The Dusky Maiden - How And Why Was This Image Created?
Myths and Maidens Part 1
We’ve all seen her, the hula girl swinging from the dashboard, the sultry South Seas siren smiling languidly in postcards, and the alluring topless native belle telling you to come to the ‘friendly Islands’.
She is the Dusky Maiden, the construct of the welcoming Polynesian woman made in the 19th century and used to sell anything from holidays in Paradise, exotic islands in films, or as packaging for mysteries inside of a painted biscuit tin.
Women from around the Pacific talk about how this image, so rampant at the turn of the century, is still the go-to picture for Polynesian women 100 years later.
We go on a journey around the Pacific looking at a variety of Polynesian women who have been trapped in the lens of the Dusky Maiden dream, and how this image is used in Hawaii, Tahiti and many Pacific islands to sell paradise to the world.
‘Dusky Maiden’ explores the impact of the colonial gaze on images of Pacific women through the ages, how and why this image was created for Western consumption, from early travellers paintings of Polynesia, to Gauguin's painted teenage girls, to the postcards and contemporary tourist advertising today.
It also looks at Melanesia, and how women from this region are constructed for Western media and why there are huge differences in these fantasy narratives of the Pacific.
-
‘MYTHS AND MAIDENS’ is a rich tapestry of stories from women in Samoa, Hawaii, Tahiti, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji and Aotearoa.
A Coconet TV original, the hour long documentary delves into the sticky issues of colourism, fat-phobia, and how our societies have been taught to view women of colour across the ages.
In this love letter to Moana women, we look at the collective trauma, challenges and inequities for women across Pasifika - and how in the face of this, the celebration of ourselves is an act of colonial resistance.
Hollywood films, beauty pageants, and TV representations sit alongside the power of Pasifika performance and our own storytelling to present a crackling canvas of old and new narratives.
The 60min feature documentary offers up the Talanoa and the tea from many different fafine across the Moana - from politicians, artists, farmers to beauty queens, sports women and activists these are the spicy coco- conversations we have been waiting for!
IN LOVING MEMORY OF OUR TAMA’ITA’I TOA - TOFILAU YOLANDE AH CHONG