Equality In 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.

Niki Caro’s film, Whale Rider, beautifully captures the small village of Whangara, which is located in the northeast of New Zealand’s North Island. The film portrays a Maori tribe that tells the story of a long-held tradition. This film is rich in symbolism, which is easy for any viewer to understand. Whale Rider does a wonderful job of capturing the attention of the audience because of the intense and close relationships between the characters, the way Caro conveys the movie’s message, and the features the movie offers.

The meaning of sexism in the oxford dictionary is ‘Prejudice, stereotyping or discrimination on the basis of sex’ (Oxford Dictionaries). Being a teenager from a liberal society, I think of sexism as when either of the sex is being considered inferior to the other and is not given equal opportunities to earn a place in society. A few decades ago such discrimination was experienced by women when they had no rights to pursue their passions or create their own identity in society. In India, parts of East Asia as well as in New Zealand women were even not allowed to decide on own marriage, which was a monumental event in their lives. In my view, their lives at that time had no difference from the lives of a servant. When they came to their husband’s

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.

She showed everyone that even though she's a girl she can still make family proud about the Maori culture. Also, Nanny Flowers has shown female empowerment. Because even though Koro Apirana is the leader of the tribe, he does not wear the “pants” in the relationship, Nanny flowers does. “‘Huh?’’ Nanny Flowers had said in a huff.”

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

She had to work for what she got though. Right from the moment she was born, she was rejected by the members of her tribe. This was the result of her mother and twin brother both dying during the delivery, leaving Paikea. She was not liked immediately because her twin

Paikea is trying to learn the ways of a leader and a chief but Koro keeps shutting her off and getting mad whenever she does. He would always say, “She is no good to me.” Even when Paikea is learning to spar with the fighting sticks, Koro immediately yells at her and scolds her. All of these put-downs and constant public humiliations by her

The hero battles his father and is victorious. (Indick, Williams) In the opening scene of the movie, you can see Paikea’s mother giving birth to twins. One a boy and one a girl.

Pai wanted to learn how to stick fight and her uncle rawiri taught her but when her grandfather found out he disapproved because that goes against tradition. In the end of the film Pai rides on the whale proving that she is the “chosen one” so she becomes

Paikea knew from the instant of her birth that she was not liked. Paikea had a soliloquy at the starting of the movie, where she manifests that “there was no gladness when I was born. My twin brother died and took my mother with him. Everyone was waiting for the first born boy to lead us, but he died and I didn’t” (Whale Rider, 2002).

Paikea’s self-awareness is shown during the song at the beginning of the seen she is the only girl and knows that she must present herself well and when the other boys start making fun of her the grandfather then steps in. Paikea demonstrates self-esteem when she goes to start the boat motor. Her grandfather had just told her how strong the rope is so she starts it and this is a major bost to her self esteem until the grandfather gets angry with her for starting it.

In this film, gender roles are very prevalent in the Native Americans. Women in the tribe, including Pocahontas, are supposed to collect corn, stay in the village, remain quiet when men are speaking and do what they are told. Men on the other hand are allowed to give their opinions, hunt outside of the village, and have all the power. Besides Pocahontas and Grandmother Willow, Nakoma is the only other female character in the film. She is Pocahontas’s best friend and the ideal woman from a males point of view in all movies.

Kahutia was thus renamed Paikea and known as the whale rider (“Maori Mythology and Legend of Paikea”). In the movie’s timeline, Pai is a descendent of Paikea. Ironically, Pai became the new chief and whale rider, by almost drowning herself and riding the whales.

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