Massive: Issue 02 'Pop Culture' by Massive Magazine

o editorial

New Zealand's longest form of pop culture

While popular shows 1News, Fair Go, and Sunday were all cut last year, Country Calendar remains as the longest running TV show in New Zealand history. Almost 60 years on Kiwi's screens. And while my journalist side would argue that it isn't providing the same hard-hitting news, the archiving of New Zealand history is something to be appreciated.

A segment in 1986 told the story of my Koro and the family farm in Taumarunui. Back then, it was used for cashmere farming, and was progressive at the time for having women leading the work. Through the pixelated archive episode, Koro Robert Hall says, “We've got 5,500 goats on these two blocks, and there's two girls running them without any major hassles. Now, that would be a handful of sheep for men, but this is at a stud level and they're doing pretty well with it without any real problems.”

As of three years ago, the farm is now owned by farmer Struan Duncan. And in a full circle moment, it is being featured once again on Country Calendar this April.

Before farming sheep and beef in the King Country, Struan tells me he first watched Country Calendar as a youngster. “I would of been a kid, back in the 70s, probably on a black and white TV if I recall,” he says with a chuckle.

“A lot of TV was more sort of rural back then, New Zealand was a more rural country. We're really a metropolitan society now.”

He feels Country Calendar is what we've got remaining of this 'rural New Zealand’ era. “It's an archive, and if you go back through the decades, it's probably not just for farming but society in general.”

He says the show has changed along with Aotearoa. Struan explains that back in the 70s and 80s, even townies had a connection to the country that meant you didn't have to spell everything out. “Whereas these days, Country Calendar seem to be looking for a quirk or something a little bit alternative that goes along with not just being a standard farm.”

With female farmers becoming more included in the industry, the show has documented this progression. Struan also noticed how the women on the Taumarunui farm were something to make note of in the 80s. “Thinking back on the whole, society wasn't like that, it was a really male dominated industry.”

With other shows being cut, Struan could see that the Country Calendar crew had struggles of their own. “They only had one camera, which I guess is part of cutbacks.” He says the cameraman would often have him do things three or four times, like running a mob down a lane, so they could get multiple angles. Just three people helped with the shoot — the director, soundman, and cameraman — for five days.

Since being asked on the show, Struan hears from everyone that it's their weekly Sunday watch. "People are still watching it big time. I think it's one of the only shows that is a snapshot of our society.”

C

But as New Zealand becomes more and more of a 'metropolitan’ country, as Struan says, it's beautiful that we have something to bring us back to our roots. And while this Wellington city girl probably doesn't know a lot about life in the rural King Country, Struan and I can agree on Country Calendar — “It's iconic.”

—Love, Sammy.

us

Disclaimer: The views presented within this publication do not necessarily represent the views of the editor.

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Koro Robert Hall

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Kendrick Lamar’s game-changing Super Bowl halftime show

The stadium roars as Samuel L. Jackson, playing Uncle Sam, steps up under a single spotlight and welcomes us to “the great American game”. The attention darts onto Kendrick Lamar crouching on his iconic 1987 Buick GNX. Tumbling out of the car comes 25 dancers dressed in all-American red, white, and blue.

What starts out as a classic performance from Kendrick, quickly turns into a piece of critical performance art. As sports fans glugged down their beer, he was not going to let them forget their political position. Through blinding lights, Uncle Sam scolds Kendrick, “Too loud, too reckless”, but most importantly, “too ghetto”.

The structure of the entertainment industry has the same blueprint structure as America: Exploit the labour of Black people for profit, and shut them out when they revolt.

Initially, it feels like Kendrick is hitting two birds with one stone through the performance. He is officially winning the feud against rapper Drake, as well as protesting the American dream built on the backs of Black people. But the more you learn, the quicker you realise they’re the same thing.

Both the entertainment industry and the American Government extract value from Black communities, whilst providing nothing in return by comparison. Kendrick wasn’t only sending a message to citizens, but to a specific audience member who assumed office just 21 days prior — Donald Trump.

I spoke to Kindekel, a Wellington based Black musician with her own RadioActive FM show, about the politics of the performance. Kindekel tells me, “The Super Bowl is one of the most American and most commercial places to perform so this is an extremely accessible point of view for a lot of the world ... It's a really good platform for conscious music to come through.”

During the show, there were specific moments that cemented Kendrick’s message. One being his choice to play his 2017 hit ‘Humble’ whilst dancers formed an American flag. Outside of the performance, this song sounds like a monologue about being the best rapper. But with the red, white, and blue dancers, the message takes a new form.

Kindekel says, “A

lot of Kendrick’s imagery and what he's saying in his music is about African people building America. The economy would be nothing without the labour of others. Be humble, reflect on that.”

Kendrick's critiques of Drake extends further than his misconduct with underage girls — it points out what he represents in the industry. Drake’s success lies within his willingness to be a part of the system. His market value and accessible upbeat rap makes his work a commodity to be profited off — not art. As Kendrick puts it in ‘Not Like Us’, “No, you not a colleague, you a fuckin’ coloniser”. Drake has spent his career playing Uncle Sam’s ‘great American game’, whilst Kendrick has spent his disrupting it.

Notably, Kendrick brought out Hip-Hop's sweetheart and Drake's ex-girlfriend, SZA, to perform ‘Luther’ and ‘All the Stars’. These duets were beautiful but decorative.

Kindekel decodes this, saying,

“It's what America wants from their black

musicians.

They want the entertainment of rap culture and the love of soul and R&B music, but they don’t want to deal with the pain, anger, or politics of being a Black person.”

As the duets end, Uncle Sam comes back to remind us why we’re here, “Yeah that's what I’m talking about. That's what America wants, nice and calm. You’re almost there, don’t mess this…” before being cut off by ‘Not Like Us’.

In this song, renowned Tennis player (and another one of Drake's exes) Serena Williams makes a five second appearance, crip walking on the corner of the stage. The ‘crip walk’ originated in Compton, California in the 70s by the Crip gang. Back then, the move was associated with violence and murder. However, today it has been reclaimed by Black performers like Snoop Dogg, Ice-T, and Ice Cube.

In

2012, Serena faced an onslaught of hate for crip walking at the Olympics.

But 12

years later,

Serena is taking back the narrative. She joked on socials after the Super Bowl,“Man, I did not crip walk like that at Wimbledon. Ooh, I would’ve been fined.”

Wanting to understand all elements of the performance, I also spoke to Isabella Oliver-Clyne, Black fashion designer of Razcal. She says Kendrick's outfit holds significance, pointing to the decades of Black influence on fashion. “The bell cut jeans are a nod to the 70s and then the jacket and chain nod to the 90s. The pairing of these decades is because of the surge of Black culture around that time. He's a display of Black pride.”

In the 70s, the sailors of the American Navy filled up second-hand stores with their old bell cut jeans. People resisting consumerism used these pre-owned bell bottoms to represent rebellion and counterculture. Disco, a genre created by Black artists, shot into stardom in the 70s along with the bell cut jeans.

As for the leather jacket, the piece was significant for African American revolutionary group, The Black Panthers. They used the leather jacket to stray away from the traditional suit and tie of the civil rights movement. Its unpenetrated exterior acted as armour, metaphorically and literally.

Through his fashion, Kendrick portrays the duration of time that Black communities have had to endure this oppression. And with Trump as President, there is no end in sight.

Isabella believes the patriotic colour palette is indicative of the resemblance between the Government and the primary gangs of the States: The Crips and The Bloods. “It comes with such irony that the American flag is made up of the same colours that are used for the gangs. It's almost like they don’t fall that far away from each other.” Placing exclusively African American dancers in these symbolic colours tells multiple stories of marginalised communities at the same time.

Through both conversations I had with Kindekel and Isabella, two prominent emotions surrounded us: A cold renunciation for the systems at play, and hope for the bubbling of change.

Martin Luther King Jr. explained it best in 1963, “We know through painful experience that freedom is never volunteered by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed”.

Kendrick Lamar stepped up onto the largest stage in America to demand this freedom, he smiled, “You picked the right time but the wrong guy”.

The evolution and destruction of the naked dress

The future is female, as echoed in the 2025 Grammy Awards. Doechii became the third woman to win Best Rap Album. Chappell Roan took a stand, calling out label’s poor treatment of artists. Charli XCX won Best Electronic Album. Shakira shimmied the roof down during her first Grammy performance in 18 years, and Beyonce won Best Album for Cowboy Carter

But while we let the pop girls shine and dominate, a cloak of misogyny was ready to steal the thunder.

Kanye West (Ye) and his wife, Australian model Bianca Censori, arrived on the red carpet dressed in black. I was relieved. Kayne had been there for 20 seconds and hadn’t thrown a tantrum. But boy, I spoke too soon.

As the couple posed in front of flashing cameras, Kayne appeared to be speaking down to Bianca. With a blank face, she dropped her fur coat revealing a completely naked dress. Her fully clothed husband swaggered beside her like a kid showing off his new Lego set.

The media was quick to label Bianca’s nudity not as an act of empowerment, but as a symbol of control. In a cultural revolution where female nudity is viewed as art, has Kayne crucified the naked dress movement?

The naked dress movement has roots dating as far back as the 16th century. Queen Marie Antoinette caused an uproar in French Court after being painted wearing a cotton muslin dress resembling undergarments.

Fast forward to 1962, Marilyn Monrose serenaded John F Kennedy with ‘Happy Birthday’, wearing a flesh-coloured gown with 6000 crystals.

Cher made waves at the 1974 Met Gala, wearing a nude, silver sequined and featherlined gown. The dress was designed by the same Bob Mackie that designed Marilyn's dress. In a January interview, Mackie told People Magazine, “People were horrified, they thought, 'that’s not fashion, she’s just naked at the Metropolitan'." But the fashion world was rocked for the better, with Cher appearing on the cover of Vogue in the same dress in 1975.

Some iconic naked dresses emerged from accidents, like Jane Birkin unknowingly exposing her breasts and black thong at the 1969 Slogan premiere. Birkin famously remarked, “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have worn knickers.”

Similarly in 1993, Kate Moss turned heads with a sheer dress she didn’t realise was see-through until the photos revealed it the next day. Moss embraced the trend, advising wearers in a 2022 interview with Bazaar to “Never wear a pasty.”

More recently, the naked dress resurgence has been led by Kim Kardashian — from her 2019 ‘wet look’ by Thierry Mugler, and her controversial showcase of Monroe’s JFK dress in 2022. And like Bianca, Kim was also pressured into fashion choices by her ex-husband Kayne.

During their relationship, Kayne monetised Kim’s body. In 2013, a naked Kim was wrapped around Kanye in his 'Bound 2' music video. And in 2014, he encouraged Kim to 'break the internet' with a naked Paper Magazine cover. And in 2019, Kim told Vogue that Kanye had taken control of her style and how she dressed in public.

Despite Kim's success in launching an inclusive lingerie brand, and passing the bar exam, these experiences have stained her career — not because she's naked, but because it wasn't necessarily her choice. Whereas Kanye, despite his antisemitic agenda, is still hailed as a misunderstood genius.

Julia Fox, another ex of Kanye's, writes in her memoir Down the , that their relationship left her feeling “used” and dirty”. During their time together, Kanye hired stylists which took direction from him about what Julia could wear in public.

But both Kim and Julia have taken back control, using the naked dresses for its desired effect — to showcase empowerment, beauty and seduction of their bodies.

The naked dress is a contemporary reimagining of nude art, celebrating the beauty and natural allure of women. Iconic The Birth of Venus portray the female form draped in sheer silk or surrounded by ethereal figures. They’re never overshadowed by a man hovering behind them.

However, Bianca’s Grammys gown was devoid of the sequins, and ivory shimmering silk. Bianca didn’t stand there alone, confidently grinning like Cher or Doja Cat. She wasn’t even dressed like herself. The smoky eyed and slick backed bun were an obvious Kardashian cosplay.

It was pure, unadulterated exploitation, illustrating how quickly female nudity can become property.

The true power of the naked dress lies in the wearer’s confidence, where it becomes a symbol of self-empowerment rather than an object for someone else’s gaze.

From Marie Antoinette to Cher, their decision to bear their bodies was their own.

If Kayne wants to profit off the naked form, he should do it himself.

Pocketrazzi

Aotearoa's most famous cat* *on the Massey Wellington campus

Pocket spotted with obsessive Fergus shrine!

Pocket takes baths in PUBLIC PLACES!

Pocket HATES first years

"All these f*cking FR*SHERS won't leave me alone!!"

Adding insult to injury

Back when I was still hooking up with people from Tinder, I matched with this guy. We agreed to meet at his house the next night. As I was getting ready (everything shower), I got a text from him asking if I could come over an hour or two later than planned. I said it was fine and asked him if everything was okay. He said he’d been cycling home and got hit by a car, so he was “just going to get that sorted out first". I thought that was weird, but figured if it was really bad, he would have just canceled so I carried on getting ready.

When I got to his house, he opened the door, and this man was seriously scratched up. I’m talking scrapes all over his nose and forehead, his arms, his legs. I asked him if he was okay and said we could just catch up another time. But he said he was feeling fine, so I went inside.

We ended up having some seriously boring sex. When that was finally over, I headed back to my car and while in the driveway of his house, I texted my best friend about the whole hectic lead up to this horribly bland hook up.

Unfortunately, I’d accidentally hit this guy's message thread.

I had just told the man who’d been hit by a car and had his skin torn to shreds earlier that day that the sex was really fucking boring. Seriously, add insult to injury.

heyyy... make an anonymous submission at massivemagazine.org.nz/sexcapades

long-time mascot. He is also a sex god, alpha ram and horned up fuckboy.

Oh my beloved Massey students, how I've missed all your sexy faces. This is a brilliant question to start 2025, but the answer is very obvious...

YOU CAN NEVER BE NAKED ENOUGH

Like many of you, I grew up attending a school with uniforms. Yuck. We were forced to wear shirts with the buttons up all the way to the top, long pants down to our ankles, and our fly always had to be up!

You'd think school in paddocks would be more relaxed, but you'd be wrong. In high school, I did a one semester exchange at a paddock in Timaru. I figured Timaru was a pretty woke town, so it would be the perfect place to debut a naked uniform. I walked into class on the first day wearing nothing but the drawstring of my shorts. To my surprise, the students started to call me Straight Pubes.

But this incident didn't stop me forever. At university lectures, I love to be as naked as possible. University is all about radicalism, change, and protesting the norms of society. And what better way to do that than by getting your titties out in class.

Before you know it, everyone will be doing it. And you and me, we'll be the trend setters.

Pick up next week's issue for Fergus' DIY column 'Fix it Fergus' xxx

HOROSCOPES

OROSCOPES

CANCER

You’re feeling a little homesick this week Cancer — that’s okay! Take things easy, call your mum, and hug your friends. Once you’re feeling a little more adventurous, you

Study in the library this week Leo. I have a feeling someone special is waiting for you between the bookshelves. We all know destiny loves a well-dressed foot, so wear

CAPRICORN

Capricorn, you’ve been marinating in toxic energy for too long. You can’t afford to keep this much emotional garbage in your life. Landfills have regulations, and so should you. Set your sights on a new goal this week and go get it, you relentless little overachiever.

VIRGO

I know you’re on a mission for

AQUARIUS

Romance isn’t in the air for you this week Aquarius. In fact, I don’t see romance floating around in your oxygen for a while. So please stop hogging all the free condoms. Leave some for the rest of us.

You’re going to get stung this week Pisces — whether it’s from betrayal or a rogue bee, who knows? How you handle it is up to you. But whatever you do, stay away from chicken kebabs. Salmonella and a bruised ego are a terrible combo for your mental health.