By Alice Taylor
When one of the world’s highest profile scientists comments that Kiwis seem to value brawn and beauty over brains – you have to sit up and take notice.
Lord Robert Winston, a BBC broadcaster and leading scientist, made this pertinent observation of our culture while in New Zealand speaking at a symposium recently.
I read his comments in the Dominion Post and, well, what a very sad reputation for us Kiwis to have – especially considering a) that there are plenty of us who certainly do not consider sports and celebrity status as the highest form of human development and b) we have plenty of brains and brilliance to celebrate!
Sad it may be, but probably Lord Winston has hit the nail on the head with his comments that New Zealand…” is a society which tends to be driven by sailing, by the All Blacks and by the Bledisloe Cup… celebrates attributes which really aren’t that important.” (It’s amusing to note that our major dailies found it newsworthy to report that US movie star Susan Sarandon arrived at the Lovely Bones launch “without knickers or a bra beneath her frock”.
So knickerless celebrities aside, what do Kiwis celebrate and how do you gauge that? Well, if television news is to be seen as a barometer of what Kiwis consider to be important, then we really are in trouble. This prime time slot ideally should present us with a daily perspective on important events in our country and the world. We get a large chunk covering sports and sports celebrities, followed by the hard-hitting investigative Johnny Campbell and Mark Sainsbury with pre-recorded interviews of Yankee celebrities chatting about new their latest film. What happened to late night infotainment? And why aren’t we seeing interviews with our intellectuals and stories about the achievements of our writers, researchers, scientists, artists, musicians?
Advertising is another barometer. In everything from food advertising to depression support we see the faces of our heroes and heroines – namely rugby players, rowers and weather presenters. What are we telling our young people about what it means to succeed in life? Certainly team values and discipline are important, but is winning the competition all there is to life?
Well, as Lord Winston says, being an intellectual in New Zealand is just not cool. Indeed …. “in New Zealand, being an intellectual is slightly disadvantageous and is often seen by the press as being something which is rather well, not to be celebrated. On the other hand, if you are a great rugby player, maybe parts of your private life which are pretty appalling will go ignored.”
The irony of this is that New Zealand has plenty of unacknowledged brilliance and innovation to celebrate. Take biotechnology for example. New Zealand has world-class thinkers in this field who deserve a bit of time with Johnny Campbell or Mr Sainsbury. How many Kiwis know that thanks to some of our hot brains, New Zealand is regarded as a leader internationally in biotechnology with our innovations in agriculture, horticulture, forestry and marine life?
Suffice to say; perhaps it is up to our media, as such a powerful force in setting the tone our society’s values and attitudes, to rethink its focus on what is considers is newsworthy and important to New Zealanders. As Lord Winston says New Zealand has some “fantastic” values that need to be safeguarded and nurtured such as freedom, the environment, self-reliance, courage and care for each other…Hail Lord.
Tags: Alice Taylor, journalism, media, talent
