What’s the difference between appreciation and appropriation is the question actor and comedian Kura Forrester asks in a new series, reports Mariana Whareaitu.
Is it OK for non-Māori to wear a moko? For companies to use Māori motifs and designs on products and brands? What is the difference between cultural appreciation and appropriation?
When faced with cultural appropriation, Forrester admits her first response is often an emotional one, as opposed to intellectual.
“It’s really hard sometimes when you see appropriation happen you just go, ‘Eugh! It’s so hōhā (annoying)!’ Like, I don’t know how to articulate the kind of feeling that you have around it and how boring and tiresome it is sometimes to explain it to non-Māori why it’s bad.”
Enter Appropriation Nation, a series that follows Forrester’s journey to learn about appropriation in order to make herself feel better in her own skin, she reckons.
And in the best way she knows how.
“Māori – particularly, right? – we’re the best at [comedy] as far as I’m concerned, and I think we’re just natural storytellers," Forrester says.
"Storytelling and comedy is just our way of sharing and healing and educating, right? So, for me, I think the comedy part is just a natural way of communicating.”
The show features skits and set ups, with Forrester utilising her comedic skills for the greater good to ask questions of some “pretty tricky” situations.
“I think if you bash someone over the head with a hardcore idea then they’re not maybe going to take it on as easily. So comedy to me is always kind of, not sneaky, but like a gentler way of talking about the harder stuff.”
And the harder stuff is met head-on as the first episode unpacks what cultural appropriation means with activist and commentator Tina Ngata. It’s an interview she hasn’t stopped thinking about since filming it, Forrester said.
“She sort of described to me what the colonial mindset is and how far back this cultural appropriation actually goes."
Understanding the history of appropriation and how it continues to manifest today has helped her to easily identify when instances occur.
Take the emotion out of it
“What I’m loving is learning about why potentially that is happening. As well as opposed to just being pissed off about it, it’s kind of like, ‘Oh, you do that because you think it’s OK’.
"And then it kind of takes some of the emotion out of it for me and it’s a bit more intellectual and it’s a bit easier to talk about it to be honest.”
Each episode explores a different aspect of Māori culture: haka, art, representation on screen, and te reo Māori.
Forrester said people can expect some laughs – “Oh my god, imagine if it comes out and it’s not funny? Shame!” – entertainment, and insights from some special guests.
“On our shoot, day one, Nicole [Horan, producer] was like ‘OK, your first interview is Tāme Iti’. I was like, ‘Excuse me? You could’ve eased me in, man!’ And then I really fangirled out. I got to interview Leilani Perese from the Hurricanes.”
The line-up also includes fellow comedians Courtney Dawson and Tom Sainsbury, producer and director Chelsea Winstanley, artist Otis Frizell, and media broadcaster-slash-reo champion Stacey Morrison.
She said the series isn’t just for indigenous people and hopes those who don’t identify with a culture still feel interested in watching the series.
“You can expect a real broad range of opinions and angles and ways to look at appropriation, and I think it’s hopefully going to be a really fresh take on this topic.”
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