoos on their forearms of Maori or Pacific Island decent and as people who are not safe to approach. This is very similar to the representation created in Sione's wedding directed by Chris Graham. The film Portrays the life of four islander guys Michael, Sefa, Albert and Stanley who all lives on the shores of West Auckland. They are all in their mid 20's to early 30's and hold a reputation for behaving immaturely at special occasions such as family weddings. This film through dialogue and specific scenes are we able to comprehend that these four guys are always or most of the time drunk, they are idiots, they never take anything seriously, their uneducated due to the dialogue they use (always in a fobby manner), they're party animals, not married or always sleeping around, sluts, funny, clowns, people who are lazy who have no priorities or responsibilities and are people who do nothing all day which is a contrast to the stereotype given to all Polynesian men. In the animated television series 'Bro town' which is based around 5 teenage boys Vale, Valea, Jeff da Maori, Sione and Mack who live in the suburb of morningside with their father Paulo. Paulo is the main focus, he is portrayed as ruthless, scruffy, an alcoholic, messy, untidy, congested in to one home with all his family, trouble makers, an idiot and disrespectful. This is seen by the use of language they use, the house the live in and the state of it, also by his means of transport which is a forklift. In the TV series Shortland Street which is created by Bettina Hollings, Caterina De Nave and Jason Daniel it portrays the complete opposite of typical programs portray of Polynesian men. In Shortland Street the Polynesian men are all established, meaning that they all have degrees, all are doctors, nurses or work in a really good place. However in this program the men are all still seen as goofy but they are also serious at the same time, they have a family to go home to at the end of the day, they hardly sleep around, they aren't arrested or involved with the police on regular basis which is good, and they don't start trouble and are basically the complete opposite to the men which are shown on 'Police Ten 7, Sione's wedding and Bro Town'. Last but not least New Zealand's own New Zealand Herald is also guilty for portraying Polynesian men in a bad light too, or sometimes not at all. Through out the whole newspaper you don't see a Polynesian man at all, they tend to only recognize the achievements that the pakeha community do and if Polynesian men are recognized this is only because on the weekend 'Julian Savea' scored the winning try in the All Blacks and Wallabies Trans Tasman clash. In saying that a Polynesian man is also only put in the newspaper (New Zealand Herald) if they have done wrong or robbed the bank, stolen are car, involved with drugs, being held under rape charges etc. This representation is very sad and only makes people wander that if in the real world are Polynesian men really like this? Is it okay to approach them? or should i keep my children away? This is very poor because perceptions like modern day television often does represent what is going on in reality and it does make a lot of people wonder. The representation of Polynesian men is obviously negative because they are always being portrayed in a bad light, the shows that they are in always come on at night which bizarrely gives everyone the chance to watch it. 

(Video Clip): This is a snippet of an episode of Police Ten 7 where a drunk Samoan man has been stopped for obvious reasons. The use of the camera and choice of words has made this Polynesian man look really really bad and stupid, however i strongly believe that the police and police ten 7 target people like this man. Its appalling!

The media are definitely targeting the Polynesian men because i think they find it a hobby to mis-represent them. In police ten 7 i think they create this representation because they know from previous encounters that is mainly Polynesian men which start trouble, or a driving home drunk, the ones who do the most crimes however this is not so. The media purposely target the Polynesian men especially in police ten 7. They will mainly situate the show in the Southern part of Auckland (South Auckland) and focus on the crimes that the Polynesian men are committing on a regular basis. In saying that to avoid this they could go and focus on a different area because while they're here, all other crimes are happening too! Sione's wedding the use of dialogue is a very key thing which helps bring forward the representation of Polynesian men, they sleep around like there's no tomorrow, they are people without purpose is simply what the media is trying to make us believe. What the media perceive the Polynesian men to be is definitely based on an existing stereotype that all Polynesian men are good for nothings, cant speak English and work in factories for minimum wage. With that being said this representation is achieved by them being located in a kind of messy area. Another way this representation is achieved is that they go to a white school and they end up being the only brown kids in school which results in them being bullied by the white kids, this shows that they are being taken advantage of, their overall reason and mean is just being overruled which is the medias intention, to make it look like they don’t have a say in anything they do. Going back to one of the main ideas of this is that Polynesian men in particular are only good and recognized for sports. Police Ten 7 and Sione’s wedding because its shows the type of community perceived by the media in which the Polynesian people like to live in which is appalling because we as a people deserve better treatment by the media, we deserve pieces about us in the news, we deserve dedicated spots in the national newspaper segment to show what our community is, what we stand for. The good that the children are doing, the people of tomorrow. For example; the media will always talk up rugby players like Conrad Smith for holding Law degrees and other university diplomas and what not, but when it comes to Polynesian players they are only used for their muscles and how they are viewed to the public, which at some points resemble that of sex icons. 

The representation of Polynesian men sends a negative vibe throughout the community that we live in because people start to wonder if we all who live there act the same way. This also shows that the New Zealand society is very restricted to the types of things and types of people like like to support. The wider society of New Zealand have no other choice but to believe what the media is telling them now because its become an everyday struggle that Polynesian men have to deal with. This representation is very similar to that of a superhero movie, the bad guy never changes in the eyes of the people and the hero will be remembered forever. In the New Zealand Herald Polynesian success is never really talked about or outlined in the media, pakeha people are always the victims to crimes that the Polynesian men commit. This is the complete opposite to that perceived in Shortland Street, this show is about the only one which shows Polynesian people, men in particular in a good view or actually doing something good with their lives. Bro town is a very different show, even through all the bad things which happen in the media on the show they are still able in the end to allow Paulo the chance to appear in the local news, the newspapers and elsewhere mainly because he does silly things and is able to be humble and joyous about it.

There is a lot of consequences due to the representation of the Polynesian men in New Zealand. This also affects our wider society in very bad way and leaves children (The FUTURE of tomorrow) with no way to lean for support, they have no one else to look up to but these men they see in the TV for supposedly doing wrong. Moreover New Zealand and the society is missing out on reaching the full potential for this group because they are filling their minds with stereotypes.