"A long time ago, my
ancestor Paikea came to this place on the back of a whale. Since then,
in every generation of my family, the first born son has carried his
name and become the leader of our tribe…until now.” - Pai
As I was watching this
film, I keep finding Paikea near the ocean. Paikea is always surrounded by
blue, oceans, water, pools, pictures inside the home, etc. The camera frames
her with these objects in the background or right in front of her. Sometimes,
the camera frames her with those objects behind her in front of Koro, hinting
that she is a descendant and that she is the rightful leader. The film is
constantly places hints and bread crumbs of this theory right in front of Koro
and Pai’s family; however, Koro does not want to acknowledge and believe it
because she is not a male like Maori tradition states. So he continues to
reprimand her and blames her for any trouble that happens to the family.
Since the historical
aspect of the Maori leader Paikea, the Whale Rider of Tohora (whale), the
little girl was destined since she was born. You can tell within her attitude,
her tone (during the song she dedicated to her grandpa), her interests of the
tradition, songs, chants, dance, way of the taiaha, and her attempts of proving
she can hold responsibility and leadership like leading the group of boys to
the welcoming of the new school and defeating Hemi with her taiaha. According
to Maori history, only a first-born grandson can inherit leadership; however,
throughout the film, a whale is always shown in the water – guiding and
supporting Pai to prove that she can inherit this tradition even though she is
female. Another example is the rei puta (whale tooth) Pai recovers near a
scared place of Paikea, the Whale Rider (tradition says that whoever recovers
this from the water signifies that that person is the rightful leader).
Even though tradition
says that only a first-born grandson can inherit leadership, Pai continues to
demonstrate that she is determined to lead, no matter what the tradition says
or what Koro says. She keeps proving that tradition and history can change if
one is willing to demonstrate persistent aspiration and strength. From the
historical approach, Pai demonstrates a new
historicial and feminist perspective
of the traditional historical approach of Maori because of the consistent strength
she has throughout the film to prove that she
can be the leader (even though she is female)
as Koro keeps putting her down and only sees what he wants to see (a first-born
grandson). Throughout the movie, Maori values stood out from taking shoes of, chanting, showing out tongues, face to face interaction when first meeting, respect the people showed to each other, the rei puta, and much more. These elements influences the plot and the way the audience is feeling and understanding what and how the Maori tradition is valued.
Overall, this film is
great, empowering, and a tear-jerker.
Photo Credits:
ursulafrayne.libguides.com
alchetron.com
This is a fantastic post (you have a good balance of text and visuals). You make use of knowledge about Maori culture to reflect on visual details and style of the movie, as well as details from the plot. Well done. Mimi
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