Kiwi Identity - A Loaded Image

Learning intentions Students are learning to…

• To establish common & traditional representations of kiwi identity
• To understand where they came from
• To situate the messages/ values in their historical contest

Success criteria (How do students know they have achieved success?) I can…

• I can identify who was shown & how.
• I can identify the text type & the effect it has on meaning
• I can start to examine & critique messages about what it is to be a New Zealander.

Relevant Film Archive footage on ON DISK programme

Country Lads

Scenes at the East End Picnic

Activities

Scenes at the East End Picnic

First predictions: What kinds of things do Kiwis do for leisure i.e. in the weekends? What do you think Kiwis did back in 1912?

Watch “Scenes at the East End Picnic” twice

Answer questions 1 and 2 together as a class and write answers on the board for students to copy.

1. Describe its features – who is being represented and what are they doing? Describe the stereotypes which are present.
Families, women and children are represented. The adults seem to be standing around while the children, particularly the boys, are active. The people are at the beach. Then they appear to be on some kind of picnic (company picnic or community fair were suggested) or some fun, family day playing organised games and participating in water “shenanigans”.
The stereotypes present are of the outdoor and leisure-loving NZer and the ideal of the happy family who participate in good, clean wholesome fun and carefree living. The stereotype of kiwi ingenuity (rustic) is also suggested in the activities where they make fun out of nothing (guzzling spaghetti races and the slippery tyre on a pole).

2. List some of the positive attributes touted about New Zealand. Do they still apply today? Why/why not? Where would you see these values echoed in modern life and in contemporary texts?
Positive attributes are that NZers a fun-loving and can enjoy a relaxed lifestyle that centres around family fun and togetherness as well as healthy living. It confirms why Europeans came to NZ (to escape over population/the class system/the industrial revolution, to own land, for better job opportunities, open space, warmer climate, farmland, beaches, a good place to bring up children).
All of this amounts to a leisure lifestyle with shorter working
This aspect of our lifestyle is still represented today – arguably to a point of over-representation with fishing shows etc but is it true anymore?

Then split the class in two. One half lists positive attributes (number 3) from a New Zealand perspective. The other half lists positive attributes from the perspective of someone from another country (question 4).
Both groups choose a spokesperson to deliver the findings back to the class with the teacher or a student recording the main points of each argument on the board.
Evaluation of messages (as a class) – what are the consequences of believing these messages?
Students record the main points to answer the questions.

3. Who do you think made this text and why do you think it was made? What do you think their agenda was in making this? What point of view are they communicating?
The Government to engender a sense of community and belonging in its citizens. To promote healthy, outdoor living. It could work to reaffirm why immigrants came to NZ.

4. Imagine you are from another country. What are the values and messages you would understand from this clip about New Zealand?
Foreigners may think that NZ is the ideal place to live a happy, healthy life. They may be enticed by the emphasis placed on bonding and community, where there a fewer social barriers.

Individual task – Plan a storyboard Thumbnail task – Common Myths for a modern version of this text. This could be preparation for the montage formative task later in the unit. Students assess each other’s work. (see peer marking sheet)

Country Lads

First predictions: What was happening in 1941? (look at Timeline of Events). What do you expect to see in a news item from that year? What would be the qualities a New Zealander should have then? Describe how you expect the people to act and look.
Explain what a news reel is - Played before the main feature film in the cinema at a time when NZers went to the movies twenty times a year (pre-television). Other main sources of the time were newspaper and radio.

Watch “Country Lads” twice.
Students fill in the Country Lads chart

Conventions, examples and meaning: live footage adds realism and authenticity selection of footage shows men going to war (not the consequences) and shots of womens’ happy faces (not their grief)
voice over uses collective pronouns "we", "us" and "our" suggesting collective identity and responsibility , the unification of all New Zealanders fighting for "freedom" and "happiness"
There are an equal number of shots of the soldiers as there are of the crowd. Most shots are wide, long or mid shots with a few close ups.
The wide shots emphasise how many people are present and therefore the significance of the event and the respect soldiers and those perceived to be ‘doing their duty’ had in the society of the time. The shots of the crowd show solidarity and support.
The soldiers are all happy to be going to fight for their country – stoical and brave – while the crowd react emotionally.
The stereotypes are also emphasised by the voiceover – the notion of civilian skills being able to be converted for the war effort and emphasising that it is ‘our duty’ to serve our country.
Also glorifies war (with the triumphant images)as an opportunity and a duty “a matter of taking our turn”

Purpose: It seems to have been made by the government as a pro-war, propaganda piece intended to stir up patriotic fervour and encourage people to enlist. It engenders a sense of excitement and pride and a longing to do your duty. It appeals to a sense of male pride and manliness but the voiceover also confirms that women can do their bit too.

Values are portrayed about kiwi soldiers/message being conveyed to the general public about troops enlisting for the war:
The value is being placed on national solidarity and collective duty or responsibility to defend the principles (also values) that our country stands for – happiness, prosperity and freedom.
The voice over echoes these sentiments over and over:

Handouts
Thumbnail task – Common Myths
Country Lads chart
Peer Marking sheet