Naming Day: How course-correcting cultural appropriation led to a cute holiday
Hey guys! New video out on my channel, this one holiday themed on Naming Day, and the interesting place it has in Bionicle's history both in and out of story. Long post under the cut!
Also, this obviously brings up somewhat controversial issues. I try my best to approach the subject with respect and due research, but I'm also open to discussion and criticism of how I handle this. Please keep the discussion respectful.
We all know the story: early in Bionicle, the story team, particularly Alistair Swinerton, decided to use words from various Polynesian and Pacific Island languages for names of characters and locations to make their fictional world seem more interesting. By May of 2001, legal representatives of the Maori people sent Lego a strong letter demanding they stop using certain words from the Maori language because their use was disrespectful.
Lego agrees to change some of the names, and as an explanation in the story, they create a holiday called Naming Day, where some of the characters get new names and never ever get referred to by their old names ever again (Matoran don't deadname it seems). This is another interesting example of how the real world constraints on Lego as a toy company ended up shaping Bionicle's fictional universe.
I also go into the real world context behind why the word Tohunga, a Maori title for a respected cultural expert, being used by Lego for their toy villagers was particularly offensive. Mainly from the fact that not only was title that carried immense reverence, but also that the practice of being a Tohunga was nearly wiped out after the New Zealand parliament passed the Tohunga Suppression Act of 1907. This act pushed the Maori people further towards European assimilation, and many Tohunga stopped passing down their knowledge out of fear of persecution, leading to many cultural practices being permanently lost.
The act was repealed in the 60s, and since then Maori cultural revivalists have made strides in recovering some of the knowledge that was lots. So we see with this history of suppression, why it was so particularly offensive that Lego used this title as a literal plaything.
And this cuts to the core of cultural appropriation. There's a lot of discourse about what cultural appropriation is, why its an issue, and what the difference between appropriation and appreciation and exchange. And I think the common thread of cultures that push back against appropriation is a history of that culture being demeaned and suppressed, and then being used incorrectly. This is something I'm very familiar with as a Black American. For people who's culture have been injured, its that much more important not to distort it.
The issues brought up by the Naming Day name changes also highlight a deeper issue in Bionicle, which is that it relied on exoticized stereotypes of Pacific Island people for a lot of its early mystic. A large part of what made Bionicle feel unique was the seeming contradiction between the high-tech cyborg people living in very spiritual, "tribal" societies clearly reminiscent of how Pacific Islanders lived.
I think there is an important discussion to be had about why the assumptions in Western society view Polynesians and an advanced society as contradictory. Don't get me wrong, I think that the juxtaposition of ancient and futuristic themes is really cool, it definitely should have been done in a more respectful way. Preferably by actually consulting the people who you are taking inspiration from, and not just taking words from a dictionary and using vague aesthetic references to them.
However, one interesting flip-side to this is that the cultural appropriation, while still wrong, was used with the intention of humanizing the Bionicle characters, to make the audience understand that they aren't just robots. Again, still not respectful, but I think it does shed light onto why the Bionicle team supposedly thought no one was going to be offended by their word use: they weren't trying to dehumanize Pacific Islanders, but rather use them as an example of humanity.
Overall, I think that Naming Day, and the surrounding discussion of cultural appropriation is a really fascinating discussion. Even though all of this was over 2 decades ago, it still serves as an important case study in cultural appropriation and how to respond to it. Its important to keep having these conversations!
I also think there's a nice irony to the fact that Bionicle's incorrect usage of Maori culture led to me and many other fans that grew up with it doing more research on authentic Maori culture.
If you want further reading, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND reading this essay by Emily, the Bionicle fan known for her MNOG-style animations.
Let me know what you think!
