Plastic Culture?

Why being "plastic" is a toxicity facing young people today.

For those who are unfamiliar with this term, Plastic refers to someone who may be out of touch with their culture. They may also be classed as "fake" or even "white".

I have been on the receiving end of this stigma, and I can tell you it hurts.

It hurt because I didn't want to be scrutinized by my own people for not being "Samoan enough". It hurt because even though I hadn't grown up in the islands, my grandparents ingrained in me the values of the islands. It hurt because I didn't want to have to prove that I am Samoan. When I am Samoan.

Not only is the negative connotation of being plastic a toxicity because of the exclusion it embodies, but it is also a deeply flawed idea. You cannot measure the amount of culture instilled in someone, for we are all people swayed by different experiences. We are fully dimensional people with complex understandings about our own stories and lives. There is no complete personification of a "real" Samoan, or a "real" fill in the blank because one cannot measure the intangibility of a culture.

It doesn't matter how much of a culture you are, claim it as your own because you are worthy!

I recently watched a documentary on Youtube directed by Elijah Fa'afiu, about the plastic phenomenon in Polynesian settings, called "Plastic Polynesia". It follows the experience of Rashad Stanley, who seeks to learn more about the Samoan culture through language classes. Many young people also shared their truths, and helped to define how to navigate their culture and identities. Lafitaga Peters, a featured Samoan language teacher, hates the label because it deems people "unworthy". She elaborates on the idea claiming that it doesn't matter how much of a culture you are, you are able to claim it as your own because "You are worthy."

I am Samoan and proud.

To me, and many others who may feel this way, this is as much our culture as much it may be any other Samoans'. We have descended from the same hard-working, eloquent and respectful people, who sail and navigate across oceans and read the stars with their own discernment and intelligence.

In November of 1967, those same people flew over to New Zealand. They flew there to start a new life in a country where they didn't know the language. They went to work to help and support their families who still lived in Samoa, and to give new life to their children and their children's' children. Those people are my grandparents.

Last night I asked my grandparents whether they considered me as Samoan, they simply replied with a smile and said, "Yes." They said it simply, with no false pretences or ulterior motives. It made me think all of this was much more straightforward than I or my peers anticipated. "If you don't get out there and define yourself, you'll quickly and inaccurately be defined by others" Michelle Obama.

"If you don't get out there and define yourself, you'll quickly and inaccurately be defined by others"

I am Samoan and proud. Enough said.

Laurissa Xx

P.S. If someone wants to teach me how to properly speak Samoan or to Siva, I will deeply appreciate that :)