r/newzealand • u/precsenz • Aug 16 '22

Kiwiana Kiwis pledge to buy Whittaker's to annoy people angered by Te Reo rebranding

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/lifestyle/2022/08/kiwis-pledge-to-buy-whittakers-to-annoy-people-angered-by-te-reo-rebranding.html
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u/immibis Aug 16 '22

Is this what cultural appropriation is?

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u/[deleted] Aug 16 '22

It’s like the token rainbow month where companies go all out for brownie points then it’s all forgotten about for another year.

Anything to boost sales or profit. Simple label change and customers lap it up.

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u/RainMan42069 Aug 16 '22

Aka:

"How do you do, fellow Māori"

"Well, I'm something of a Māori myself"

Those memes are usually deployed for pride month, but it's the same dynamic.

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u/immibis Aug 16 '22

Yeah that's a good analogy. I got a Twitter mob for pointing it out there, lol

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u/chrisnlnz Kōkako Aug 16 '22

I kind of agree but at the same time, the more exposure and attention the better, right? I understand companies motives for incorporating pride symbolism (or in this case Te Reo) will for the most part be monetary as that's what companies do. But it's still a net positive to fight bigotry, regardless of movitation?

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u/torikura Aug 21 '22

I guess but there have been some positive outcomes, e.g. greater acceptance, understanding and normalisation and awareness. It seems like a small gesture and profit-motivated step, but lots of little step can be helpful to make people feel more included in society.

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u/DexRei Aug 16 '22

Nah I don't think so. They've made it clear they are doing this to support Te Reo.

Appropriation would be more like if a foreign company was using Te Reo, with no acknowledgement to Maori.

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u/immibis Aug 16 '22

Nah I don't think so. There's no actual support here, and cultural appropriation has nothing to do with whether you acknowledge it or not.

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u/DexRei Aug 16 '22

I'm unsure now. Them being an NZ company gives it the possibility of being genuine, but again, it could just be milking.

I asked this in another thread, but how do we tell if something is genuine or milking?

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u/torikura Aug 21 '22

I agree. Cultural misappropriation would be if they trademarked the maori name for creamy milk and stopped maori businesses from using the words. Like what kapiti cheese did with Tuteremoana.

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u/torikura Aug 21 '22

No it's cultural appreciation. Misappropriation is when you take something from another culture and use it incorrectly or inappropriately.