The Māori All Blacks and the Decentering of the White Subject: Hyperrace, Sport and the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism

Abstract

In this article we examine a range of media discourses surrounding the continued existence of the Mäori All Blacks, a “racially” selected rugby side, and a specific public controversy that erupted in New Zealand over the selection of former All Black great Christian Cullen for the Mäori All Blacks in 2003. Having never played for the Mäori All Blacks or publicly identified as Mäori, Cullen claimed tangata whenua status via whakapapa (genealogical connection) to his Ngäi Tahu grandfather.

We argue that Cullen’s selection emerged as a contentious issue because of the fragmentation that the inclusion of his “Whiteness” within the confines of “an Other” team (i.e., the Mäori All Blacks) brought to bear on traditional colonial binaries of race in the context of late capitalism. Finally, we locate the debates over Cullen’s selection and the continued existence of the Mäori All Blacks in relation to the current racialized political climate that has fueled a Right-wing reaction to the growing Mäori self-determination movement.