CD Haus Distribution Haus Distribution...CD Haus Distribution in the Papua New Guinea Highlands...

CD Haus Distributionin the Papua New Guinea Highlands

Baseline Report

Centre for Social and Creative Media, University of Gorokawww.cscm-uog.org

PANTONE 639 PANTONE 583

C88 M40 Y30 K20 C53 M44 Y100 K27

PANTONE 411 70% Tint

1997

TH

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UNIVERSITY OF

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O R O KA

Cre

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Suggested Citation:

Eby, M; Thomas, V (2014) CD Haus Distribution in the Papua New Guinea

Highlands: Baseline Report. CSCM Research Report 1(1). Goroka: Centre

for Social and Creative Media.

About the Authors:

Mark Eby is Lecturer at the Centre for Social and Creative Media,

University of Goroka.

Verena Thomas is Senior Lecturer and Director of the Centre for Social

and Creative Media, University of Goroka.

Contact:

Dr Verena Thomas

Centre for Social and Creative Media

University of Goroka | P.O. Box 1078 | Goroka 441

Eastern Highlands Province | Papua New Guinea

Tel. +675 5311 858

Fax. +675 5322 620

ww.cscm-uog.org

Layout & Design by Joys Eggins

NO.1 2014

CSCMRESEARCH REPORT

1997

TH

E

UNIVERSITY OF

G

O R O KA

Cre

at i

ng the Futu

re

PANTONE 639 PANTONE 583

C88 M40 Y30 K20 C53 M44 Y100 K27

PANTONE 411 70% Tint

CD Haus Distributionin the Papua New Guinea Highlands

Baseline Report

4CD Haus Distribution in the PNG Highlands | Baseline Report

This study was funded through the Pacific Media

Assistant Scheme (PACMAS). The research team would

like to thank Moses Tongere, Francis Herman, Kate

Raseta and Wilson Toa from PACMAS as well as Vipul

Khosla from ABC International Development.

This report was co-authored by Mark Eby and Verena

Thomas, both from the Centre for Social and Creative

Media (CSCM) at the University of Goroka. We would

like to thank Miliakere Kaitani for assistance with data

analysis.

The project involved a large number of student

researchers with the goal of providing training in data

collection and data entry to a variety of students.

We would like to acknowledge the contributions of

research assistants, fieldwork researchers and data entry

assistants.

Research Assistants: Freda Armba, Mcleen Pikacha,

Aaron Inamara, Kingsford Nepai, Efen Kaina, Tony Gai,

Miriam Hassimani and Edward Ravian.

Student Researchers (Fieldwork): Mai Aiopa, Gideon Aku,

Thomas Anamu, Tonny Anis, Steven Asineha, George

Bale, Mason Blackie, Raymond Burul, Simin Carter, David

Daniel, Kennedy David, Joel Embo, Tony Gai, Osborne

Gelwa, Allan Gonohopo, Wanpis Hesum, Ngini Hetawi,

Misek Himuke, Jeremiah, Inase, Moses Inkham, Presley

Acknowledgement

Ipe, Kevin Ivan, Jerol Jerry, David John Toro, Efen Kaina,

Stanley Kale, Elizah Kamane, Joyce Kapak, Kelvin Kapeli,

Julie Kep, Loyce Kerowa, Tongai Kints, Bobby Kiri, Everlyn

Koima, James Koren, John Kouba, Elis Kupa, J.Tony Leo,

Joe Lilou, Frank Lusbe, Raphael Maine, Christine Mara,

Jonathan Mark, Paul Mila, Joy Moni Mininga, Bill Mark

Otto, Rebecca Peter, Dickson Robert, Jim Sale, Genevieve

Samo, Paul Simond, Paul Sine, Christa Stanley.

Research Assistants (Data Entry): Christine Palisa, Dorah

Mailil, Suzie Siaguru, Martha Mission, Kolvin Apa, George

Kuno, Elizabeth Sei, Kay Minimulu, Francisca Kerenga,

Chank Sprion, Herman Pinia, Jeremiah Inase, Genevieve

Samo, Rex Apa, Pauline Yaubela, Daissy Yaganame,

Steven Asineha, Frankey Samuel, Alice Sibili, Slade Taika.

We would like to thank the CD haus owners, audience

members and communities who agreed to take part in

the study and provided information.

We acknowledge the support from the School of

Humanities and the management team at the University

of Goroka (UOG), as well as from staff of the Centre for

Social and Creative Media (CSCM).

Any opinions represented in this report are those of the

authors and research participants and do not necessarily

reflect the views of PACMAS.

CD Haus Distribution in the PNG Highlands | Baseline Report5

Acknowledgement

ABC Australian Broadcasting Corporation

ABC ID Australian Broadcasting Corporation International Development

AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

CSCM Centre for Social and Creative Media

EHP Eastern Highlands Province

HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus

KTP Komuniti Tok Piksa

UOG University of Goroka

PACMAS Pacific Media Assistance Scheme

PNG Papua New Guinea

SHP Southern Highlands Province

WHP Western Highlands Province

Acronyms And AbbreviAtions

tok Pisin words

note on terminology

CD haus DVD house (village cinema)

Haus piksa House picture (village cinema)

Tok Pisin Papua New Guinea Pidgin

In this report the Tok Pisin terms haus piksa and CD haus are used interchangeably to describe a village cinema. The

Tok Pisin terms seem regionally based, with CD haus being more common in the Eastern Highlands and haus piksa

more common in the Western Highlands. There is no distinction between CD and DVD in Tok Pisin. In Tok Pisin, plural

is indicated with an adjective (e.g. ol (all) CD haus) so when we refer to the CD haus in plural, we use the English

alternative, CD houses.


Fig 1. Student Researchers going through survey responses and mapping haus piksas 13

Fig 2. Map of PNG and surveys undertaken by Highlands province (n=385) 14

Fig 3. Age of CD Haus Owners (n=378) 15

Fig 4. Employment status according to CD Haus Owners (n=280) 16

Fig 5. Reasons for owning a CD haus according to owners (n=379) 17

Fig 6. CD haus owner Peter from Hizaguruamaka, Goroka in the Eastern Highlands Province 17

Fig 7. Map of CD houses in Jiwaka Province by researcher Paul Mila 18

Fig 8. Use of CD houses for other purposes (multiple responses possible) 19

Fig 9. CD haus (left) and trade store (right) owned by Gogula Magee at Ufeka, Faniufa, EHP 20

Fig 10. CD Haus attendance weekdays/weekends (n=366/371) as reported by owners 21

Fig 11. Entry Fees charged by CD Haus Owners for children (n=385) and adults (n=383) 21

Fig 12. Audience at Hizaguruamaka CD Haus, Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province 22

Fig 13. Selling tea, betelnut and cigarettes in Masi village, Eastern Highlands Province 23

Fig 14. Items being sold at the CD haus according to CD haus owners (n=333) 24

Fig 15. Street Seller in Goroka (left) and Sylvester Stallone movie collection (right) 25

Fig 16. Most popular movies according to respondents (n=1107) 27

Fig 17. DVD covers of the HIV awareness films O Papa God and Em Rong Blo Mi Yet 30

Fig 18. Categories mentioned in regards to positive aspects of the CD haus in the community 32

Fig 19. Categories mentioned in regards to negative aspects of the CD haus in the community 33

list of figures


Executive Summary 8

1 Introduction 10

2 Background 11

3 Methodology 13

4 Findings 15

4.1 Respondents’ Profile 15

4.2 Infrastructure 18

4.3 Screening schedule and audience numbers 20

4.4 Ancillary revenue, DVD cost and profitability 23

4.5 Media Content 26

4.5.1 Popular movies 28

4.5.2 Pacific Productions 29

4.5.3 Broadcast Television31

4.5.4 Pornography31

4.6 Values and Social Change 32

4.7 The potential for edutainment 34

5 Outlook36

6 References 37

content


Demographic of CD Haus Owners and Audience Members

CD haus ownership is dominated by young males.

Ninety-four percent of all CD haus owners were male

and eighty-five percent of all owners are under the age

of 40.

Nine out of ten CD haus owner respondents had no

tertiary education and the large majority (62%) had

dropped out of high school before completing 10th

grade.

Many CD houses are informal or additional businesses

for people that consider themselves subsistence farmers,

self-employed or even unemployed.

Infrastructure

The CD haus phenomenon appears to be widespread

throughout the Highlands region. Over two thirds (69%)

of the respondents were aware of at least one other CD

haus in their community area.

There is a low level of individual or family ownership

of TVs. Almost three quarters (74%) of the CD houses

were generator powered pointing to the low access to

electricity in the PNG Highlands communities.

Screening Schedule and Audience Numbers

CD houses provide regular evening activity in the

community. Over half of all owners (56%) show movies

at least once a day. Audience attendance increases on

the weekend. CD haus owners generally reported a

higher number of children viewing during the week.

executive summAry

The most common charge for entry for both adults and

children is 50 Toea. Over two thirds (72%) advertise their

films in some way. When audience members were asked

how often they watched movies, almost a third (31%)

responded every day.

Ancillary Revenue, DVD Cost & Profitability

CD haus owners can generally be considered

entrepreneurs. A third (34%) of them run trade stores in

addition to operating the CD haus. Most owners (95%)

permit other community members to sell their goods as

well.

DVD sales are mostly conducted by young men who buy

DVDs at discount in bulk from Asian-owned businesses.

They then make a profit selling them on the streets.

Over two thirds of CD haus owners (73%) prefer

purchasing movie collection DVDs, rather than single

movie DVDs, or VCDs. In regards to their weekly profit,

over half (51%) said they made less than a K100.

Media Content

The list of most popular films was dominated by action

movies (67%)1, followed by romance movies (23%) and

less popular were drama and comedy (5% each). Music

videos are also a popular genre in the CD haus.

Topping the list of most popular movies was Rambo

(Action, USA), followed by True Love (Romantic Tragedy,

Nigeria) and Titanic (Romance/Disaster, USA). Although

US action films dominate the list of most popular

movies, romance movies are popular. There is also world

cinema representation with movies from countries such

as Nigeria, Philippines, India or Thailand.


Over half of the owners (51%) and audience members

(55%) said they had not shown or seen PNG films. Of

those owners who had, the AIDS awareness film series, O

Papa God: Wai Na Em Olsem and Em Rong Biling Mi Yet,

was easily the most popular (46%).

Fourteen percent of the CD haus owners admitted to

showing pornography. A fifth (20%) of those who said

they did not show pornography were aware of it being

shown in other CD houses. The most common response

(43%) when asked why they did not show pornography

was that it violated Christian principles and community

restrictions.

Over half (58%) of the respondents do not receive

a broadcast signal. Of those who do, almost all of

them (99%) received EM-TV and a quarter (24%)

received Kundu2. Watching broadcast TV however is

predominantly dedicated to sports programming.

Values and Social Change

The study shows that people regard the influx of CD

houses as both positive and negative. When asked

about positive impacts of the CD houses, a third of

the owners (32%) pointed out that the CD houses had

become a place for entertainment, socialization and

relaxation. Another quarter of the responses (24%) said

they provided a space for the community to buy and

sell goods. One in ten owners (11%) pointed out the

educational opportunities to learn about the outside

world.

When asked about the negative impacts of CD houses,

the primary concern of owners (21%) focused on the

increase in sexual activities. Another complaint was that

it distracted students, kept them from studying and from

getting enough rest (15%).

Potential for Edutainment

When asked about whether the CD haus owners would

like to screen the locally produced Komuniti Tok Piksa

(KTP) films, almost all CD haus owner respondents (98%)

expressed interest.

A majority of CD haus owners (95%) said they would be

interested in watching educational content and nine out

of ten owners said they would be willing to pay for it.

In final open-ended comments, a third of the responses

(32%) affirmed that they were happy to show PNG and

Pacific films.

1 The percentage is calculated from the top 35 most popular movies.


1 introduction

This report presents the findings of a study funded

by the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS)

Innovation Grant and carried out by the Centre for Social

and Creative Media (CSCM) to better understand the

way people consume media in the haus piksa or CD haus

in Papua New Guinea. The study titled The Haus Piksa

Film Advocacy Program focuses on the Highlands region

where the haus piksa phenomenon has been observed

and could be considered an informal media distribution

system.

The PNG Highlands are characterised by a high number

of village communities with at times little infrastructure

and services. In the last decade the rise of the CD haus

has provided a new video distribution avenue. CD haus

owners purchase DVDs that they play in their home-

built cinemas charging a minimal entry fee. This informal

distribution system holds potential for thinking about

communication for development and CD houses as

spaces where information and communication around

pressing social issues can be communicated.

The Haus Piksa Film Advocacy Program is divided in two

parts. Firstly, it includes the mapping of CD houses in

the PNG Highlands and understanding media consumer

patterns and, secondly, it will undertake the distribution

of a PNG produced film series on HIV and AIDS to see

whether CD houses can be used as distribution avenue

to get locally produced films to audiences in remote and

urban areas.

This report presents the findings of the first phase of

the PACMAS Innovation Grant study. This includes a

mapping of 385 CD houses in the Highlands of PNG and

a description of their characteristics. Through surveys

with CD haus owners (n=385) and audience members

(n=755) this report captures the role CD houses play

in the PNG Highlands and examines their previously

unrecognised contribution to the PNG media industry.


Papua New Guinea (PNG) has the largest media industry

among the South Pacific island countries. However, the

geographic layout of the country makes media access

uneven among its seven million people. Almost half of

PNG’s population lives in the Highlands region 2, an area

that has no road access from the capital Port Moresby.

Despite this relative isolation, the PNG Highlands have

been described as most media-rich in terms of home

media access compared to other PNG regions (ABC ID,

2012).

In the past decade PNG has seen a steady increase in the

use of media technologies, including mobile phones,

IT equipment and video equipment. While mobile

phones and radio use in the Highlands are the most

common form of media consumption, with 87% and

86% respectively, only 53% have access to a TV. This is

even lower for people living in rural areas across PNG,

with 21% TV access. As the ABC report states however

lack of media access is often compensated by communal

media access (ID, 2012).

Communal viewing is by far the most prevalent in

the Highlands region, where watching TV at a friend/

relative’s house is in fact more common than watching

TV at home. (ABC ID, 2012, p. 49)

TV is on the rise in PNG but mainly restricted to urban

areas where electricity and broadcast signal are provided.

In the Highlands and in rural areas, the consumption of

visual media is often facilitated by the CD haus or haus

piksa, which has emerged as a new phenomenon in PNG.

The CD haus is a communal viewing place, often run by

someone as a business where people pay an entry fee to

view movies or television.

2 bAckground

To date, the CD haus phenomenon has received

relatively little attention when it comes to discussing

the media landscape in PNG. Only a few references have

been made based on observations (Eggins, Thomas,

& Papoutsaki, 2011; Thomas, 2011). There has been no

extensive study of the CD haus or of the informal video

distribution system in the PNG Highlands. Studying

‘informal’ (not-controlled) media distribution requires

studying the places where media consumption takes

place at the grassroots level and previously unmapped

areas.

Other countries demonstrate the power of such informal

distribution systems. In Nigeria for example, local

cinemas and pirated media, have played a key role in

developing a local movie industry (Larkin, 2004). Initially

dominated by foreign products, informal distribution

systems based on piracy and street sales, contributed

to a growing production industry, demonstrating

the interest and enthusiasm for local productions by

Nigerian audiences (Lobato, 2012).

In Papua New Guinea, the expansion of a local film

production has been hindered by a number of factors

including funding for filmmaking as well as copyright

laws, production training and distribution networks.

While it has been challenging to reach the seven

million people in Papua New Guinea with visual media

the increase of mobile technology reaching remote

communities and the emergence of the haus piksa point

to a potential movie market in PNG. In order to assess

whether a phenomenon such as the haus piksa has the

potential to support a growing media industry in PNG,

further studies are needed.

2 See preliminary results of the 2011 Papua New Guinea census, according to which 43% of the population live in the Highlands.


The haus piksa is part of a changing media landscape,

initiated by young village entrepreneurs who have

created a community space for entertainment,

relaxation, and commerce where foreign media

products are consumed that portray heroes, shape

values, impart skills, and create a window to the world

outside the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. The impact

that the predominantly foreign movies have on people

in the community is difficult to assess. A short film by

Danish filmmakers Sofie Rordam and Anders Skovbjerg

Jepson titled Mi Go Long CD-Haus (I go to the CD haus)3

is among the few references highlighting some of the

challenges that youth face in the community when

regularly spending time at the CD haus. Understanding

what PNG audiences like and view and how movies are

distributed via informal systems allow better insight into

audience preference for further local production and

can potentially inform media education strategies in the

country.

3 (Rordam & Jepsen, 2011)


The initial goal of the study was to map CD houses in the

PNG Highlands and to get a better understanding of the

informal video distribution system.

In order to reach communities the project utiltised

University of Goroka (UOG) students to undertake

surveys with CD haus owners and audience members

as well as capture data about the communities. The

CSCM employs locally appropriate ways of undertaking

research, building links with communities through

previous relationships (see Thomas et al. 2012). Another

component of the study was capacity building of

students at UOG in undertaking community research.

A questionnaire was developed based on initial

interviews with CD haus owners, taking into account

audience numbers, infrastructure, media content,

revenue, profitability and an inquiry into values and

social change. A similar questionnaire applying the

same categories was developed for audience members

predominantly to verify information received from the

CD haus owners. The questionnaire was fine-tuned by

researchers and piloted and tested as part of the research

training for the field researchers. In addition a template

was developed to capture basic community information.

3 methodology

Student researchers travelled to their home provinces

during semester break and undertook surveys in

communities they identified, usually their own home

community. Each student was asked to undertake at

least three surveys sets, each set containing four surveys,

including a survey of the CD haus owner, a survey of a

male and female audience member, and a survey about

the community. The student researchers average survey

set completed was between 6 and 7. Overall, surveys

were undertaken at 385 CD houses in all 7 of the PNG

Highlands provinces, which include Eastern Highlands

(EHP), Simbu, Jiwaka, Western Highlands (WHP),

Southern Highlands (SHP), Hela and Enga. The surveys

covered 29 out of 35 districts and 51 out of 105 local-

level governments (LLGs). The surveys included 385 CD

haus owners and 755 audience members.

Fig 1. Student Researchers going through survey responses and mapping haus piksas Credit: Kingsford Nepai


Fig 2. Map of PNG and surveys undertaken by Highlands province (n=385)

The number of surveys undertaken per province is not a

reflection of the number of CD houses in these provinces

but rather a reflection of community access by student

researchers. Left out of the survey were remote districts

like Karimui-Nomane in Simbu, Kandep and Lagaip-

Porgera districts in Enga and the Imonggu and Komo-

Margarima districts of the Southern Highlands because

student researchers did not travel to these areas. Easier

accessible areas from UOG such as the Eastern Highlands

and Simbu Province had more coverage in this study.

UOG staff and students who received training in data

entry on Microsoft Excel entered the results of the

questionnaires. The data was then imported into SPSS

predictive analytics software for analysis. Interviews and

observational information served to verify the results.

Contacts of CD haus owners were collected in order to

assess feasibility of establishing a network of CD haus

owners for distribution of educational content and

locally produced media.

The CD haus is usually individually owned and run as

a businesses in the community. The study sought to

find out the structure of these businesses and how

they are integrated with other services and changes

currently happening in PNG communities. The primary

key informants of the study were therefore the CD haus

owners themselves as their motivation and business

skills contribute to the haus piksa phenomenon in

the PNG Highlands. Secondary key informants were

audience members or customers of village cinemas.


4.1 Respondents’ Profile

CD Haus Owner Profile

CD haus owners tend to be young men. Only a small

percentage of all responding CD haus owners were

female (6%). This result corresponds with recent findings

from the ABC Citizen Survey (ID, 2012, p. 10), which

shows that often, male members of the family control

home media tools. Similarly the haus piksa business

clearly demonstrates a male dominance in terms of

ownership.

The study found that 44% were less than 30 years old

and 85% were under 40 years of age (see Fig. 3). The

rapid technological developments suggest that older

people are less likely to be interested in the haus piksa

and to see the opportunities for such a business.

4 findingsIn regards to education, nine out of ten CD haus owner

respondents had no tertiary education and the large

majority (62%) had dropped out of high school before

completing 10th grade. Almost three quarters (74%)

were married with a median number of 3 children.

In regards to religious affiliation, CD haus owner

respondents were predominantly Seventh Day

Adventists (SDA) (24%). Lutherans follow with 16%,

then Catholics with 15%, and Evangelical Brotherhood

Church (EBC) with 8%. This does not correspond with

census figures for religious affiliation among the general

populace, which ranks Catholics first, than Lutherans,

United Church, and SDA (Gibbs 2007, p.92). Religious

affiliations are relevant to provide a context for the

media content, values and social change sections,

where reference is made to community restrictions and

a Christian value system.

Age Range of CD Haus Owners

%

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0 14 or under

15-19 20-19 30-39 40-49 50-59 60 and over

Age Range

0.5

7.9

35.7

41

10.8

3.70.3

Fig 3. Age of CD Haus Owners (n=378)


Owning a haus piksa is clearly an informal business, and

for some an additional business. When asked about their

employment status, about a third of respondents did

not specify an occupation. Out of those who specified

their employment status (n=280) responses varied from

self-employment to subsistent farmer to unemployed

and others (see Fig. 4). A third of those characterize

themselves as self-employed or small business owners.

This indicates that CD houses are predominantly run as

side businesses by the CD haus owners.

When asked why they started a CD haus, it is clear that

there are strong economic motivations but they also

saw it as providing a service to the community. The main

reason given (53%) was to create a business to generate

income. Other reasons were to entertain, to provide

a community gathering place for socialization and

relaxation, to pay for school fees, to attract customers

to their store, provide a place to market produce, and to

improve their standard of living (see Fig. 5).

CD Haus Owner Employment Status

%

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Subsistence farmer

Self-employed

Employed by governmentUnemployed

Student

Small business owner

Employed by business/companyTradesman

Housewife

Employment Status

27.1 26.1

12.9 12.1

8.2

5.7

4.62.1 1.1

Fig 4. Employment status according to CD Haus Owners (n=280)


Fig 5. Reasons for owning a CD haus according to owners (n=379)

One owner responded, “because I have the potential,

the community wanted entertainment, and I have the

equipment”4. People that are able to make an initial

investment are able to run CD houses as a business

and often an established business might precede the

ownership of a CD haus. For example one respondent

stated he ran the CD haus “to attract customers to my

trade store”5.

Fig 6. CD haus owner Peter from Hizaguruamaka, Goroka in the Eastern Highlands Province

Reasons for Owning a CD Haus

To generate income/business

To entertain

For community gatherings

To raise funds for school fees

To attract customers to the store

To market produce

To improve standard of living

Other

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

%

Reas

ons

3.5

3.9

4.7

5.3

6.4

7.4

15.8

53

4 CD Haus owner from Simbu (1491SIM)5 CD Haus owner from Simbu (276SIM)

Credit: Mark Eby


Audience Member Profile

The audience member surveys were conducted with

a younger demographic than the owners. Almost a

quarter (23%) were under 20 years of age and 91% under

40 years old 6.

A number of respondents (16%) had no education. A

third (33%) had completed grade six or less. Another

40% had reached an education level between grades

7-11. Only 11% had completed high school or gone on

to tertiary education. In regards to gender a balanced

representation of men and women was anticipated

by setting out to choose one male and one female

audience member per community. The collected sample

includes 56% male and 44% female respondents.

Almost half (48%) said they were single. Almost a third

of the respondents (32%) characterized themselves

as subsistence farmers and, reflecting the youth of

the respondents, another fifth (22%) were students.

Another 16% said they were self-employed, 13% were

unemployed, and 7% characterized themselves as a

housewife.

4.2 Infrastructure

The CD haus phenomenon appears to be widespread

throughout the Highlands region. Over two thirds (69%)

of the CD haus owners were aware of at least one other

CD haus in their community area and one quarter of CD

haus owner respondents (26%) were aware of 3 or more

CD houses in their community.

The reason that the CD haus has popped up in most

communities in the PNG Highlands is a reflection of the

fact that most families do not own their own TV and

DVD player. When audience members were asked if

they owned their own TV and DVD player, 83% said they

did not. When they were asked if there were families in

their community who owned TVs, over a third (36%) said

there were no families owning a TV. Of those who said

yes, almost two thirds (64%) claimed there were 5 or

fewer families owning these items.

Fig 7. Map of CD houses in Jiwaka Province by researcher Paul Mila

6 n=746


Almost three quarters (74%) of the CD houses were

generator powered pointing to the low access to

electricity in PNG Highlands communities. Not having

access to electricity is not a hindrance to consuming

media within PNG communities, but it does require an

initial investment to purchase a generator. This likely

contributes to the communal movie viewing practices in

the PNG Highlands.

Half (51%) of the CD haus establishments have only

been in operation for 18 months or less. This indicates

the recent boom in this activity, or possibly, that there is

a high turnover rate. However, there is some stability in

the business since 18% reported being in the business

for over 4 years.

About three quarters of respondents (74%) said that they

build the house specifically to show movies. However,

once built the house was put to many other uses as

well, the most common being selling produce and

trade-store goods, gambling, sleeping quarters, and for

community meetings and social events (see Fig. 8). One

owner responded, “Yes. Sleeping, kitchen, gambling, and

men’s house” 7.

Use of Haus Piksa for Other Purposes

Selling Produce and Store Goods

Gambling

Sleeping Quarters

Community Meeting and Social Events

Storage of goods (coffee, timber, etc.)

Kitchen for Cooking

Dancing

Snooker

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

5

13

16

17

22

49

85

92

Purp

ose

Number of Responses

Fig 8. Use of CD houses for other purposes (multiple responses possible)

7 CD haus owner from Simbu (165SIM)


Traditionally villages in PNG have a communal gathering

space. In the Highlands, the hausman (or men’s house)

has for a long time been one of the gathering places

in the community, in particular for male members of

the community. The haus piksa today is found to serve

multiple purposes and it is also used for community

meetings and gatherings. It provides shelter for night

market activities while also providing entertainment.

However some criticised this transition of a communal

place for discussion and storytelling to include

entertainment and market activities. In earlier research

by Thomas et al., participants considered CD houses

to have an impact on increased sexual activities and

contribute to an increased risk of HIV transmission in the

communities (Thomas et al. 2012) (see also Chapter 4.6

in this report).

Fig 9. CD haus (left) and trade store (right) owned by Gogula Magee at Ufeka, Faniufa, EHP

4.3 Screening Schedule and Audience Numbers

CD houses provide regular night activity in the

community. Over half of all owners (56%) show movies

at least once a day. Almost three quarters (74%) of the

owners said movies were only shown in the evening.

Audience attendance increases on the weekend, with

over half (55%) of CD haus owners indicating 50 or more

people watching movies on the weekend as opposed

to only 30% reporting over 50 people attending during

weekdays.

Credit: Mark Eby


CD haus owners generally reported a higher number of

children viewing during the week. The most common

charge for entry for both adults and children is 50 Toea8.

Children however are likely to get a discount and are

Fig 10. CD Haus attendance weekdays/weekends (n=366/371) as reported by owners

more likely to be charged less than 50 Toea (see Fig. 11). A

small percentage (4%) show movies for free, responding

that this was a way to attract buyers for goods in their

trade store.

Fig 11. Entry Fees charged by CD Haus Owners for children (n=385) and adults (n=383)

8 100 Toea = 1 PNG Kina (approximately US$ 0.42, exchange rate 29 July 2013)

Credit: Mark Eby


Over two thirds (72%) advertise their films in some way.

When asked how they advertised their movies one

owner responded, “I make an announcement and put

up the CD cover beside my house”9. Most respondents

confirmed displaying the cover of the DVD or posting

a notice as a way to advertise a movie showing (78%).

Another respondent described advertisement as “by

word of mouth and also the sound of the generator plus

the sight of lights indicates there is a show”10. Making a

verbal announcement to the audience is common (10%),

or some just turn on the lights or play music to signal

that the movie is about to start (3%). The fact that in

many communities the haus piksa is the only place that

has electricity at night automatically attracts audiences.

When audience members were asked how often they

watched movies, almost a third (31%) responded every

day. Another 43% responded at least two or three times

a week and 16% responded once a week.

Fig 12. Audience at Hizaguruamaka CD Haus, Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province

9 CD haus owner from SHP (1246SHP)10 CD haus owner from EHP (0380EHP)

Credit: Mark Eby


4.4 Ancillary Revenue, DVD Cost and Profitability

This section considers the haus piksa as a business and

considers issues such as profitability for CD Haus owners.

Understanding the conditions under which CD Haus

owners operate can assist in assessing whether a local

media industry and local distribution as a network could

be effective in the long-term.

CD Haus owners can generally be considered

entrepreneurs. A third (34%) of them run trade stores

in addition to operating the CD Haus. A typical response

was “a trade store adjacent to this video show house,

which is currently in the process of selling consumable

items” 11. Another said, “I own a trade store and a PVM

truck,”12 and a third responded, “I have a trade store,

buy cherry coffee, and poultry”13. In addition, because

they attract an audience a large majority (87%) sell

other items as well, the most popular being cigarettes

and betel nut. Only a minority sells alcohol (5%), and a

wide variety of other items were mentioned including

fresh garden produce, Digicel flex cards (mobile phone

credit), biscuits, cooked food and drinks (see Fig. 14).

Most owners (95%) permit other community members

to sell their goods as well. The area around the CD haus

in most places has become a community marketplace.

Most CD houses in the village community are built from

natural materials. The initial investment required is in the

building of a house and installing the equipment which

in most cases consists of a TV and a DVD player, and in the

majority of cases a generator. The most popular brands

of electronic equipment were Sharp, Sony and Integrity

that offer low cost DVD players and TVs. Ongoing cost

include the maintenance of the house and the costs for

electricity or in cases of generator powered electricity

costs of purchasing fuel. The majority of respondents

(82%) estimated the amount spent on fuel to be less

than 100 Kina per week.

11 CD haus owner from EHP (0432EHP) 12 CD haus owner from EHP (0644EHP) 13 CD haus owner from EHP (0444EHP)

Fig 13. Selling tea, betelnut and cigarettes in Masi village, Eastern Highlands Province

Credit: Dilen Doiki


In addition to the infrastructure costs mentioned above,

CD Haus owners purchase DVDs. These are usually

purchased at the closest urban centres in the Highlands,

which are Kainantu, Goroka, Kundiawa, Minj, Kudjip,

Banz, Hagen, Wabag, Mendi and Tari. In addition, four

towns outside the highlands were mentioned, Lae,

Kimbe, Port Moresby and the batas in Jayapura, which is

the PNG/Indonesian border where cheap pirated DVDs

can be purchased.

DVD sales are mostly conducted by young men who buy

DVDs at discount in bulk from Asian-owned businesses.

They then make a profit selling these on the streets. When

CD haus owners were asked where they purchased their

DVDs from street sellers they mentioned the market, the

bus stop, and areas that have informal markets.

Items Sold at CD Hauses

Cigarettes

Belenut

Bread Buns

Coffee

Candy

Tea

Alcohol

Other

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Number of Responses

Item

s

84

77

207

207

212

231

273

278

When asked to name specific stores where DVDs were

purchased, over a quarter (28%) mentioned ‘Asian shops’

without identifying them by name. The Goana Centre

in Goroka has a DVD store and is a popular place to

purchase DVDs in the Eastern Highlands (20%); Brian Bell,

with stores in most urban centres in PNG was mentioned

(9%), TNA located in Kundiawa (6%), and Papindo,

another company with stores in most PNG urban centres

(4%). In addition to purchasing DVDs, other options

were to borrow or exchange or copy them from a flash

drive. Internet download for movies is not common as

Internet connection and download costs are high. Only

four owners responded that they downloaded movies

from the Internet.

Fig 14. Items being sold at the CD haus according to CD haus owners (n=333)


CD Haus owners DVD purchases can be placed in three

different categories: DVD with a single movie, DVD with

a collection of multiple movies, and VCD with part 1 &

2. Many CD Haus owners (42%) had purchased all three

of these but the most popular (43%) appear to be the

DVD with a collection of multiple movies. Apparently,

collections can hold anywhere from 8 - 36 movies but

the picture and sound quality deteriorate considerably

the higher the number of movies on a single DVD.

A follow-up question about preference shows that over

two thirds (73%) prefer purchasing the movie collection

DVDs. The reported costs of the different types of DVDs

vary. Generally VCDs cost under K10, DVDs with a single

movie cost under K15, and most DVDs with a collection

cost under K20. Interviews of street sellers in Goroka

show that the movie collections are purchased in bulk

from a wholesaler in Lae for K5 and sold on the streets

of Goroka for K10. Movie collections are usually sold

in the street and not in stores. A street seller that was

interviewed said he sold from 15 to 30 DVDs a day and

that he was not self-employed but worked with two

other street sellers for a businessman.

A majority of owners keep the DVDs in their collection

after they are screened but about a fifth (20%) resell

them. Most of those who resell them (88%) do so at a

discounted price. Under half (44%) also rent their DVDs,

usually for under K5 for one night. The majority of

owners (60%) have under 100 movies in their collection

but about a fifth have somewhere between 100-150

and another fifth have more than 150 movies in their

collection.

When owners were asked to estimate their weekly profit

after the deduction of expenses, including from the sale

of food and any other items, over half (51%) said they

made less than a K100. Another quarter (25%) said they

cleared K100 to K199. Twenty-two percent reported

profits of K200 or over.

Credit: Mark EbyFig 15. Street Seller in Goroka (left) and Sylvester Stallone movie collection (right)


These results need to be understood in the context of

the income economy in the PNG Highlands. While the

majority of people in the rural are on a very low income

there is also a significant portion of people in the PNG

Highlands who make a considerable income through

coffee sales (Rogers et al., 2011). Coffee however is

seasonal and the CD houses in these cases provide a

fairly steady income in addition to other activities for

many.

This informal movie market is based on piracy of

predominantly international movies. While copyright law

exists in PNG, they are not strongly reinforced within the

legal system. The results of this study show the relatively

small profit margin involved in running a haus piksa and

one might suggest that this village enterprise can only

exist because of the low prices of DVDs based on piracy.

Were DVDs more expensive CD haus owners would

likely struggle to make a profit. Currently the haus piksa

system, from DVD purchase to setting up the screening

facility and charging entry fees, works as an individual

business at the microeconomic level. Consequently,

those interested in creating locally produced content for

the CD haus market in the PNG Highlands would need to

understand these local economics.

4.5 Media Content

One of the primary aims of the baseline survey was to

find out what audiences are watching in the CD Haus

throughout the PNG Highlands communities. A series

of questions about content were asked, the first being

“What kind of movies do you show? Can you give

examples of five favorite genres?” The survey did not

provide genre categories because there was an interest

in seeing what kind of categories a participant would

create. The result was that instead of a category some just

named an actor (e.g. Van Damme) or a movie title (e.g.

Bobby Teardrops), or characters from a movie (e.g. Jack

& Rose, referring to the main characters of the Titanic),

or a production company (e.g. OJ Productions, which

is a Nigerian production company that has produced

popular movies). These were placed in the appropriate

category as Action, Tragedy, Romantic and African.

Without preset categories there were also results like

meaningful, sad, imaginary, funny, scary, sorrow, lovely,

aliens, jungle fighting, gun battle, true story and so on.

Again, these were placed in more conventional genre

categories when analysed.

While this process provided an interesting insight in the

way people describe movies, it also highlighted that

respondents are not familiar with genre categories as

understood in the field of media studies. For analysis

purposes genres were evaluated from the favourite

movie list (see Fig. 16). Within the top 35 movies the

action genre clearly dominated with two thirds of the

films being action movies (67%). A quarter of the films

were romance movies (23%) and less popular were

drama and comedy (5% each). Although no single music

video made it onto the popular movie list, it is also a

popular genre in the CD haus.


Rank Title No. Genre Country of Production

Year Stars

1 Rambo (series) 453 Action USA 1982-2008 Sylvester Stallone

2 True Love 244 Romance Tragedy Nigeria 2003 Omotoloa, Jalade-Ekeinde, Ramsey Noah Jr.

3 Titanic 167 Romance/Disaster USA 1997 Leondardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet

4 Van Damme 157 Action USA Jean-Claude Van Damme

5 Endless Love 148 Romance Tragedy Philippines 2010 Dingdong Dantes, Marian Rivera

6 Delta Force 146 Action USA 1986 Chuck Noris, Lee Marvin

7 The Expendables (series)

141 Action USA 2010 Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren, Couture, Austin, Crews, Rourke, Willis

8 Commando 136 Action USA 1985 Arnold Schwarzenegger

9 Krishna 112 Bollywood Romance India 2008 Ravi Teka, Trisha Krishnan

10 The Gods Must Be Crazy 108 Comedy South Africa 1980 N!xau Weyers, Prinsloo, Thys

11 The Transporter 108 Action France, USA 2002 Jason Statham, Shu Qi

12 Jackie Chan 92 Action Martial Arts Hong Kong Jackie Chan

13 Terminator (series) 91 Action Science USA 1984-2009 Arnold Schwarzenegger

14 Jet Li 85 Action Martial Arts China Jet Li

15 Brave Heart 83 Historical Drama USA 1995 Mel Gibson

16 Street Fighter 78 Action USA 1994 Jean-Claude Van Damme

17 Tears of the Sun 77 American War Film USA 2003 Bruce Willis

18 Undisputed (series) 69 Action Thriller USA 2002-2010 Wesley Snipes, Ving Rhames

19 Sniper (series) 63 Action USA 1993 Tom Berenger, Billy Zane

20 American Ninja 58 Action Martial Arts USA 1985 Dudikoff, James, Fujioka, Aronson

21 Bruce Lee 53 Action Martial Arts Hong Kong Bruce Lee

22 Bobby Teardrops 53 Drama Turkey 1970

23 Ong-Bak (series) 52 Action Martial Arts Thailand 2003-2010 Tony Jaa

24 Rush Hour 51 Action Martial Arts USA 1998-2007 Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker

25 Prison Break (series) 49 Action, Crime Thriller USA 2005-2009 Domnic Purcell etc

26 Universal Soldier 46 Action/Science Fiction USA/ 1992 Jean-Claude Van Damme

27 Blood Diamond 46 Political War Thriller USA/Germany 2006 DiCaprio, Van Damme, Dolph, Lundgren

28 Mr. Bones 44 Comedy South Africa 2001 DiCaprio, Connely, Hounsou

29 My Love 44 Romance Nigeria 2002 Leon Schuster

30 Double Impact 44 Action USA 1991 Chiege Alisigwe, Fred Amata, Hanks Anuku

31 Lion Heart 43 Action USA 1990 Jean-Claude Van Damme

32 Chuck Noris 41 Action Martial Arts USA Chuck Noris

33 O Papa God/Em Rong Bilong Mi Yet

40 AIDS Awareness Drama PNG 2006/07 Maria, John Soti, Prisilla Elwin, James Gahare, Bonny Garahe

34 Hard Target 38 Action USA 1993 Jean-Claude Van Damme

35 Twilight (series) 37 Romance Fantasy USA 2008-2012 Stewart, Patterson, Lautner

Most Popular Movies

Fig 16. Most popular movies according to respondents (n=1107)


Expendables (141) and Commando (136). Ranked fourth

is Van Damme, not a movie title but clearly a popular

movie star and used as shorthand to indicate his movies.

Jean-Claude Van Damme movies show up multiple times

in the top 35 popular films: Street Fighter (ranked 16),

Universal Soldier (ranked 26), Double Impact (ranked

30), Lion Heart (ranked 31), and Hard Target (ranked

34). Arnold Schwarzenegger has two films in the top 30,

Commando (ranked 8) and the Terminator series (ranked

13). Chuck Norris stars in Delta Force (ranked 6) but his

name also shows up ranked 32. Similarly, Jackie Chan’s

name shows up at 12 and his popular movie Rush Hour is

ranked 24. With these top 35 statistics, the most popular

action movie stars are Sylvester Stallone (594), Jean-

Claude Van Damme (406), Arnold Schwarzenegger (227),

Chuck Norris (187) and Jackie Chan (143). Although

writing about East New Britian, Keir Martin in a recent

publication confirms our observations in the Highlands.

“Action movies are most popular. Films are chosen largely

by whether the star of the film is well-remembered from

a previous outing. Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Jackie

Chan are big hits” (Martin 2013, p.49).

Ranked tenth is the 1980 South African comedy, The Gods

Must Be Crazy (108). Another South African comedy, Mr.

Bones, is ranked 28 demonstrating that South African

humor about race relations has some resonance in PNG.

Although US action films dominate the list, it’s interesting

to note that in the top 35 films, there is world cinema

representation: Nigeria, Philippines, France, India, South

Africa, Hong Kong, China, Germany, Papua New Guinea,

Thailand, and Turkey. The popularity of these films show

that people do have an appreciation for genres besides

action blockbusters, that embraces romance, comedy,

drama, and martial arts films.

The only films produced in Papua New Guinea to make

the list at 33 were the two films in the HIV/AIDS awareness

dramas series produced by the Seventh-day Adventist

HGM Media Productions and directed by Pastor Matupit

4.5.1 Popular Movies

CD Haus owners were asked to name ten popular movie

titles and audience members were asked to list five

favourite movie titles. This resulted in a list of 6949 titles

(n=1107). Those movies that showed up consistently

in multiple “favourite lists” will be discussed. CD haus

owner and audience member lists were initially analysed

separately and later put together in a combined list (see

Fig. 16).

The top eleven films were the same for both CD haus

owners and audience members with only a difference

in order. Combining both, topping the list was Rambo.

Movies from this series were mentioned 453 times. The

Expendables, in which Sylvester Stallone directed and

starred, was ranked seventh (141) making Sylvester

Stallone the most popular actor.

The second, third, fifth and ninth ranking were romance

films. A relatively obscure film produced in Nigeria in

2003 by OJ Productions called True Love was mentioned

on 244 favourite movie lists. This is followed by Titanic,

James Cameron’s 1997 Hollywood romance disaster

movie at third place (167). A romance produced in the

Philippines in 2010 called Endless Love, an adaptation of

the Korean drama, Autumn in My Heart, ranks fifth (148).

Not only are these romantic films, they all end in tragedy

with both of the star-crossed lovers dying at the end.

Ranked number nine is Krishna (112) a 2008 Bollywood

film from India in the Telugu language. Unlike the other

romance films that end in tragedy, Krishna marries

Sandhya, and presumably they live happily ever after.

Interestingly, in the romance category, films produced

outside the U.S. dominate.

The favourite movie list is clearly dominated by US

action movies as these are also widely circulated and

available. The sixth, seventh and eight rankings are filled

with big Hollywood action films: Delta Force (146), The


Darius. It appears O Papa God: Wai na Em Olsem? (Oh

Father God: Why is it this way?) and Em Rong Bilong Mi

Yet (It’s My Own Fault) have had more impact in the PNG

Highlands than any other films produced in PNG.

Possibly, the most obscure film to make the list is

Teardrops, known in PNG as Bobby Teardrops (ranked

22). It was produced in Turkey in the 1970s by a UK

production company and dubbed into English in

Ireland. A story of a woman wrongly accused of infidelity

by her husband and abandoned to raise her son, Bobby,

on her own, this movie somehow made its way to PNG

some time in the 1970s and deeply resonated with PNG

audiences, PNG women in particular (Wardlow, 1996). It

remains a popular film in the PNG Highlands.

When favourite movies are analysed by audience gender

category (N755) Delta Force (57) ranks third among the

men but does not show up in the women’s top ten.

Similarly, Endless Love (44) ranks fourth with the women

but does not show up in the men’s top ten. The Gods

Must Be Crazy (36), Transporter (36), and Terminator (32)

show up in the men’s top ten list but are absent from the

women’s and Krishna (33), Jackie Chan (29) and Jet Li (25)

show up in the women’s top ten but are absent from the

men’s. In addition, even though True Love ranks second

on both lists, it was listed by 75 women versus 58 men,

demonstrating the strength of its popularity among

women. These results show that men and women share

similar tastes but women demonstrate a preference for

romance and martial arts films.

4.5.2 Pacific Productions

To find out if there are any regional productions that

make their way to the CD Haus, the survey asked if

they showed any movies about the Pacific Islands. A

strong majority of the owners (72%) said they had not

shown them and even more audience members (78%)

stated they had not seen any. The owners were asked

if they had shown the HIV/AIDS awareness series Love

Patrol produced by Wan Smolbag Theatre in Vanuatu

and popular across the Pacific. Only 4% of the CD haus

owners and 7% of the audience members said they had

seen it.

When owners were asked to list movies they had shown

about the Pacific Islands, only 28% responded. Most of

the movies on the list are from PNG although the survey

included a further question asking about PNG movies

specifically. Music videos are clearly popular and three

Solomon Island music artists were mentioned: Sisiva

(13%), Sharzy (7%) and Saba (5%). The Legend of Johnny

Lingo was noted by a few people (2%), a 2003 film set in

Polynesia and produced in New Zealand. Blue Lagoon,

the 1980 American romance starring Brooke Shields and

Christopher Atkins was also mentioned (2%), because it

is shot in Fiji.

There are a number of Pacific productions available,

but these do not seem to make it to the CD houses. This

might have to do with their smaller distribution circle

and that they are generally less known. But it is also likely

to do with the merchants who copy and distribute DVDs

focusing on Hollywood and Asian movies.


Fig 17. DVD covers of the HIV awareness films O Papa God and Em Rong Blo Mi Yet

The survey also asked specifically about showing Papua

New Guinean films. Over half of the owners (51%) and

audience members (55%) said they had not shown

or seen PNG films. Of those owners who had, the film

series mentioned above, O Papa God: wai na em olsem

and Em Rong Biling Mi Yet, was easily the most popular

(46%) (see Fig. 17). An AIDS awareness genre was also

acknowledged for respondents who did not remember

the exact titles of the films (6%).

Locally produced music videos are also popular. The

music video categories add up to just over a fifth of the

responses (22%), which includes music videos without a

specific title (10%), CHM Collection (3%), and artists such

as Sisiva, Texas Allan, Saba, or PNG Mekim Musik. While

some of these are Solomon Island artists as mentioned

above, some consider them to be locally produced

videos. Two other PNG personalities were mentioned:

Kanage, a popular local comedian who stars in a series

of videos, and Stanley Nandex, a Papua New Guinea

world champion kick-boxer known as The Headhunter.

The videos of his fights are popular. The other PNG

films mentioned by a few are Kokoda, Tukana, Tinpis

Run, Black Harvest, First Contact, Joe Leahy’s Neighbors

and Wokabout Bilong Tonten. Robinson Crusoe was

mentioned as it was shot in PNG and featured a PNG

actor, William Takaku alongside Pierce Brosnan.

It is interesting that HIV and AIDS films have made

it to the CD houses. It shows that Higher Ground

Ministry Media Production, a support ministry of the

Seventh Day Adventist Church, has had a successful

distribution strategy through their church network.14 It

is also relevant to note that 24% of the CD Haus owner

respondents claimed SDA religious affiliation so the SDA

church has taken the lead in producing and exhibiting

locally produced content by Papua New Guineans for

Papua New Guineans. “What happens to children when

their parents die of AIDS?” is the question explored by O

Papa God. The follow up film, Em Rong Blo Mi Yet looks

at a group of high school girls who contracted HIV and

are sent home to live with their parents. One of the girls

14 See also http://higherground.adventistconnect.org [accessed July 2013]


is rejected by her dad, who sends her away into the bush

to live by herself until she dies15. These stories seem

to resonate in the Highlands of PNG and parallel the

response to pathos and tragedy in the popular romance

films.

There have been no action movies produced in PNG to

date, but clearly this is a genre that could be explored

with a local twist. This research might contribute to

further exploration of the potential for action movies in

Papua New Guinea and the support from audiences for

locally produced films.

4.5.3 Broadcast Television

There are two local free-to-air television stations in PNG.

The first, EM-TV is owned by Fiji television through a

subsidiary called Media Niugini Limited16. Some content

is produced locally but the majority of the programming

is from Australia (Papoutsaki & Sundar Harris, 2008). The

second is the NTS (National Television Service) known as

Kundu2. Launched in September 2008, it is state-owned

and broadcasts PNG produced content but has a limited

broadcast footprint and limited broadcast hours (Wall,

2008).

We asked audience members if they received a broadcast

TV signal and over half (58%) said no. Of those who did,

almost all of them (99%) received EM TV and a quarter

(24%) received Kundu2. A minority (4%) said they

received an Australian broadcast channel, which can

be received with a satellite dish. Almost three quarters

of the CD haus owners (72%) said they charged a fee to

watch TV. Watching broadcast TV however is dedicated

to sports programming, either for special events like the

Australian State of Origin rugby match between New

South Wales and Queensland (66%) or sports events

in general (27%). A fifth of the audience (20%) also

mentioned watching television news.

4.5.4 Pornography

CD haus owners were asked if they showed pornography.

This is a sensitive question since pornography is illegal in

PNG. However, 14% admitted to the practice. Of these,

almost half said they showed it once a week (49%),

about a quarter (24%) showed it once a month, and a

small percentage (6%) said they showed it every day.

Three quarters (74%) said the entrance fee was different

then the other movies they showed. The assumption

is that it costs more but the amount was not specified.

Most respondents (96%) reported that pornography was

shown to a restricted audience. How it was restricted

was not always specified clearly. Just over a quarter

(27%) reported that it is restricted without specifying

age or gender. Another 17% reported that it is restricted

to an adult audience without specifying gender. Just

under half (46%) reported that it is restricted to a male

audience.

A fifth (20%) of those who said they did not show

pornography were aware of it being shown in other

communities. The most common response (43%) when

asked why they did not show pornography was that it

violated Christian principles and community restrictions.

Another 23% said that it was out of concern for young

people because the CD haus audience was a mix of

children and adults. As one owner responded when

asked, “because a majority of the audience are children

and it is against society morals and values”17. Another

owner said “because I am an Adventist member”18.

Another reason given was simply that it is illegal (16%).

Finally, 11% responded with concerns that pornography

increased sexual activity at an early age, prostitution,

rape, adultery, and pregnancy. As one owner said,

“because it affects our sexual behavior”19.

15 See http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/36771485?q&versionId=47748352 [accessed July 2013] 16 http://www.emtv.com.pg/about-us [accessed July 2013]

17 CD Haus owner from Simbu (1479SIM)18 CD Haus owner from Enga (1391ENG)19 CD Haus owner from EHP (0592EHP)


Although over three quarters of the audience (84%)

claimed they did not watch pornography at the CD haus,

9% did admit to it with 7% choosing not to comment. Of

those who admitted to watching pornography, 46% said

they watched it once a week, 31% once a month and

6% every day. Most (94%) agreed that the audience was

restricted. Almost a fifth (18%) said they were aware of it

being shown in other CD houses.

4.6 Values and Social Change

“Because of the CD hauspeople live in the light.” 20

CD houses are having an impact on PNG Highland

communities in many ways. The content people are

watching is shaping values and identities. The survey

asked respondents to comment on both positive and

negative impacts of the CD houses. In responses, the

impact on youth was frequently mentioned, once again

highlighting the young demographic of CD haus viewers.

Fig 18. Categories mentioned in regards to positive aspects of the CD haus in the community

When pointing out positive aspects responses focused

on impact on the community as a whole, the activities

the CD houses created and their impact on youth. A third

of the owners (32%) pointed out that the CD houses had

become a place for entertainment, socialization and

relaxation. This is confirmed by 36% of the participants

in the audience survey. Another quarter of the responses

(24%) said they provided a space for the community

to buy and sell goods, again confirmed by 27% of the

audience. An audience member said the CD haus “helps

in boosting cash flow in the community”.21

One in ten owners (11%) pointed out the educational

opportunities to learn about the outside world. For

example, one response was that the CD houses “make

people become wiser from viewing other people’s

experiences”.22 This was particularly emphasized in

relation to youth as respondents said that “it educates

school children about the global world”23 and “children

are learning English better by watching movies”.24 It was

also commented that CD houses had a positive impact

by keeping “youths from doing illegal things, especially

during the night.”25

Rank Categories Number

1 Entertain, socialize and relax 5732 Provides space for community to buy and sell goods, generate income, and increase cash flow 4803 Educational for children and adults. Learn about the outside world. 1594 Promotes peace and unity 885 Keeps people in their own community, central place for gathering 546 Brings in cash to contribute to community for compensation and bride price 487 Improve children’s English 458 Power to charge mobile phone and provide light 44

20 CD Haus owner from EHP (0484EHP)21 Audience member from Simbu (0063SIM)22 Audience member from Simbu (1477SIM)

Positive Aspects of CD houses

23 CD Haus owner from EHP (0380EHP)24 CD Haus owner from Simbu (0033SIM)25 CD Haus owner from Enga (1400ENG)


The majority of respondents agree that the CD houses

provided a suitable space for community members

to get together whether for business activities or to

socialize. Some highlighted the positive aspect in having

people stay in their communities and promoting peace

and unity in the community. As one respondent said,

it “keeps the community intact and they avoid moving

from village to village causing problems.”26

When asked about the negative impacts of CD houses

respondents focused on the consequences of CD

houses as a space of socialization as well as on individual

behaviours among audience members. Once again,

youth were mentioned frequently as a key group that

CD houses are impacting.

The primary concern of owners (21%) focused on the

increase in sexual activities that lead to prostitution,

sexual activity between young people, unwanted

pregnancy, adultery, polygamy, and rape. As one

respondent described, “people dress up well and

opposite sex find their mates mostly in the CD house”.27

Fig 19. Categories mentioned in regards to negative aspects of the CD haus in the community

The increased social activities at night were considered

increasing disturbances in the community. One of the

CD haus owner respondents said “[it] attracts drunkards

during the night, which leads to commenting and

conflict and my area has become a public area and my

family does not have privacy.”28

Mostly however comments were made about individual

behaviours. For example an audience member

responded, “[I] do not feel like going to the garden

after viewing the CD.”29 Another said “people become

lazy by gambling every night when the power is on.”30

Another complaint was that it distracted students, kept

them from studying, and prevented them from getting

enough rest (15%). As one respondent said, “School

children are distracted every night to watch and are not

concentrating on their studies.”31

The other concerns among owners were that the movie

content is a bad influence that promoted negative

behaviors among children and young people (12%), an

increase in the abuse of alcohol that leads to drunken

Rank Categories Number

1 Increase in sexual activities that lead to prostitution, unwanted pregnancy, adultery, polygamy, and rape 3522 Distracts students. Keeps them from studying and they do not get enough rest 2413 Promotes laziness. People stay up late, restless nights, lack sleep and are too tired to work. 1784 Increase in abuse of alcohol and leads to drunken fight 1765 Bad influence promotes negative behavior among children and young people 1546 Noise disturbs the community 1247 Promotes stealing 102

26 Audience member from EHP (0709EHP)27 CD haus owner from SHP (1307SHP)28 CD haus owner from Simbu (0041SIM)

29 Audience member from SHP ((1300SHP)30 Audience member from Simbu (0043SIM)31 CD haus owner from Simbu (0049SIM)

Negative Aspects of CD houses


fights (10%), the promotion of laziness because people

lacked sleep and were too tired to work (8%), promoted

stealing (5%), increased litter and waste around the CD

haus area (4%), and the spread disease including HIV

and airborne diseases (4%).

Audience members also showed concern about these

issues but also mentioned an increase in fighting (4%),

domestic violence (3%), gambling (3%), and drug

abuse (1%). Those with a smaller percentage are the

views of a minority of audience members, but concerns

nonetheless.

In particular, young people were mentioned as being

impacted by changing attitudes. One respondent said

“kids [are] stealing money from their parents to pay

for their gate fee.”32 And another respondent pointed

out that “attitudes of teenagers change due to western

influence.”33

The study shows that people regard the influx of CD

houses as both positive and negative. Firstly, the space of

the CD haus has influenced activities in the communities,

whether that includes business activities, or increased

socializing at night where issues such as gambling,

drinking and sex emerge. Secondly, it is suggested that

the content is changing individuals’ understandings and

behaviours, impacting young people in particular.

The next section focuses on the potential of the CD

houses as sites for edutainment, building on the fact

that regular consumption of media takes place there

and they can provide spaces for learning.

32 Audience member from Enga (1401ENG)33 Audience member from Enga (1401ENG)34 Audience member from Simbu (0293SIM)35 Audience member from EHP (0754EHP)


4.7 The Potential for Edutainment

In preparation of the second part of the study, an

evaluation of the impact of the HIV awareness series

Komuniti Tok Piksa (KTP), the final section of the survey

asked CD haus owners about the possibility of screening

the KTP films. It also included a section on open-ended

comments.

Almost all CD haus owner respondents (98%) expressed

interest in screening the KTP films. Over two thirds

(69%) said they would not charge for an initial screening

if the DVD was given to them for free to be used for

subsequent screenings. Almost a quarter (23%) of those

who did want to charge specified 20 toea to 50 toea per

person.

Audience members were also enthusiastic about

watching PNG films at the CD haus (97%). Most (92%)

said they would pay money to watch a PNG film. A

majority (95%) also said they would be interested in

watching educational content and 90% said they would

be willing to pay for it.

In final open-ended comments CD haus owners provided

a variety of responses, many of which emphasised their

interest in screening more PNG films. One respondent

said “after showing so many movies from other countries,

it would be nice to show PNG films.”35 A third of the

responses (32%) affirmed that they were happy to show

PNG and Pacific films.

36 Audience member from WHP (1130WHP)37 Audience member from Jiwaka (0967JIW)38 Audience member from Simbu (0222SIM)

Another 15% were happy to become partners with KTP

and CSCM to assist in further research and screenings.

Feedback included comments such as “as a student, I

wish to see movies produced here, which are educational

to help us young ones.”36 or “life is getting tougher and

tougher. Therefore, I would like to encourage students

to watch education movies so that it can help them to

increase their knowledge.”37

Others noted their appreciation for the survey (11%),

that if the KTP DVD was provided for free that they were

very happy to show it to the community (10%), and they

were happy to show educational and social awareness

films (4%). A final question was about after the DVD

delivery and if there would be any other benefit (5%).

Further comments included invitation to undertake a

production in the community and criticism of video

piracy. One of the respondents said “CD haus has

promoted media development but it has a lot of negative

effects,”38 commenting on the complexity of the issue

and seeing both positive and negative impacts of the CD

houses in the communities.

The results of the final section of the study demonstrate

a keen interest from CD haus owners and audience

members to view PNG films as well as to view films with

educational content.

“Distributing educational CDs to CD houses will greatly help the village people. Villages are far apart and it is hard to go from village to village to educate the people. The only place where people gather is the CD house. Therefore, if CDs are given to the CD houses, many people will come to watch and learn good things.”

(Audience Member)34


CD houses have become part of an informal

entertainment industry in the PNG Highlands. This study

provided insights into the increased interest in visual

media consumption in PNG communities. The lack of

availability of PNG films and the cheaply available pirated

videos from overseas determine the predominantly

foreign content viewed in CD houses.

While concerns are raised about the impact of such

content and the passive consumption of such media,

the hunger for visual media reveals people are open and

keen for PNG and Pacific content. The willingness CD

Haus owners showed in working with the CSCM team

and potentially showing some of the locally produced

PNG videos demonstrates a potential for a more

established distribution network.

At the same time, the increase in media consumption

among young populations must be recognized by the

education system. There is a need to increase training in

media literacy among Papua New Guinean audiences.

This study provides the baseline for the PACMAS

innovation project, which in the second part will test the

possibility of distributing the KTP DVD via CD houses

in the PNG Highlands. This will contribute further to a

better understanding of audience consumption of visual

media in the PNG Highlands and the potential of using

this distribution system to inform and educate PNG

audiences.

5 outlook


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