Headlines

Despite the Moana’s significant technological advancements in human history, the pervasive Western stereotype of the Moana is of a remote and untouched paradise.

This idea was circulating as early as the 16th century, through maps illustrating the arrival of early expedition fleets, as shown in ‘Maris Pacifici’, where the fleets are depicted bigger than the actual size of the Pacific Islands.

This is subsequently extended to visual, literary, and musical accounts ranging from the voyages of Captain Cook; Southsea’s stories of Robert Louis Stevenson, artworks of Paul Gauguin, anthropological writings of Margaret Mead to the music of Elvis Presley – all are intertwined with the touristic images of the Moana as exotic, primitive and ripe for the taking.

Mass media continues this legacy, presenting narratives that validate their geopolitical dominance in the Pacific.