1. Auckland U. of Technology, New Zealand
“The Simpsons of the South Pacific:” Transnational media and diasporic cultural production
Katalin Lustyik
Ithaca College, NY, USA
&
Philippa K Smith
Auckland U. of Technology, New Zealand

3. bro’Town Morningside 4 Life! 1st season: 2004 fall, TV3
“phenomenally successful” among both viewers and critics
Most successful NZ produced prime time TV series
Created by the four-man comedy group, The Naked Samoans
notion of open-ended kinship embedded in its very title – you don’t have to be blood to be a bro’— “serves as much needed bridge form cultural specificity to universal humanism”
Branding Bro’Town
International success
Morningside 4 Life!

4. Global Fame?
When we started it, one of the visions we had in our heads was the thought that one day little children in Iceland would be saying 'not even ow' and eating their sardine sandwiches out of Bro' Town lunch boxes.That would be nice…
Oscar Kightley

5. Creation “The Simpsons of the South Pacific”
“so people could get a handle on what they would be watching”
a result of interplay of transnational media and diaspora cultural production
The Simpsons in New Zealand (1994-present)
“highly satirical tone aimed at a more mature audience than other cartoons'' (NZ Broadcasting Authority Standards)
bro’Town scheduled in an 8 p.m. time slot, right after The Simpsons
Prime time animation:
representing some of the most daring cultural and political satire in television history

6. Pacific People in NZ
NZ total population: 4.1 million -- 80% European descent, 14.7% Maori, 6.6% Asian, 6.5% Pacific Island origins
One in 16 people in NZ is of Pacific ethnicity, but most visible ethnic group in NZ
Auckland: largest Polynesian city
Samoans: 50% of Pacific people,
Negotiating identity: ‘a New Zealander with Samoan parents,’ proud of background but a ‘New Zealander first and foremost’

7. Context
Bro’Town maintains a clearly Pacific flavor (e.g. topics, characters, music, imagery, vernacular)
reluctance to categorise it as a Samoan or Pacific program:
it “has moved on from being a programme for and by Polynesians”
“The first thing that people think is that it’s a Polynesian show. The themes and everything, it’s NZ, this is about us. We’re quite proud of that: That it’s for us, by us, it’s a first. It’ll only get better from here.”
for ‘Pakeha’ New Zealanders to be watching a show “created and written by Polynesians with a unique Pacific tint in their humour” is a major breakthrough in the Samoan culture gaining recognition in New Zealand
strongest appeal to Pacific Peoples (particularly Samoans) who like seeing their everyday culture on TV

8. Concluding Thoughts bro’Town created a new type of New Zealand comedy:
-- genre of US animated programs (e.g. South Park, The Simpsons)
-- aspects of traditional Samoan humor (fale aitu),
incorporates a multi-cultural impression of New Zealand
Supported by NZOA, the Government-appointed broadcasting agency charged with the responsibility of reflecting and developing
New Zealand identities in the 21st century
Pushing boundaries: addressing topics and issues rare
in NZ’s mainstream media
Despite reaching unprecedented heights of
political incorrectness, not a single complaint to
the Broadcasting Standards Authority
Controversies (e.g. commercialism, humor)
Future Research (e.g., Aboriginal People’s TV Network, CA)