Perspectives

In what follows, we will help you explore the connections between the poem “Kidnapped” by Ruperake Petaia and current issues, literary movement, and similar works. These aspects will give you an expanded perspective on the te…

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Current issues

Published in the 1980s, the poem explores the consequences of cultural colonialism for indigenous people. The most important negative consequences that the poet draws attention to are that cultural colonialism leads to the marginalisation of indigenous cultures and the continuous domination of colonisers at a cultural level.

Because the poem was written by Samoan author Ruperake Petaia, we can easily assume that the poem refers in particular to the situation of Samoa as a former colony (first German and then New Zealand – itself a forme…

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Literary movement

Ruperake Petaia belongs to the literary movement of Postcolonial Literature. As indicated by its name, Po…

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Works with the same theme

For postcolonial and colonial issues, we encourage you to read poems like “London Taxi Driver” by David Dabydeen, “The R…