l the real New Zealand man please stand up?
He is rugged, strong, unemotional and not to mention heterosexual. That is how the media in New Zealand presents the real New Zealand man.
But what does it really mean to be a real NZ man?
According to ‘Statistics New Zealand’ there’s a 60 percent chance that he’s overweight and a 27 percent chance he has hazardous drinking patterns, so at the average age of 79 he will probably die from heart disease, a stroke, respiratory disease or lung cancer.
This construction created by the media is detrimental to New Zealand society. Shouldn’t our new savvy society of today embrace widespread qualities of masculinity in the media? Why do we instead look back at the Kiwi bloke with nostalgia?
Once were warriors directed …show more content…
The placement of beer in his hand reinforces that alcohol is symbolic of masculinity and the real New Zealand man. It is interesting to note that the male character of Jake Heke is self-depreciating, and exaggerates the accent and colloquialisms of Maori. His humor is not only based on the negative stereotyping of Maori, but of men in general. Perhaps the stereotypes kiwi men adopted during the war contributed to this, they gained a reputation as “hard partygoers and humorous.” The representation of kiwi identity the director creates shows that physical attributes are to be associated with masculinity. Others around them admire the masculine portrayal of characters like Jake in the film. Masculinity associated with violence and alcohol allows us to understand that it is common in New Zealand communities, maybe even our own. Homosexuals in the film are branded as “pofters” for not fitting into the masculine model of his society. New Zealanders may have identity problems as they are led to believe that failure to live up to this idealized masculinity contains humiliation like in
He is rugged, strong, unemotional and not to mention heterosexual. That is how the media in New Zealand presents the real New Zealand man.
But what does it really mean to be a real NZ man?
According to ‘Statistics New Zealand’ there’s a 60 percent chance that he’s overweight and a 27 percent chance he has hazardous drinking patterns, so at the average age of 79 he will probably die from heart disease, a stroke, respiratory disease or lung cancer.
This construction created by the media is detrimental to New Zealand society. Shouldn’t our new savvy society of today embrace widespread qualities of masculinity in the media? Why do we instead look back at the Kiwi bloke with nostalgia?
Once were warriors directed …show more content…
The placement of beer in his hand reinforces that alcohol is symbolic of masculinity and the real New Zealand man. It is interesting to note that the male character of Jake Heke is self-depreciating, and exaggerates the accent and colloquialisms of Maori. His humor is not only based on the negative stereotyping of Maori, but of men in general. Perhaps the stereotypes kiwi men adopted during the war contributed to this, they gained a reputation as “hard partygoers and humorous.” The representation of kiwi identity the director creates shows that physical attributes are to be associated with masculinity. Others around them admire the masculine portrayal of characters like Jake in the film. Masculinity associated with violence and alcohol allows us to understand that it is common in New Zealand communities, maybe even our own. Homosexuals in the film are branded as “pofters” for not fitting into the masculine model of his society. New Zealanders may have identity problems as they are led to believe that failure to live up to this idealized masculinity contains humiliation like in