SMST30506A

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SMST305-06A

• Media and Society 3 Local and Global
• An opening discussionShould we change the New
  Zealand flag?

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The Flag of the United States of America

• aka The Star-Spangled Banner or Stars and Stripes
  or Old Glory
• Each of the 50 white stars in the single blue
  canton stands for the current 50 states each of
  the 13 stripes stands for one of the 13 original
  colonies which originally formed the Union.
• This is an iconic message, or sign system

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This is the historical meaning of the flag for
American. It also

• has great cultural and symbolic value--a symbol
  of the country (the United States), both
  nationally and internationally an object to
  pledge daily allegiance to to be displayed at
  times of national celebration and national
  tragedy
• it is also a sacred sign ie it is a criminal
  offence to burn or deface the American flag

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For non-Americans

• It signals America
• It often generates deep emotional responses,
  which often deviate from the responses most
  Americans have ie ambivalence, envy or hostility
  (eg the flag as symbol of military or cultural
  imperialism) burning the flag as symbolic gesture

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What does this flag signify?
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The flag of Canada

• Up until 1945, the only official flag flown in
  Canada was the Union Jack
• The final design of a single, stylised maple leaf
  was adopted in 1965, from more than 2,600 designs
• Red and white are the official colours of Canada
• Canada remains a member of the British
  Commonwealth

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What does this flag signify?
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The flag of the Peoples Republic of China

• Adopted in September 1949
• The primary red colour symbolises revolution. The
  large yellow star symbolises the Chinese
  Communist Party (the ruling party) and the four
  smaller stars represent the people of China.
  These four stars are sometimes interpreted as
  representing the four united classes the
  workers, peasants, petty bourgeois, and
  patriotic capitalists

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Why are national flags so important?

• Flags have been used as symbols of tribal,
  national, and military identity since ancient
  times.
• There are flags which transcend the nation (eg
  United Nations, the Olympics, Red Cross) but the
  majority of flags indicate some kind of localism
  eg country or nation organisations and
  institutions sports teams military units
  ethnicity

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The current New Zealand flag

• The Union Jack (signifying Great Britain and
  Northern Ireland four stars (signifying the
  Southern Cross)

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What does it signify to you?
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The case for changing the NZ flag

• The current flag ignores the legislative and
  cultural realities of NZ in the new millennium
• Changing the flag is another step towards
  national maturity, shedding lingering vestiges of
  colonialism
• The current flag does not signal anything New
  Zealand
• The current flag is too easily confused with the
  Australian flag
• A new flag would better identify NZ in a
  cluttered global landscape

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The case against changing the NZ flag

• The current flag reflects our history and
  continuing membership of the Commonwealth
• Our fathers and grandfathers fought and died for
  this flag
• If it aint broke, why fix it?
• There are more important issues to be worrying
  about