L'authenticité au cinéma : notes des îles du Pacifique

L’authenticité au cinéma est une notion difficile à saisir, à expliquer ouà analyser, en particulier dans les longs métrages de fiction. Pourtant, les spectateurs attendent des films de fiction qu’ils soient authentiques, car ils sont censés être des représentations réalistes d’un peuple ou d’une culture. De nombreux facteurs s’opposent à cette recherche d’authenticité, dont la dimension commerciale du cinéma qui conduit souvent à des compromis car il s’agit de divertir et de rendre les cultures autochtones accessibles à un marché global. L’idée qu’un film, avec sa durée limitée, puisse représenter fidèlement un peuple ou une culture, est illusoire, et trahit les difficultés et les obstacles qui s’opposent à une représentation authentique dans une œuvre de fiction. La recherche d’authenticité, cependant, est importante pour les autochtones et les cultures minoritaires, car les représentations erronées peuvent supplanter et se substituer à leurs expériences et conditions de vie réelles.Authenticity in cinema is elusive and difficult to explain or analyse, especially in narrative feature films that are, ultimately, works of fiction. And yet audiences expect dramatic fictional films to be authentic because they are supposed to be realistic representations of a people or culture. Working against authentic representation are many factors, including the business side of filmmaking that often leads to compromises in order to entertain or to make indigenous cultures accessible to a global market, unrealistic expectations that a single film with its time constraints can fully represent a culture or a people, and the difficulties and challenges of achieving complete authentic representation in a work of fiction. The pursuit of authenticity, however, is important for indigenous people or minority cultures because misrepresentations can displace and replace their actual experiences or realities

Clowning as Political Commentary: Polynesia, Then and Now

Improvised or rehearsed clowning, in ritual and secular contexts, is an important avenue for the criticism of the power structure and those who ignore the norms of society in Polynesia. The humorous nature of criticism as well as the distancing effect of theater create a context in which those being criticized rarely take offense. In the 1990S, however, the nature and the role of this traditional institution has changed dramatically, owing largely to the influence of introduced religions and colonialism. The disappearance of this traditional outlet in many islands in contemporary Polynesia means the loss of a safety valve for the release of tension and for healthy criticism that contributes to the improvement of the quality of life. This article examines a traditional institution that has been overlooked by scholars until recent years and argues for the importance of avenuestraditional or modern-through which the oppressed in society can channel their grievances and needs in a nonthreatening and creative manner to those who wield power over them

Interdisciplinary Approaches in Pacific Studies: Understanding the Fiji Coup of 19 May 2000

The reasons behind Fiji’s military coup of 19 May 2000 are complex, and cannot be fully understood on a purely rational or empirical level. An interdisciplinary approach that embraces culture and history, informed by fiction, poetry, and drama, as well as personal experience, offers insights into Fijian-Indian relations. In this paper I explore the nature and usefulness of the interdisciplinary process in helping to make sense of a specific event in Fiji’s history; I also seek to better understand the guiding principles that might inform future interdisciplinary research and writing. This does not mean that the approach here is necessarily applicable to understanding other similar events or topics. My primary goal is not to lay down principles set in stone but rather to stimulate discussion and debate on interdisciplinary approaches to Pacific studies

An Interview with Alan Duff

Alan Duff's novel Once Were Warriors is the first work of fiction to be published in the Talanoa: Contemporary Pacific Literature series of the University of Hawai'i Press. One reason for choosing this novel was that it had recently been published in AotearoalNew Zealand (I990) and was causing considerable controversy. All of a sudden, this relatively unknown Maori was making headlines in the print media, being interviewed over and over again on television, and making a lot of people angry. His novel had shot to the top of the bestsellers' list soon after its release, and booksellers were besieged with requests to buy it-a novel that supposedly puts the boot in the face of the Maori. Once Were Warriors is now a successful, award-winning feature film. Alan Duff, who has since published another novel titled One Night Out Stealing (I992), a nonfiction book titled Maori: The Crisis and the Challenge (I993), anda radio series, State Ward (I994), is now famous, if not a household name in AotearoalNew Zealand. By his account, more novels, and possibly films, are already being written or planned. Refusing to be silenced by his critics, this author will probably continue to be in the news for many years to come. The mention of Duff's name is enough to set many people off, Maori and non-Maori alike. In a recent issue of this journal, Christina Thompson wrote a lengthy article that used as a hook the selection by theUniversity of Hawai'i Press of Alan Duff as a "representative Maori writer." Labeling the choice "radical," she teased out the cultural and political issues that surround his book-which is "problematic from almost any perspective" (THE CONTEMPORARY PACIFIC 6:397-4I3). The interview that follows allows the author to talk about his work from his own perspective, and to continue the debate that still rages around it. Soon after his film was released, Duff passed through Hawai'i on his way to Budapest to promote it. The University of Hawai'i Press took the opportunity to ask him to talk about his work during the launching of the Talanoa series, and Vilsoni Hereniko interviewed him in his office on I6 June I994. Hereniko describes the interview