Māori Issues
Te Karere

‘It’s perpetuating the stereotype’ – outrage over Mexican Netflix show’s rendition of haka

January 30, 2019

A Mexican Netflix show has used Ka Mate in a manner that has upset some in New Zealand.

They say imitation is a form of flattery, but no Māori seems to be flattered by the poor imitation of the Ka Mate haka that’s currently playing on Netflix.

The poor rendition of Ka Mate is playing to promote its programme Club de Cuervos.

The haka was posted on the show’s social media pages and has since gone viral, having been viewed hundreds of thousands of times.

However, commentators here say the way the haka is portrayed reinforces stereotypes about Māori.

“It’s perpetuating the stereotype about Māori culture being violent," Māori intellectual property expert Karaitiana Taiuru told TVNZ 1's Te Karere.

"Especially with the haka being used in a section of the programme which was all about violence."

The comedy-drama show about a Mexican football team has also upset Māori Football New Zealand who say the performance of the haka could potentially be damaging.

“The potential stereotypes for people looking in on Māori can’t be a good thing because we’re already trying to establish a relevance within the game ourselves as Māori playing the game,” says Māori Football NZ’s Phillip Pickering.

Te Karere contacted Netflix for comment.

Ngāti Toa, who hold the copyright for Ka Mate, declined to comment. 

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