Within Kevin Glynn and A.F. Tyson’s article entitled Indigeneity, media and cultural globalization: The case of Mataku, or the Maori X-Files, Glynn and Tyson argue that creation and success of Mataku is largely due to cultural hybridity and glocalization. The use of Maori mythology and oral narratives represent the magic realism that is also present within various Western television shows such as Lost and The X-Files (Glynn and Tyson 2007, 216-217) and is used as the main example of cultural hybridity and glocalization.
Glynn and Tyson do a very good job of highlighting the ways in which the Maori use cultural hybridity and glocalization to establish domestic and international success with regards to the Mataku programming. Global television programming formats and styles such as those found in shows like Heroes or Lost where magic realism is used to blend indigenous cultural stories and narratives together, allow shows like Mataku to produce global appeal to a wider range of foreign audiences (Glynn and Tyson 2007, 214). The free trade flows of information and media between countries of different cultures and values has changed the television landscape to allow for less government regulation (Glynn and Tyson 2007, 215). Privatized television networks such as NBC and ABC that have aspirations of reaching out to new foreign international audiences in attempt to increase their profits have realized that they need to package unique and distinctive cultural sources with established television formats and themes (Glynn and Tyson 2007, 215). Other examples of cultural hybridity can be seen within China, where consumption of South Korean media and products has increased steadily within the last decade or so. The appeal of South Korean culture to the Chinese population is due to the hybrid mix of American influences that is prevalent within the Korean culture (Richards 2010). Reality and TV game show formats that have been made popular in America have been adapted in the Arab world, where shows focusing on poetry and prayer along with children competing in scientific experiments are widely popular within the Arab society (Meyer 2010).The topic of cultural imperialism that Glynn and Tyson bring up within the article is about how cultural imperialism has affected the indigenous culture of the Maori which has brought about the need for cultural television programming like Mataku. This concept is shown in great detail, as it is noted that media produced by indigenous people has been mostly subjected to foreign biases and is portrayed as material that alien and foreign in nature to the global audience (Glynn and Tyson 2007, 208). It can be argued that the advantages of having a global free flow of media and information is being used to mask the fact that various North American and European countries are using this free flow of media to culturally influence and dominate countries where their culture and media is not as developed (Shade 2006, 32). Although the impact of Western culture on smaller foreign countries has been decreasing within the past three to five years, for indigenous societies such as the Aboriginal, Inuit and Maori, the limited access to technology and resources to appropriately represent their culture and beliefs has been a struggle for them due to indirect and unconscious biases from the general Western global media (Glynn and Tyson 2007, 208). The imbalance between indigenous cultural media and mainstream North American and European culture is similar to the concerns of countries like France, Japan and China in that American media and information flows are replacing their own cultural traditions and values (Straubhaar, LaRose and Davenport 2008, 530).
By identifying the need for indigenous cultural media by the Maori, given the pressures from foreign countries and the threat of cultural imperialism that is ever present within the media culture in New Zealand, the effects of cultural sovereignty is one of the reasons how the Maori are able to produce shows like Mataku. Glynn and Tyson are able to highlight very well some of the ways that New Zealand has exercised their cultural sovereignty to bring about the production of indigenous Maori culture and media. Government legislation and public funding has given more importance to racial equality and diversity to ensure that Maori culture is better represented (Glynn and Tyson 2007, 216). Public funding for television sponsors and companies such as NZ on Air have helped to protect the Maori culture and bring about a growing a need for the Maori language and cultural values (Glynn and Tyson 2007, 216). Government legislation and policy is a powerful tool to enforce cultural sovereignty, as seen in Canada with the formation of the CRTC, the National Film Board and the Canada Council for the Arts (Moody 2010, 4).
One of the challenges to the success of the Mataku, is the concept of cultural proximity. This concept of cultural proximity was not as fully expanded upon as other topics were. Although it has been stated that about 35 percent of the dialogue in Mataku is in the Maori language with English subtitles and that the show’s creators have strived to reach out to other audiences both domestically and internationally (Glynn and Tyson 2007, 217), there are certainly other factors that exist that contribute to the concept of cultural proximity and how it determines the success of indigenous cultural shows which have not been explored by Glynn and Tyson. As it is logical to understand that people prefer to view television programming or film that is in their own language, rather than viewing a dubbed version or a version with subtitles, it is not the only reason for cultural proximity to occur (Ksiazek and Webster 2008). Evidence has been found to show that different social classes and ethnic types contribute to cultural proximity. The content and values being presented by a television program or film that speak to an upper-middle or upper class member of society may not be the same types of values that a lower class member of society would accept of enjoy. Education, religious beliefs, or variations in the sense of humor that individual people have are also other factors to consider within this topic of cultural proximity.
Within Glynn and Tyson’s article, they have both brought up valid examples and concepts in describing the need for content that is specific to the Maori culture. Concepts such as cultural imperialism brings about this need for Maori-specific television programming, while the use of cultural sovereignty, hybridity and glocalization has shown how the creator’s of Mataku were able to be successful in producing a show about indigenous Maori culture with a substantial degree of success. One area of Glynn and Tyson’s analysis that was not expanded upon further is the concept of cultural proximity and how it could have changed the global audience’s view and reception of such a unique and content specific show as presented within Mataku. Overall within Glynn and Tyson’s article we are better able to see globalization and glocalization are changing how we produce and receive local and global media.
Word count: 1166
