Fourth Eye: Maori Media in Aotearoa New Zealand

The "fourth eye" in the title of this collection of essays refers to W. E. B. Du Bois's idea of the third eye, the splitting consciousness between native and non-native. Editors Hokowhitu (Native studies, University of Alberta) and Devadas (media and communication, University of Otago) spotlight portrayals of indigenous issues in films and other media created by Maori filmmakers and other media producers, and also examine representations of the Maori in mainstream media, indigenous access to media, and the use of media for Maori activism. Indigenous and non-indigenous scholars in education, postcolonial studies, and media studies explore topics such as historical Maori-language newspapers, postcolonial remediation in Rain of the Children, and indigenous identity in reality TV from New Zealand. The book includes a wealth of b&w contemporary photos and maps. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
The Fourth Eye brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars to provide a critical and comprehensive account of the intricate and complex relationship between the media and Maori culture. Examining the Indigenous mediascape, The Fourth Eye shows how Maori filmmakers, actors, and media producers have depicted conflicts over citizenship rights and negotiated the representation of Indigenous people.
From the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi between Indigenous and settler cultures to the emergence of the first-ever state-funded Maori television network, New Zealand has been a hotbed of Indigenous concerns. Given its history of colonization, coping with biculturalism is central to New Zealand life. Much of this “bicultural drama” plays out in the media and is molded by an anxiety surrounding the ongoing struggle over citizenship rights that is seated within the politics of recognition. The Fourth Eye brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars to provide a critical and comprehensive account of the intricate and complex relationship between the media and Maori culture.Examining the Indigenous mediascape, The Fourth Eye shows how Maori filmmakers, actors, and media producers have depicted conflicts over citizenship rights and negotiated the representation of Indigenous people. From nineteenth-century Maori-language newspapers to contemporary Maori film and television, the contributors explore a variety of media forms including magazine cover stories, print advertisements, commercial images, and current Maori-language newspapers to illustrate the construction, expression, and production of indigeneity through media.Focusing on New Zealand as a case study, the authors address the broader question: what is indigenous media? While engaging with distinct themes such as the misrepresentation of Maori people in the media, access of indigenous communities to media technologies, and the use of media for activism, the essays in this much-needed new collection articulate an indigenous media landscape that converses with issues that reach far beyond New Zealand.Contributors: Sue Abel, U of Auckland; Joost de Bruin, Victoria U of Wellington; Suzanne Duncan, U of Otago; Kevin Fisher, U of Otago; Allen Meek, Massey U; Lachy Paterson, U of Otago; Chris Prentice, U of Otago; Jay Scherer, U of Alberta; Jo Smith, Victoria U of Wellington; April Strickland; Stephen Turner, U of Auckland.