A teacher once told me
that education should not just be a means in earning a career but rather, a
journey that solidifies one’s identity. If that sentiment had been introduced to
me five years ago, I would have scoffed and dismissed my teacher. Yet, in the
past 12 weeks I’ve grown into a self-assured young lady and I consider that judgement
due to my educational journey. In my first reflective writing, I pointed out
that being a part of AUT University’s Culture & Society community not only generated
a motive to gain knowledge of the world, but led me to initiate an inductive
investigation as to who I am in relation to my understanding of the world.
Culture & Society
unveiled various concepts, some of which I had basic understanding while others
were completely new. In this final reflective writing, I will draw upon two
themes: Families and Communities and Migration and Diversity. In the body of my
writing will comprise of three points, the first point will look at what the
themes mean conceptually, in relation to my own understanding through culture and
society, the second point will look at what meanings the themes have for me in
terms of my own values, beliefs and identity whilst being a member of society.
The third and last point will look at how these themes are related to my own
discipline of study which is Communication Studies here at AUT University.
In the traditional perspective,
society prolonged what the ideal family should consist of. The head of the
family is the father, the person who provided for the family. Following the
father was the wife, who was expected to stay home and tend to the children and
house. The children would be raised and uphold values, and expected to behave
as model citizens so that they would be able to grow up and embody the father and
mother roles. Anderson et al., (2015) supports this idea as they state
that the ideal family has been communicated through sources such as media,
religion and the law. However through cultural changes and historic events,
people have come to realise that this has affected the traditional viewpoint of
families. To elaborate, families of today seldom adhere that the father is the only
provider, mother’s also work and there are even some families where fathers at
absolutely absent making the mother the sole parent and provider. Guest
lecturer Love Chile revealed that his father had up to three wives and that was
considered normal because his cultural background were not conformed to western
ideals. With community, people would say that it was dependent of their
location. However there are many ‘communities’ people can belong to. An example
of this as stated by Chile (2015) is social media. Most people have a Facebook
account, therefore they belong to the Facebook community.
The main factors that
determine the size of a given population are birth rates and death rates.
However migration and cultural diversity also affect population sizes and they
also affect society. A prime example of studying migration and cultural
diversity concept lies in our own backyard – New Zealand. In a report by the
Ministry of Social Development (2008) it briefly summarises the history of
those that have settled in New Zealand starting with the first Polynesians who
established themselves as Tangata Whenua or Maori. This was followed by
settlers from Britain, Ireland, France, Dalmatia, Pacific Islands and all
around Asia. From Dr. Nakhids observation (2011), New Zealand may have a multicultural
or diverse makeup because of the country’s history with migrants but suggests
ethnic views are tokenistic in New Zealand. For New Zealand to be an inclusive
society, she stated that ethnic groups should continue to embed their views
amongst all people: “until such time that we are invisible as the mainstream or
Pakeha.”
Families/Communities and
Migration/Cultural Diversity are the themes that I most strongly relate to in
terms of my identity, values and belief. In the earlier point, I had stated that
society held a long viewpoint that families involved the father as head of the
house, with the mother as nurturer. With cultural changes and historic
influences this concept has changed as there are families that function with
sole parents, step parents, foster parents or no parents. Coming from a Samoan
background the concept of having the father as the dominant figure is highly revered
as males in Samoa have long subjugated the political, economic and religious spheres.
Values such as respect, service, and love dominate Samoan family and community
dynamics (Te Ara, n.d). An example that encompasses all these values is the Samoan
custom, fa’alavelave. The custom refers to ones obligation to family or
community by contributing a favour most often in the form of money. In an occasion
such as funeral, weddings or birthday’s family members would contribute to help
cover costs. By obeying your obligation to your family and community, you are
displaying respect, service and love. Samoan family beliefs are rooted in Christianity
and the Christian religion has had a major influence in how Samoan or other
Pacific culture should raise a family/community (Grattan, 1948).
As a New Zealand born
Samoan, my personal history is very much revolved around migration/diversity. Both
my parents and their families migrated to New Zealand following the influx of
other Pacific families who came to New Zealand in search for better work opportunities.
Wealthy families in Samoa were mostly business owners, educated overseas and
resided in Apia (Fepuleai, 2005). The majority of the population who lived in
rural villages had either sent one member of their family or a small family to
start a new life in New Zealand. I am proud of the decision my family made in
making the move to New Zealand. I feel that the opportunities I have grasped or
yet to grasp, is my way of being grateful of their past.
When entering AUT University
to begin my Communication Studies degree, I was encouraged to think critically
about the messages the media produces towards the audiences. In the first
point, I had briefly mentioned how society’s ideal family was communicated
through religion, law and media. Elaborating in media, U.S television shows in
the 1950s heavily promoted the traditional family. Examples include shows such
as The Brady Bunch, Little House on The Prairie and The Cosby Show (Family,
n.d). However in today’s society liberal characteristics such as family with
gay parents, transgendered children, have become the norm due to the popularity
of reality television shows.
Media portrayal of
migration is limited to documentaries or films with history genre. During Helen
Clarks administration, the TVNZ charter laid out objectives stating that
content that was broadcasted on television should be an accurate representation
of New Zealand culture, be informative and entertaining (TVNZ, n.d). However,
the TVNZ charter was abolished in 2011 which is perhaps is the reason why there
are less ‘Kiwified’ shows, and more shows imported from the U.S.
Maori Television which
was established in 2004, produces many local content and movies that are
featured are mainly ones that portray indigenous peoples or minority groups.
This is a reflection of their vision where they aim to be the best content that
empowers indigenous people (Maori Television, n.d).
In comparison to the
other disciplines (in my class, most were International Hospitality students) I
was impressed with their approach to both themes, as well as the diversity
among the students. I enjoyed how their discipline sought to relate all
themes with the concept of hospitality. Communication Studies and International Hospitality Management definitely look through different lenses when it comes to understanding culture and society. Nevertheless what they do have in common is challenging individuals to analyse their own identity, their interactions with other people and how this has shaped their perception of the world.
Reference list:
Anderson, M. L., Taylor, H. F., & Logio, K. A. (2015). Sociology the essentials. United States: Cengage Learning.
Chile. (2015, May 4). Love Chile, families and communities [Video file]. Retrieved from https://autonline.aut.ac.nz/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp? course_id=_80705_1&content_id=_3333961_1.
Family. (n.d). Television and Family - The Portrayal Of Family On Television. Retrieved June 11 2015, from http://family.jrank.org/pages/1680/Television-Family-Portrayal-Family-on-Television.html.
Fepulea’i, D. (Editor/Director). (2005). Dawn Raids [Motion picture]. New Zealand: Isola Productions.
Grattan, F. J. H. (1948). An introduction to Samoan custom. Apia, Samoa: Samoa Printing & Publishing Co.
Maori Television. (n.d). World Indigenous Television Broadcasters Network. Retrieved June 11 2015, from http://www.maoritelevision.com/about/about-maori-television/witbn.
Ministry of Social Development. (2008). Diverse communities: Exploring the migrant and refugee experience in New Zealand. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Social Development.
Nakhid, C. (2011). Opening doors to diversity. Retrieved June 11 2015, from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/aucklander/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503375&objectid=11039702.
Te Ara The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. (n.d). Fa‘asamoa – Samoan culture. Retrieved June 11 2015, from http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/samoans/page-3.
TVNZ. (n.d). TVNZ Charter. Retrieved June 11 2015, from http://tvnz.co.nz/view/tvnz_story_skin/111535
