Polynesians Minus The Poly Analysis

Polynesians Minus the Poly-

Pacific Islanders, particularly Polynesian teenagers, are rarely taken seriously in mainstream pop culture media, being often portrayed as incompetent, aggressive and unintelligent troublemakers. Jonah, a rebellious 14-year-old from the television series composed by Chris Lilley, ‘Jonah from Tonga’, perfectly embodies all of these traits, forming a humorous depiction of a troubled Tongan teenager an article detailing the bravery of two Tongan boys, however, challenges the unproductive, inconsiderate and distasteful Islander stereotype constructed by its comical counterpart.
With ‘Summer Heights High’ and ‘Jonah from Tonga’ being almost the epiphany of Islander teen representation, the marginalisation of Polynesian

The text, unlike the previous, provides agency to the two students as it allows them to openly discuss their thoughts and experience, in turn providing a new perspective on Polynesian teenagers. 'We just saw him do something which looked like he was about to hurt the people around that corner so we just decided to go’ says Tevita. This comment evidently contrasts the Islander stereotype constructed by Chris Lilley as it challenges the representation of Tongans being careless and self-centred, demonstrated by Isaac’s explicit concern of the safety of others. Moreover, Tevita quotes that ‘I didn’t save anyone so I don’t feel like a hero.’ His humbleness is made clear from this statement as he does not deem himself worthy of hero status after risking his life in a valiant attempt to impede such an erratic and dangerous driver. Therefore, rather than perpetuating an incompetent, unfruitful view of Polynesians, Tevita exhibits a more positive view as he displays courtesy and modesty amongst his audience. However, this text does not dispute the stereotype of Tongans being aggressive, rather it provides a more positive context to the trait as the teen’s act of aggression was a selfless act of bravery intended for the greater good, in contrast to being an irrational impulse associated with animal-like

This is in spite of ‘Jonah from Tonga’s’ satirical and comical intentions as it may be interpreted as a model of teenage Polynesian culture, resulting in an inadvertently negative social view and representation of these people that could potentially harm their future endeavours. In contrast, the article presented by the ‘Daily Mail’ challenges the constructed stereotype, forming a more considerate and open perspective of Tongan teenagers and their values as