Analysis Of Whale Rider

Whale Rider is set in a small New Zealand coastal village inhabited by Maoris who claim descent from Paikea, the Whale Rider. For 1,000 years a male heir of the Chief has become leader of the tribe. At the beginning of the film, the wife of Porourangi, the Chief’s eldest son, dies in childbirth along with the male twin she was carrying. The surviving child, a girl, is given the name of Pai, the traditional name given to the male child.

Similarly, William in page three explains that Campbell clarifies cosmological capacities as "stories enable the person to decide his/her place in the universe." The stellar capacity applies for the Whale Rider because of the principle character growing up being recounted of their legend of how the Maori tribe traveled to the territory they are acclimated to now. Pai characterizes herself alongside her family history; she expresses “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 firstborn son has carried his name and become the leader of our tribe... until now,” (Whale). She continually alludes back to the legend of her predecessor, Paikea, as a path for her to get the idea she is fit to do likewise. Like her predecessor, Paikea could spare the way of life which is the thing that Pai is

When choosing a film for this assignment, my original choice was Bend It Like Beckham because I had heard of it and I had a general idea what it was about. I then decided that I wanted to take on a more challenging film, one that I had never heard of, and one that I would really have to study to understand its full meaning. After looking into a few of the listed movies, I ended up choosing Whale Rider, a drama filmed in New Zealand in 2002. After watching the movie two times, I feel that I now understand some of the more drastic cultural and gender based problems that are occurring today.

In the film 'Whale Rider', by Niki Caro which follows the journey of a young girl named Paikea Apirana and her struggle for acceptance as a leader of her Māori iwi, and especially her grandfather. An important character in this film is Pai herself. This character has significant importance as she is used to portray numerous important ideas and themes throughout the film. Pai helps me to understand and appreciate that women can also be leaders that are equal to men if they have the right attributes. The director Niki Caro uses numerous different film techniques to convey this idea, such as; the camera shots and camera angles when Pai is giving her speech to Koro, the use of camera angles and props in relation to the dialogue when Pai if fixing the motorboat engine, and the use of props when Pai is teaching herself to use the Taiaha.

The author shows great adventure, nobility, and fulfillment. He uses a lot of imagery and description in order to help the reader to better understand what is going on. While the author seems to have always known about his ancestry, the death of his grandmother encourages a deeper and more personal exploration of his family background. The author returns to his Grandmother's house where the spirit of the Kiowa tribe is very strong. He does this to get closer to his roots. Each story is followed by a short account of the factual events. Together the stories and the facts work to create a complete picture of the Kiowa way of life. The stories explain the world as the Kiowa saw it. The author historic journey is a process of self-discovery, integration, and finding harmony in life. His nobility in his journey is expressed when he follows his vision to better understand his people. Throughout the story he endures many things with nobility in his heart and mind.

A young boy sits on the floor gazing up in amusement as his parents tell him stories that have traveled from generation to generation. Whether it be a tale of malicious war or brave acts of heroism, the little boy will always remember the impactful tales. But what about the parents; what is their motive for telling tales to their child? People tell stories for different reasons; a best selling author may write his story to sell books. While a parent tells a story to set their child straight, others simply want the thrill of telling tales of their adventurous life. For The Tao Jones ,or TJ, in Chris Crutcher's Whale Talk, the most impactful story he will hear and tell is his own. Someone might not solely tell their own story but, are also able to tell the story of those around them. Superficially, TJ’s story is one of brutal negativity and oppression. However, beneath the surface TJ and other peoples’ tale, is one of the unbreakable bond of brotherhood, unique self identity, and last chance at redemption.

These contradictory styles stem from the characters’ different perceptions of culture which impact their identity. This is evident in a scene involving the reoccurring motif of the rope. Koro is attempting to fix an engine with a piece of rope whilst discussing where the ancestors originated from with Paikea. Koro converses in the traditional Maori dialect, and no subtitles are provided for the audience, which emphasises the significance of language to traditional Maori values and culture. “Weave together the threads of Paikea, so our line remains strong. Each one of those threads are one of your ancestors all joined together and strong”. He exerts force and physical strength to fix the rope in an aggressive manner, but subsequently, it frays; typical of Koro’s personality, his leadership style and methods are traditional. The crucial principle of the Maori identity - strength - is what breaks the rope, literally and metaphorically which is foreshadowing the future decline of the culture. He leaves to retrieve a replacement, Paikea mends the engine by taking a modern, different approach and promptly repairing the frayed piece by gathering the remains and tying it together. She applies Koro’s same technique of strength, displaying how she maintains her traditional culture, yet integrates her modern mentality to accomplish the task. This shot presages Paikea’s future role of mending the broken tribe, joining the ends of the past and modern times. Paikea’s scenes are dynamic and changing, a visual depiction of her flexible mindset and approach. Paikea demonstrates her ingenuity as a leader, yet Koro reprimands her as she is female. He states “I don’t want you to do that again, it’s dangerous”, implies that the task is too dangerous for her, presenting his patriarchal views. However, her completion of the task defies his archaic

Someone’s destiny may be known from the moment he or she is born; however, how that person will reach his or her’s destiny is unknown. The way someone can achieve their dream can be vastly different or very similar to another. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya follows Antonio Marez’s coming of age. He experiences loss of innocence, curiosity, and is torn about what his destiny is: be a Luna, a person of the earth, or a Marez, a person of the llano who is free. Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera is a film that tells the story of Paikea Apirana, a girl who is interested in becoming leader of her clan, but is rejected by her grandfather due to her being a girl. Paikea manages to prove herself to be the true leader through to her risks and hardships.

A hero growing up usually has an awkward vive that displays them as an outcast. Reflecting to the beginning of the movie with the birth of Pai, her twin brother death symbolizes her characteristic. Throughout the movie “Whale Rider,” Pai at moments had a transcendent gender. Her short cut hairstyle and masticated clothes, hidden her feminine image but embraces her boyish characteristic. Others did not recognize Pai within the training school for her natural talent to compete against other males. In the Maori community, Pai is a disgrace because it was abnormal for a female to participate and practice within the traditional worrier school. Pai was not interested in the limited roles of what a woman are set out to do and refuse to limit her learning in the ritual of the worrier ancestors. Her grandfather clearly let her know that she is an embarrassment to him and the Maori community. He was blinded by the fact that her capabilities to with stand physical completions towards other male and in most cases defeat their pride. It was so obvious Pai had all the attributes of what her grandfather was seeking, but was ignorant by belief. There were numerous times she was caught practicing fighting technique and then punished by her grandfather. Punished by her grandfather and was forbidden by him to not

The mystical myth in Whale Rider would be when she rode the whale. Pai is suppose to be the new chief in town, however, her grandfather, Koro, does not think a girl should be chief because he believes it will break tradition. Pai’s grandfather would always talk to the whales to get some help and advice from them, which are said to be their ancestors. The community was breaking apart and Koro was aware of it; that’s

Rhetorics, like pathos and ethos, successfully convey the documentary’s message. John Crowe recalls the capturing of killer whales involving bombs, nets, aircrafts, and chasing them into coves. Those who did not survive were inhumanely sunk using rocks and anchors. Kateena was found shaking, crying, and screaming using long range vocals when her daughter, Kaleena, was relocated to a new park. In addition, the use of former

Martha Ward’s Nest in the Wind is the fascinating account of culture on the small island, Pohnpei in Micronesia. Ward is an American anthropologist from New Orleans who two years living on Pohnpei working on a blood-pressure research project and studying the culture of the island in the 70’s. She later returned for a shorter visit to the island to see how the culture had changed in the years she had been gone. Pohnpei is very different from western society in nearly every aspect of life, from how the people define family, value systems and norms, and even how their economic system operates. Ward documented all of these things in her account of the island as she learned, and was embraced into the culture of Pohnpei.

Throughout “Whale Rider” Paikea is expected to listen to what her grandpa tells her to do and say. Personally, Paikea feels conflicted and under pressure to stick to her grandpas rules, as she wants to go her own way. Her grandpa finds it hard to see Paikea as her own person and can’t accept modernity, which he is not used to. He also stops her from learning the ways of a Maori chief, which is something she still tries to do in secret with the help of the rest of her family. Koro sometimes fails to see what Paikea can do, as he feels very strongly about old traditions, but other times he sees what she can do and fails to appreciate it. Paikea just wants to be loved and accepted by her grandfather and her strong sense of leadership and determination to get that from him leaves her as a role model to others to be brave and to never stop until they get what they want.

The story of Whale Rider takes place in a Maori village in New Zealand. The main character is a 12 year old girl name Paikea “Pai” Apirana and her ambition to become the next Chief of her village. Along with following on Pai’s story, the movie showed a great number of local Maori religion and culture. Some of the things I will explore is the Maori religion, gender roles, and a personal reflection on what was learned through the movie.

This book really grabbed me right from the beginning of the story. The story begins with the birth of fraternal twins, with the grandfather patiently awaiting the birth of the son. Right away I felt sadness when the mother and one of the twins die. The boy dies and the girl survives. The grandpa seems to not care about the girl who survived . He was longing for his grandson because he is from the Maori tribe and the tribe is waiting for the sign of a new chief to be born . The chief would lead the village and its community to greatness. Many elders have been born but none with the strength to be the next chief. The little girl was named Pai. The grandma of Pai took her home to raise her along with the grandfather. The grandfather showed