A book and a pen

Response to book and a pen

         By: Vaine Rasmussen

Not sure about what this author is talking about.

 I mean after all those years

 of going inside and outside of school and in the end

saying “I missed a lot”?

 how big is that plank in your eye that

you, a graduate can not see the reality?

“They gave me a book and pen” is this not English?

“Set-rule and calculator to play with” is clearly for maths.

And “test tubes and Bunsen burners” are more likely to be science.

Are you not happy that you are educated?

 Not everyone gets the opportunity

You are lucky enough to wear those shoes in your feet

Maybe nobody needs education if everyone

is like Bill gates or Steve Jobs.

high school drop outs

yet, invented the great future.

but even this people went through school

and learned that great ideas

 are often found

in a piece of paper

written with a pen or a pencil.

You think calculations are useless,

Well think again.

 how many days, months or even years sill you

spend to obtaining your dreams.

and that perfection can only be achieved through

thousands and thousands of experimentation and repetition.

“When I was at University they gave me another book and a pen

Marx’s theories and Solzhenitsyn’s literature to debate discuss and agree over.

This is where students never understood what schools do for us.

Yea we may never be able to use formulas, verb phrases or astronomy after leaving school

but isn’t this just a formal translation

 of you arguing with your best friends about what each of you

can become after graduating?

Admit it in school you’ve learned

 to love, to suffer, to party and to sacrifice

but most important of all

you’ve learnt how to be yourself

The heck with those A+,B+, or C+

 who needs those anyway right?

They’re just those fancy displays on your C.V.

As if you need those for a better career in life.

Just don’t you dare go regretting your actions once the time of judgement

comes

Where you,

 yourself reach the point of no return.

So next time you call school time a waster

think again you would have never

Be able to write this poem if you took your education for granted.

Response to the Cross.

Response to the Cross.

The cross? It's always the cross ha.

blame the cross, blame this cross

blame that cross, blame their cross

what did the cross ever done to you?

You say it kills, it destroys, it changes.

I tell you that cross is not the true cross.

The cross that I know.

The cross that I know saves, heals, protects.

That cross never changes. 

You say you hate the cross, 

You say that the cross changes everything

but in truth it is, its not the cross that changes 

but its you who always change and kept running away.

you kept denying the cross but in the end kept

saying OMG? OMFG? FCS?

I tell you the cross that you hate is not the true cross.

because the cross that I know will never hate you
nor will it hurt you and will always
 welcome you back.

The cross that I know is never a symbol of destruction.

The cross that I know symbolizes victory over death and over the enemy.

You can not change the cross, no one will ever be able to change the cross

the cross came here to stay. 

It is perfect and will always be the same nothing more, nothing less.

Its promises, gifts and words will always be the same.

It happened before, happens now, will happen in the future.

Do not blame the cross for your mistakes

Look into yourself and realize the truth.

The end of the ages is near; the cross will soon come back

and when it does, are you ready?

Sons for the Return Home (Text to Text)

Sons for the Return Home

Upon reading Sons for the Return Home by Albert Wendt, my initial response is that people don’t start questioning their identity unless they are surrounded by people that are different from them, or someone who seems to be at the other end of the spectrum. When we are surrounded by people that we “belong” with, whether this is in a religious or cultural sense, there is a sense of security. On the other hand, being surrounded by people that we “don’t belong” with, makes us doubt.

This is the main challenge that “the boy” has found himself in – he has been questioning his own identity, just by moving into a different country, and having a relationship with someone who isn’t from his culture, only made him raise more questions.

Racial Stereotypes

The main male character in Sons for the Return Home has his own perception of different cultures, particularly the Maoris and the Caucasian. Each culture views another culture differently and this is something that seems to be taught. Much like racism, these ideas do not exist until someone learns about them, and once they know, this are passed on from one person to another, until the idea becomes a generalization of one culture. More often than not, these generalizations are often negative and sometimes, based on a person’s skin colour. The poem “Brown Brother” by Joshua Iosefo is a great example of this generalization of culture. He talks about his skin colour, the food and “the mud” that “his people” is judged upon, and how you can be the “first” ‘brown’ person to graduate or be a prime minister. This shows just how much the Pacific culture is belittled, when in reality, we don’t know if this speaks the truth, because we only get a glimpse of their life. Therefore, one shouldn’t so easily generalize.

Gender roles

In Sons for the Return Home, there is a distinct difference between the roles of men and women. The mother is expected to be the typical, submissive housewife, whereas the father isn’t expected to show any affection, especially in public as this is apparently a sign of weakness. The wife must “obey [the husband], give him children and keep the home in order.” On the other hand, the man must be that who shows physical strength and able to “protect his family” whenever he needs to. There is also a scene in the book, where the main character hits his girlfriend, yet, she apologized, even though she was the one who got hurt.  

Here are a few excerpts from the Bible that says that a woman should be submissive, especially towards their husband:

“This is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands.”

(1 Peter 3:5)

“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.”

(Ephesians 5:22)

It’s easy to see that this image of a submissive woman is something that is encouraged in the society even in the past. Like I have stated before, when something is constantly repeated, whether it’s an idea or a way of life, it becomes the tradition and this is passed on because the home is where we learn the most important things in life. Also, it’s quite safe to assume that Pacific Islanders tend to continue the teachings of the Bible. After all, Christianity is a dominant religion in the Pacific.

A woman was only created after the man, biblically speaking, which is another reason why wives should submit to their husbands – because women have always been perceived as inferior, from the time that Christianity was taking over until in today's society. 

Sons of the Return Home makes a person understand what it’s like to have different perceptions of people from different cultures, though I think that the essence of the book is a question of identity in crisis. However, when you do meet them, you’ll find that these ‘common’ perceptions are often wrong, if not exaggerated. It’s so easy to judge other people, yet you forget that you are judged, too, because society relies on first impressions and assumes that what they see, or rather what they hear about what they see, is what they get. 

O' Tamaiti - Sima Urale

O' Tamaiti

O’Tamaiti a short film directed by Sima Urale. Is a story about a Samoan family who recently migrate to their new country. The story revolves around the young boy, Tino, who is also the first born son of the family. Due to his family's situation Tino had to step up and take responsibilities that a child his age should not be doing. Migrating is a really though challenge for this family, especially for Tino. As you can see, his parents work alternatively, they do not have enough time left to take care of their children, thus leaving the job to Tino and his younger sister. It is hard to say that their parents do not care about them. It might be because they are both struggling looking for in to sustain the family's needs. However, the sequence changes when the director showed a stereotypical claim of a drunkard husband at the near end of the film. This is to show that their father can become irresponsible. Tino had to sacrifice his childhood in order to support his parents. He became the second father, he does the groceries, he feeds his siblings and even puts the baby to sleep. The part that disappoints me is that after what Tino had done for the family, his parents still takes his works for granted and not even a single thank you or any sign of appreciation was given for him. Not only that, they also kept leaving a lot of accountability for Tino that they, the parent, should be dealing with. Moreover, the director also showed another stereotypical attitude of a Pacific Islander parents. This is when they fight and throw and break stuffs in front of the kids. As shown in the film; at the scene where Tinos’ father came home drunk and forgot to pay the bill, the parents did not even considered the children who are watching while they fight. As a proof the director excellently managed to use sound effects such as falling object and breaking glass for the viewers to feel and relate to what is happening.

Although, Tino’s life has been a struggle with his parents unfairly treating him, it all did not happen for nothing. Some of these circumstances taught him valuable lessons and can also guide him in his life/fatherhood. Firstly, at such a young age Tino have matured outstandingly, hoping that this would teach him the difference between right and wrong with his parents as an example for him. Secondly, he managed to take care of his brothers and sister becoming the man of the house. This shows that Tino learnt to love his relatives properly and could be a symbol of him taking care of his own family someday. Lastly, according to the film Tino did all of this without his parents being much of a help to him. This proves that Tino is responsible, independent, skill and a reliable person.

To conclude, Sima Urale showed how a person can overcome adversities through the life of Tino. Life is unfair therefore the choice is yours whether you’re going to give up or stand up and face your problems head on aiming for the glory of success

Aaron: Four Poems and Sione's Wedding: Traditional vs Contemporary (Final)

   Karlo Mila: Four Poems and Sione's Wedding ·     

            I will be looking at this piece from a traditional vs contemporary point of view. The reason I have picked this point of view is that I believe traditional values play a massive part in how many people see themselves and live their lives in today’s society. In this poem Karlo Mila mashes both tradition and contemporary elements together.

·         I believe this poem talks about a story that has been around westernized societies for far too long. Unfortunately it is a story often pushed to the side or slid to the back of most conversations.

·         Yet is one , though usually sitting underneath, hidden, that has been brought to the surface by Karlo Mila and her Poem “Four poems and Siones wedding”

·         It is the story of inequality for woman and I believe this is all part and parcel in the line

“Yea get the girls to write their own”

·         For if they were to write a story about the daily life of an islander woman, or any woman, it would be one of traditional limitations and cultural stereotypes. Yet it is a story that should be told, one that needs to be looked over and one that needs to change, for a more contemporary society to even exist.

As mentioned I will be looking at this poem from a traditional vs contemporary point of view and some of the first things I noticed about this poem is the traditional impacts given to modern day woman by traditional religion.

·         For example “Followed religiously by wooden pew penance and prayer promises.”

This is a line about half way through the poem, that talks about how island men in today’s society have more lenience when it comes to there (religious) transgressions I also think you could aim this at most men in today's society and hit the mark. Yet if men are so easily forgiven why can a woman not simply have the same treatment. I believe this partially because of the traditional views of Christianity. As we have seen through-out this course the Christian missionary movement swept through the islands and had a large impact on many of them. Even today one can find parts of the bible that are full of unfortunate woman stereotyping

For example I have taken this from the bible.

1 Timothy 2:11-15

Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing.

·         This biblical reference shows how parts of the bible place woman on a lower rank and creates woman (if taken seriously) into sub servants of men. I believe this traditional biblical view has no place in today’s contemporary world. Though I’m not saying Karlo Mila or myself believe religion as something that needs to be removed from society, I do believe this poem lie myself is against the all too common religious and traditional cultural inequality for woman.

·         So does the tradition of religion bare some of the blame when it comes to the inequality of Woman? Yes absolutely and I also think the words used directly after “Yeah, get the girls to write their own” are valuable.

      Valuable because they speak of how traditional values for woman are not a laughing matter.

·       The stanza goes

" But with all due respect to Oscar, it’s just not gonna be a comedy, if you know what I’m saying"

     I believe what Karlo Mila is saying is a lot more than the words original tell us. She uses the name Oscar Knightly, speaking directly to him thus bringing all I have spoken about into the contemporary realm.

Another piece of the poem that I believe carries a traditional meaning yet is used in a contemporary way is the words used in the following.

·         "Yeah, those boys know freedom, like flying foxes in the night.”

      This is used as a direct reference to the traditional flying fox which has significant cultural meaning in Samoa. The flying fox is known for its courageous and cheeky nature as Albert Wendt mentions in a speech where he talks about the traditional Tatau. The flying fox as mentioned is in regards to the tatau. I find this stanza in the poem relates so well to the paragraph in Albert Wendt’s speech where he says Quote…

“The expression said when someone has finished their tatau is Fa’alele lau Pe’a. Let your flying fox fly, show how beautiful and courageous you’ve been in enduring the pain of the tatau, parade it for all to see. The sexual connotations are very obvious.”

I believe the words “like flying foxes in the night” have that very cultural traditional significance and Karlo Mila brings this out through the contemporary idea that, men going to town on the weekend literally let their sexual flying foxes out.

·         She goes on to play with many traditional ideas, mixing them in contemporary situations, such as the two door waka / sailing streets (as in the cars cruising the streets on the weekend.)

·         She also uses the phrase “winging their way across the divide” This I believe is key and is used to show how easy it is for men to transition from the traditional religious and cultural pressures to the less weighted more contemporary life. Easy for a male but not a female.

·         So yes I agree with the phrase “Double-double standards”

·         This poem is all about how the traditional and contemporary pressures are at war with women in today’s society. Be it..

“It’s just not so fun having to be the princess” (the traditional princess) or

“Modern day mary, her afro like a halo, hands clasped in prayer” (Modern day vs traditional religion) to

“We’re ether hula or hipping it.

So I believe women are still battling for the rite to define themselves and not tradition or contemporary values of society to do so.

·       

O Tamaiti

The powerful short film ‘O Tamaiti’, by Sima Urale shows that children are seen and not heard in Pacific families. Since they are little, their opinions aren’t valued as much, because of the perception that they are still too young. Children, like any other normal adult, have emotions, too. The problem is that different people, child or adult, have a different way of saying what they want to say. In the film’s case, the children are not heard, literally and figuratively. The audience does not hear them speak, apart from their cries, which is quite significant because children tend to cry when they can’t get what they desire, and they will only stop once they do get that desire, whether it is a mere toy or something more abstract, like the affection of their parents.

This is a film that conveys strong emotions and makes people think that, yes, there are families here in New Zealand that are struggling as much as this family, if not more. Settling into a different country can be somewhat frustrating because there are a lot of things that should be taken into consideration.

First and foremost, you do not have your extended family as a kind of “back up”, for when things get rough, like when you need someone to look after your children. In the film, it is Tino who becomes the responsible guardians when his parents are away. In a way, Tino is being deprived of his childhood because he is expected to mature at a faster rate than any other children.

Secondly, language can either be a bridge or a barrier when you first move into a country. In the film, there is no indication of how long the family has been in New Zealand, however the whole film speaks for itself that they’ve just started to settle in, because of the struggle to cope. When language is a barrier, it can be difficult for people, especially the children to create his/her community of friends, because he/she will most likely feel an outcast. I can speak from experience, because, I, too, am a migrant and English has never been mother tongue. It, therefore, created a barrier against other children, since I started school halfway through the year, which means that the other children have already built their groups, and there I was trying to fit into one those “groups”.

Thirdly, moving to another country doesn’t always guarantee that the grass is going to be greener, because each country will have its positive and negative aspects. Sometimes, being in a new country brings its own trials and challenges. As seen in the film, the biggest struggle of Tino’s family is time and finance. The parents work opposite shifts and the children has to cope with these changes, especially Tino who has to step up into the world of adulthood and responsibilities.

I think the representation of Pacific families in this short film, or in any other form of media, has always been negative. For instance, news always seem to impact on this negative view, because mainly crimes are being reported about Pacific Islanders. I don’t believe that this is always the case, but because the media is such a powerful force, people perceive this to be the reality amongst Pacific Islander households. People face the media on a day to day basis, without even noticing it, from the smart phones that we always cling on to the simple posters that we see at the bus stop. 

Aaron: Sons for the Return Home (Final)

Sons for the Return Home: Text to Self.

After reading Sons for the return home the most common reaction I can imagine one having is a reflection on their identity. With the man character in constant struggle with who he is and where he belongs it is easy to come to that conscious line of thought yourself. In this blog I want to look at how some themes in Sons for the Return Home relate to me. I will be looking at text to self via three points, they are: ancestry, family and cultural practice.

I have spent the last two years living abroad and some of the countries I have visited are Scotland, Germany and Ireland. I noticed while traveling these countries that the people who lived there and have many generations belonging to the certain country, have a real sense of who they are and where they are from. It set, in my mind, a question in regards to identity. Where do I fit in New Zealand?

Ancestry

After reading Sons for the Return Home, this question started to return. I could see the same unsureness in the main character as I felt while being overseas. However, one of the differences between me and Sione was the fact he knew where his ancestry was from and though he struggled trying to identify himself (was he Samoan or a Kiwi) at least he could trace his roots back to Samoa. Where as I have a European mother and a European/Maori father, so tracing my ancestry is difficult as the word "European" is a highly generalized term when used for ethnicity and I have little contact with the outer family. In class (Pacific Reader) I have come to learn that an individual can understand themselves and where they fit in their society if they know more of where their ancestral roots flow from. So when I went searching for my family ties I was intrigued, although not surprised, to find one of the main bloodlines flows back to Scotland.

Family

In Sons for the Return Home Sione is well feed into the Samoan way of life with his family. He attended church with his them (when he was younger) and as part of being Samoan is keeping the traditions of Fa'a Samoa. I believe though he was removed more than any other of his siblings form his family Sione still had a deep connection with them. I also believe Sione considered Sarah as a big part of his family and through her traditions and cultural norms helped confuse what he held dear to him. This I can directly relate to as I also have a partner from another country and culture, while living with her and learning what traditions and cultural norms she is used to, I also had this sense of confusion. So through this example one can understand why family and those you hold dear can effect where you see yourself.

Cultural Practice

Language in Sons for the Return Home is used as tool to show immediately the cultural divide between New Zealand and Samoa. It is also one of the problems Sione's parents struggle with. As they are older when they have to start using the language in day to day living it is more difficult than it was for Sione. This is where I feel I can relate to the parents. When I moved to Germany I lived there for a year and a half, I had never tried to learn the language, this made it difficult for me to understand the culture and I felt alienated from it. Thus I had a longing to return to what I knew, English and New Zealand.


I guess in the end Sons for the Return home helped me realize that like Sione and some what Albert Wendt, it is ok to be confused on what your identity "is". I'm somewhere in between or maybe outside a Kiwi, Scotsman and a Maori, just like Sione is between or outside a Samoan and a Kiwi.