Misogyny & Pop Culture
The text I have chosen to discuss is the brilliant “Four Poems and Sione’s Wedding” by Karlo Mila and I am addressing the sexual objectification and misogyny which plays an integral role in this poem. Mila, uses pop-culture buzz words such as Bro-town or Sione’s wedding as an instantly accessible platform to commentate on elements she sees as incongruous of Samoan culture in New Zealand, the crude pattern she reflects on from youth-aimed to mature pieces of Samoan media, In particular criticizing much of the parlance of those popular shows and also many Samoan accepted societal norms and folly’s with the intent to display grievances for female marginalization, using the phrases and iconography from the media and a feminist perspective to make her ideas more poignant. The poem carries stark themes of self-determination and female empowerment but also scorn for the loose restrictions placed on men in a cultural and societal context.
To begin with, in the first stanza which directly uses the line “get the girls to write their own”, a popular phrase from Bro-town often used for gender disparity which can also serve the purpose of condescension. A display of the belief that a reliance on males is crucial and that independent female thought is encouraged because it is severely lacking, in a distinctly derogatory manner. “But with all due respect to Oscar it’s just not gonna be a comedy if you know what I mean” the author is clearly speaking to Oscar knightly, the prominent Samoan creator of the two pieces of media mentioned earlier, with an edge of tone that implies she recognizes his intent to dismantle stereotypes and taboos with laughter, but the subject matter and portrayal of Polynesians is hurtful, underscored by her scathing choice of words.
The subsequent set of lines addresses the topic of Samoan males and the resounding message is the tradition of patriarchy from the homeland to New Zealand. With “Yea, those boys know freedom like flying foxes in the night” the academic Albert Wendt whilst having a digression about the culturally coveted tatau, cited the flying fox as a prominent feature of etchings, it played a major role in Samoan culture distinctly for men “let your flying fox fly, go out and show how beautiful and courageous your tatau is, and parade it for all to see, the sexual connotations are very obvious”, the author uses the reference to directly draw contrast to freedom in a literal and sexual manner.
Charles Barf and John Williams two missionaries from the London Missionary Society arrived in Samoa in 1830, introducing Christianity and eradicating the traditional Samoan religion, colonization ensuing, with them came many Eurocentric and patriarchal ideas, which became embedded in the culture for generations to come. The next set of lines discusses cultural similarities by way of parallel, the freedoms men posses whether in Samoa or New Zealand, the amenities are different but the sentiment is the same. Showing disdain at how routine the whole affair is in function, specifically mentioning K-Rd a famous location (also visited in the Sione’s wedding sequel for example) for its lurid notoriety, making her connotations and feelings about this kind of behaviour succinct. Then finally “scoring a rugby blonde” a prototypical material bench mark known as a “trophy or babe”, a crude status symbol amongst men and finally bringing it all full-circle extending her metaphor by drawing comparisons in the literality between the act of becoming acquainted with said blonde to the general strokes of a game of rugby, which is commonly attested to be the apex of pursuits for the success of Samoan males.
In the next stanza she draws further nuance for the aforementioned routine objectification of women, when “lady luck lucking” is mentioned, denoting sexual pursuits or the common shorthand of “getting lucky or having sex” but followed by “mouths fire trucking”, using humorous onomatopoeic insight to the obnoxious noise that is part and parcel of the proceedings, the bragging or audacious banter that follows suit with the skill at bedding women used as a measure for masculinity.
She then makes reference to the ever looming advent of fast food a staple of urban Polynesian popular culture, using the establishment as a metaphor for promiscuity, the routine of purchasing food or getting “served” and abruptly leaving with nourishment that is low in quality and disposable. “double double standards, burgers with fries” the reality that male sexuality is encouraged whilst females are oppressed. Tying together female marginalization with the prior idea of rugby being flipped on it’s head in a similar fashion. Using remnants of Polynesian pop-culture to serve her own ironic purposes. Making it redundantly clear her objections to how gender interaction has become insipidly routine. The nature of resonance and meaning in meeting women lost to become repulsive and perfunctory. Flowing into another food reference with a popular song named “milkshake” by artist Kelis being cited “and milkshakes shaking all around, damn right it’s better than yours”, discussing sexual suggestion in females being a crude form of the gathering of male attention completing the food metaphors with condemnation on the female side of behaviour, the implication of the drink being an addition of the meal, self-respect being key and echoing the idea that stereotypes are not one-sided and it takes both sides to make the generalization come to fruition.
religious motifs are introduced as churches serve an essential purpose in Samoan popular culture “followed religiously by wooden pew penance” framing another popular phrase from bro-town, “pew pew” a sexually suggestive shorthand used by the young male cast for comradry ironically for half hearted consolidation of faith.
Culminating in the use of the term “princess” a label for whore that was a popular coinage of the Sione’s wedding films, the characters alluded to the fact overt sexuality was a necessary indulgence for a woman to get noticed, juxtaposed with the inner-turmoil that title and what the thinking behind it causes, out of sight out of mind women serving a strictly sexual purpose.
“How does a wet dream island girl get to wear white at Sione's wedding?” she mentions the film by title here, touching on the fact that what if a beautiful woman with a strong sense of sexual freedom couldn’t attend Sione’s wedding because she had already been objectified and placed in a category by a set of criteria dictated by males. A popular part of the film’s mantra was attending the wedding with a “respectable girl” who the protagonists had serious investment in. Essentially the wedding being a stand in for the metaphor of acceptance and the “promised land” arbitrary rules that seek to confine female sexuality as opposed to liberate. A woman’s sexuality had to be repressed in action and appearance as opposed to a males which was flagrant, for any air of respect. The idea that, sexuality is encouraged in the short term for male pleasure but brings condemnation in the long term for poor judgment.
The text I have chosen to discuss is the brilliant “Four Poems and Sione’s Wedding” by Karlo Mila and I am addressing the sexual objectification and misogyny which plays an integral role in this poem. Mila, uses pop-culture buzz words such as Bro-town or Sione’s wedding as an instantly accessible platform to commentate on elements she sees as incongruous of Samoan culture in New Zealand, the crude pattern she reflects on from youth-aimed to mature pieces of Samoan media, In particular criticizing much of the parlance of those popular shows and also many Samoan accepted societal norms and folly’s with the intent to display grievances for female marginalization, using the phrases and iconography from the media and a feminist perspective to make her ideas more poignant. The poem carries stark themes of self-determination and female empowerment but also scorn for the loose restrictions placed on men in a cultural and societal context.
To begin with, in the first stanza which directly uses the line “get the girls to write their own”, a popular phrase from Bro-town often used for gender disparity which can also serve the purpose of condescension. A display of the belief that a reliance on males is crucial and that independent female thought is encouraged because it is severely lacking, in a distinctly derogatory manner. “But with all due respect to Oscar it’s just not gonna be a comedy if you know what I mean” the author is clearly speaking to Oscar knightly, the prominent Samoan creator of the two pieces of media mentioned earlier, with an edge of tone that implies she recognizes his intent to dismantle stereotypes and taboos with laughter, but the subject matter and portrayal of Polynesians is hurtful, underscored by her scathing choice of words.
The subsequent set of lines addresses the topic of Samoan males and the resounding message is the tradition of patriarchy from the homeland to New Zealand. With “Yea, those boys know freedom like flying foxes in the night” the academic Albert Wendt whilst having a digression about the culturally coveted tatau, cited the flying fox as a prominent feature of etchings, it played a major role in Samoan culture distinctly for men “let your flying fox fly, go out and show how beautiful and courageous your tatau is, and parade it for all to see, the sexual connotations are very obvious”, the author uses the reference to directly draw contrast to freedom in a literal and sexual manner.
Charles Barf and John Williams two missionaries from the London Missionary Society arrived in Samoa in 1830, introducing Christianity and eradicating the traditional Samoan religion, colonization ensuing, with them came many Eurocentric and patriarchal ideas, which became embedded in the culture for generations to come. The next set of lines discusses cultural similarities by way of parallel, the freedoms men posses whether in Samoa or New Zealand, the amenities are different but the sentiment is the same. Showing disdain at how routine the whole affair is in function, specifically mentioning K-Rd a famous location (also visited in the Sione’s wedding sequel for example) for its lurid notoriety, making her connotations and feelings about this kind of behaviour succinct. Then finally “scoring a rugby blonde” a prototypical material bench mark known as a “trophy or babe”, a crude status symbol amongst men and finally bringing it all full-circle extending her metaphor by drawing comparisons in the literality between the act of becoming acquainted with said blonde to the general strokes of a game of rugby, which is commonly attested to be the apex of pursuits for the success of Samoan males.
In the next stanza she draws further nuance for the aforementioned routine objectification of women, when “lady luck lucking” is mentioned, denoting sexual pursuits or the common shorthand of “getting lucky or having sex” but followed by “mouths fire trucking”, using humorous onomatopoeic insight to the obnoxious noise that is part and parcel of the proceedings, the bragging or audacious banter that follows suit with the skill at bedding women used as a measure for masculinity.
She then makes reference to the ever looming advent of fast food a staple of urban Polynesian popular culture, using the establishment as a metaphor for promiscuity, the routine of purchasing food or getting “served” and abruptly leaving with nourishment that is low in quality and disposable. “double double standards, burgers with fries” the reality that male sexuality is encouraged whilst females are oppressed. Tying together female marginalization with the prior idea of rugby being flipped on it’s head in a similar fashion. Using remnants of Polynesian pop-culture to serve her own ironic purposes. Making it redundantly clear her objections to how gender interaction has become insipidly routine. The nature of resonance and meaning in meeting women lost to become repulsive and perfunctory. Flowing into another food reference with a popular song named “milkshake” by artist Kelis being cited “and milkshakes shaking all around, damn right it’s better than yours”, discussing sexual suggestion in females being a crude form of the gathering of male attention completing the food metaphors with condemnation on the female side of behaviour, the implication of the drink being an addition of the meal, self-respect being key and echoing the idea that stereotypes are not one-sided and it takes both sides to make the generalization come to fruition.
religious motifs are introduced as churches serve an essential purpose in Samoan popular culture “followed religiously by wooden pew penance” framing another popular phrase from bro-town, “pew pew” a sexually suggestive shorthand used by the young male cast for comradry ironically for half hearted consolidation of faith.
Culminating in the use of the term “princess” a label for whore that was a popular coinage of the Sione’s wedding films, the characters alluded to the fact overt sexuality was a necessary indulgence for a woman to get noticed, juxtaposed with the inner-turmoil that title and what the thinking behind it causes, out of sight out of mind women serving a strictly sexual purpose.
“How does a wet dream island girl get to wear white at Sione's wedding?” she mentions the film by title here, touching on the fact that what if a beautiful woman with a strong sense of sexual freedom couldn’t attend Sione’s wedding because she had already been objectified and placed in a category by a set of criteria dictated by males. A popular part of the film’s mantra was attending the wedding with a “respectable girl” who the protagonists had serious investment in. Essentially the wedding being a stand in for the metaphor of acceptance and the “promised land” arbitrary rules that seek to confine female sexuality as opposed to liberate. A woman’s sexuality had to be repressed in action and appearance as opposed to a males which was flagrant, for any air of respect. The idea that, sexuality is encouraged in the short term for male pleasure but brings condemnation in the long term for poor judgment.
Finally “hands clasped in prayer for the sins of her sons” is mentioned later
completing the religious analogue with hypocrisy, the cultural backlash for
male promiscuity and the irony that freedoms are given so strongly, but repentance
is sought. The vicious circle.
“I mean, come on it’s called bro-town mate” standing in for the phrase “it’s a man’s world” the cynicism and righteous indignation the poet feels for women and against males, a call to reform for a misogynist system of female sexual oppression.
Karlo Mila picked valuable and relevant pieces of pop culture using many ironically or as motifs for her insights, detailing her passion and need for change in social standards, empowering Polynesian women.
“I mean, come on it’s called bro-town mate” standing in for the phrase “it’s a man’s world” the cynicism and righteous indignation the poet feels for women and against males, a call to reform for a misogynist system of female sexual oppression.
Karlo Mila picked valuable and relevant pieces of pop culture using many ironically or as motifs for her insights, detailing her passion and need for change in social standards, empowering Polynesian women.
Brown
Brother
The spoken word poetry of Joseph Iosefo strongly resonated with me on a very personal level, further defining the divide of cultural naivety that I felt Karlo Mila addressed so powerfully. He discusses with explicit detail commonly associated Maori and Polynesian stereotypes with an air of respect and dissonance that thoroughly engages. Initially beginning with allusions that directly draw comparison to the brown shade of his skin, weaving cultural norms thoroughly into the references, not only addressing the surface level colour attributes but the underlying connotations the shorthand’s have.
Giving us a frame of reference for the commonality of employment among Polynesians as working class folk in menial possessions that are far too heavily saturated with manual labour, leading onto the expectation that dropping out of high school has become the rule.
The idea that academia could always be overlooked if skills with Rugby or sports were present and that they were far more heavily held as valuable, good grades were overlooked, the idea of failure was expected and that teen pregnancy was an upsetting but essentially familiar part of this vicious cycle, of negligence.
Trying to make the best of the situation but realizing that your support is non-existent, with the phrase “now I am stuck in the muck trying to scrub my skin with Luck soap.” Which drew me back, the idea of not only the situation being unfortunate by nature, but the very idea of his colour and culture literally working against him, the need to remove it from his being because it only bought distress, a particular type of self-hatred.
With more insight given when he states “trying to scrub away the fact that I’ve added to the Brown statistic” directly addressing the idea of a consensus or correlation leading back to culture, a warning label readily applied by society and an internal anger at the state of being and acceptance of this title, even more so the criteria directly applying to him and the bitterness of acknowledging this “structure” exists for a reason and that to go beyond it was not possible.
The invoked thought that absolutely any logic or criticism was always seen as a racist opinion and justification was not required in an argument. Referring to popular shows such as the “The GC” and “bro‘Town” much like Mila because of their popularity, addressing the idea that expression by Polynesians in popular culture always came down to parody or self-deprecation, with the incapability of creating works that were far more palpable for intelligence as opposed to generic satire, work that defined a uniquely Polynesian perspective without comedy as a crutch.
Further stating “instead of mocking our traditions, we need to start being real about the world that we live in” bringing his thoughts full circle with, which is in my opinion the most important line of his poem, the inherent ugliness always drawn to with levity as opposed to being addressed with any air of seriousness, introspection and direct reference to an issue as opposed to a passive and ironic position, With powerful subjects like domestic violence and drugs being mentioned, the need to approach and deconstruct cultural norms that have adverse effects.
The sentiment that this progress can be made without the sacrifice of identity and indignation at the idea of Maori and Polynesians being at the bottom of the totem pole, not only crudely by society but an internal self-defeat. With self determination punctuating his next remarks “Are we not more than gems and golden teeth, are we not more than our (Gamers) at the T.A.B., are we not capable of attaining a Bachelors, a Masters or a P.H.D., Brown Brother – look at me.” Negative stereotypes converted into strength and pride in one’s self and culture, powerful oratory.
Finally the most powerful set of lines from the poem, cultural pride pervades the proceedings, offering advice to all those who may feel hopeless and giving words of encouragement for the endless possibilities available, making the interaction his own personal memoir between him and his culture, the need for greater standards of living and a thriving Polynesian culture “your family and your home will forever be inside the marrow of your bones so do not fret. Do not regret. ‘Cause where ever you go, you take us with you” your culture will always be a part of who you are regardless of where you find yourself, finishing with the beautiful thought that it’s not about trying to change what you inherently are, wear it with pride, but changing your mindset.
Sons for The Return Home
Faith to move us close
skin to part us wide
Home is past and present
With hushed whispers
and up turned eyes
You'll always be close
not all will understand
the bonds that form
regardless of land
