Māori Adaptation Theory & Practice: Oral Traditions, Literature, and Cinema

About this research

PhD Researcher: Briar Meads, Ngāi Tahu, Kāti Mamoe, Waitaha, University of Auckland

Primary supervisor: Associate Professor Deborah Walker-Morrison, University of Auckland

Project summary:

Māori have a long history of storytelling, which remains a central aspect of te ao Māori and a space for rangatiratanga. This is true of contemporary art forms, though little research has been conducted into adapting literature to screen. Briar’s research seeks to fill this gap by researching the influence of oral narrative forms on Māori literature and how that is then adapted to the screen. The central question is to what extent do these contemporary Māori novels draw on oral traditions and how are these adapted to the big screen? Within this question, the project will focus on the process of adaptation and investigate whether Māori adaptation is different from Western adaptation theory and to what extent does Māori adaptation offer potential in expanding adaptation theory. This research is born out of a need to understand the unique manner in which Māori cinema operates as separate to, and offers possibility to expand on, Western art and cinema theories. This investigation aims to produce a theoretical framework of Māori adaptation theory that will work to validate and celebrate the ways in which Māori art, as an expression of identity and rangatiratanga, is created.