Hawaiian Culture in Media: Stereotypical or Authentic?
Hawaiian representation in Disney Plus’ new series, “Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.”
On September 8, 2021, Disney Plus released a new series titled, “Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.,” a show made and based in Hawai’i. Around the time that this new series came out, I heard a lot of critical reviews from the local community. As a Hawaiian born and raised in Hawai’i, I wanted to see for myself how accurately Hawaiian culture was represented in this series.
Here is a quick summary for those of you who have yet to watch the show: Lahela “Doogie” Kamealoha is a child prodigy. At the age of 16, she has already completed medical school and is stationed at a hospital in Hawai’i. Her family consists of her father, a shave-ice truck owner, her mother, a doctor, and her two brothers. Throughout the show, Lahela tries to balance her school life, family, and her career as a doctor.
First, let me preface this by saying that all my observations are based on the first episode and not the entire series.
Although the plot itself is entertaining, I would like to focus on the portrayal of Hawai’i.
The series opens with a beautiful shot of the ocean in addition to, a video of Lahela and her father surfing. A must-have if you are filming something in Hawai’i, right?
Anyways, there were three aspects that I found, for lack of a better word, offensive. The first being that there is hardly any representation of the native community. Yes, there is Jason Scott Lee who was born and raised in Hawai’i, however, besides him, the rest of the main cast is not from islands. In a time where representation and diversity are being more talked about, I would have liked to have seen the majority if not all, Hawaiian cast members.
Secondly, there is a lot of mispronunciation of the native Hawaiian language. The actress, who plays Lahela’s mother, is incapable of accurately pronouncing their family name, Kamealoha (Kah-meh-ah-lo-huh). If you are going to use the Hawaiian language, at least take the time to practice saying it correctly. Sadly, it is not only the mother who mispronounciates her name, but several other side characters as well.
Lastly, the use of Hawaiian Pidgin and local gestures seem so forced. The only person who is capable of doing it naturally is Jason Scott Lee due to his background. But is it really necessary to throw a shaka up in every conversation? And for those of you who don’t know, people in Hawai’i do not say “shaka” when doing it. This just proves to those in Hawai’i, how little research and observation was done for this series.
There are a number of other things that I can critique, but I will end it here for now.
Overall, this episode was a disappointment in terms of being able to accurately capture and represent Hawaiian culture, as well as, the Hawaiian lifestyle. Also, I do not foresee the rest of the series to suddenly become more authentic.
So far “Moana” has done the best job at representing Polynesian culture, yet even “Moana” has its flaws. But that’s a discussion for another time.
Since media does have the power to influence society’s perspective on different topics, I hope no one will watch this and think that this is what Hawai’i is like. If you do find yourself watching “Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.” just know that it is not an accurate representation of Hawai’i or its culture. Instead, it presents Hawai’i through a stereotypical lens.
As a Hawaiian, I would like to urge those who are interested in our culture to do proper research and do not depend on tourist attractions, media, or inaccurate representations to understand Hawai’i’s history or culture.
