Whale rider, a film written and directed by Niki Caro, explores the journey of a young girl Paikea and her struggles as she fights for her rightful place as chief. Facing tradition and her grandfather Koro, she tests gender norms and conventional ways of living. The film demonstrates the ways tradition and culture shape the present and future in both positive and negative ways. Relationships between family and friends, change of customs and lifestyle as well as gender roles are explored to create a new and improved society. Throughout the film Koro was unable and unwilling to see Pai’s full potential, however after many major events it becomes clear Paikea is meant to be a leader and Koro begins to trust her and open his eyes to the possibility of a bright new future for him and his tribe.
The responsibilities that Koro has as a leader, significantly affects his relationships with others. In the process of trying to keep his traditions alive, Koro ignores Pai as he does not see a purpose for her. He claims “She’s no use to me” which clearly states to Nanny Flowers, Porourangi and Paikea that it would be best if she went back to live with her father. In Koro’s mind, she is just in his way, stopping him from continuing his cultural practices. If Koro was not so stressed about his customs staying the same, he would not have neglected his granddaughter so much. Whilst Koro may have been portrayed as a slightly negative character, “He has a lot of rules to live by” as Nanny
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
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.
The first reason why I want to participate in NSLI-Y is because I will expand on my language ability. I am currently taking Mandarin Chinese at school, and I have been learning numerous amounts of new words and phrases in class. However, I believe that stepping foot into the country can help me learn more than what I learn in my class. When going to the actual country, I can pick up on tone and fluency more easily, as well as learn modern slang terms and writing. The second reason for participating would be to bond with students. Living in Iowa my whole life, I have not witnessed as much diversity as individuals from certain other states. I become enthusiastic when new exchange students enroll in the school I attend. The students always seem
Many in the world struggle to keep sight of who they are in a society that pushes its expectations upon people. Everyone has different ideas and experiences dealing with the world around them, and depending on who one is, simply staying true to one’s core identity can be a challenge. As Ralph Waldo Emerson, an accomplished poet, wrote, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” I agree, as constant exposure to a world that prefers a person in a different form gets exhausting, and it takes true strength to persevere in spite of that. Whale Rider, Things Fall Apart, and Danger of a Single Story all provide solid evidence that the environment around a person affects their
The film “Whale Rider” is an example of gender discrimination. It is a story about a girl, Paikea, who wants to be the new leader of her tribe. Paikea Apirana is the female protagonist of the film. She is an 11 year old girl, who was born into the Whangara patriarchal tribe. But Maori tradition states that only a male can carry the knowledge and be the leader of the tribe. Because of this, her grandfather, Koro the current leader, does not allow her to join in the leader training. She never gives up. And finally, she becomes the first female leader of the Maori tribe.
“About 41 percent of those surveyed said their mothers did their laundry” (Cite). Many people today depend on their parents because they have been too strict or overly involved in their lives. We see this in many parts of society, such as that about 40 percent of college students still depend on their parents to do simple tasks like laundry. Shattering Glass, by Gail Giles, is about four boys trying to make a loner into one of the most popular kids in school. As they try to make him well liked, a fatal consequence happens.
They move by swinging their tails. Though they are heavy , they move quickly. In winter , they will swim from the Arctic Ocean to the South Pacific . In South worm sea area, whale mother gives birth to whale baby. Then in summer, they will return their home.
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.
Rawiri plays an important role in the novel which helped unfolding the events, ranging from minor to significant ones. He relates the events in the ‘Whale Rider’ as the role of the narrator, allowing the readers to form judgements and learn about things such as the Maori way of life and the characters through his eyes. He also give us his insights as he highlights themes and issues mentioned, like racial discrimination. Besides that, he is the one who sees the many signs of Kahu’s destiny as the leader of the tribe, piecing up a complete picture of her eventual rise as the leader. Additionally, he is her guardian, always protecting and looking out for her. With his carefree personality, he often provides comic relief especially in times of
Lighting and colour theory is an often overlooked aspect of filmmaking which can have drastic effects on the perceptions of the audience, the atmosphere, and the watchability of the film. In The Book Thief they use lighting and colour to show ideas about locations and perceptions and perceptions of characters. One such way colour is used is the vibrant greens used in the wealthier area of the town, compared to the shades of grey predominant in the majority of the town. This change in colour shows the audience that the rich weren’t as badly affected by that which affected the rest of the town. Secondly, lighting was used in the scene wherein Liesel meets Max when he wakes up for the first time. In this scene Max wakes up and sees Liesel, but
The Whale Rider by Niki Caro is a film about a young girl, Paikea’s journey to acceptance from her grandfather. This film explores many themes such as feminism, family and conflict. One of the main conflicts explored throughout this film is the conflict between Nanny Flowers and Koro, Paikea’s grandparents. Conflict is an important issue in this film because it causes rupture among an already fractured family.
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.
John Longridge agrees to take care of his friend’s three pets, Luath, a young Labrador, Bodger, an old Bull Terrier, and Tao, a Siamese cat while the family is out of the country. Everything is fine until Longridge lives on a trip and the pets decide to find their way home on their own through the outback of the Canadian wilderness. Each of the pets faces an almost life ending peril during the trip. Bodger is attacked by a baby bear, Tao almost drowns in a river, and Luath suffers from severe infection from porcupine quills. Along the way the three friends encounter many different people, some are helpful and others are downright mean to them. But at the end of the story, they are reunited safe and sound with their family. The themes of
Everyone has a dream, whether it may be becoming an astronomer or going to UCLA, but for a student like me, that is not my dream. Although I am presented with endless possibilities of what I should do for a career, my dream is to have a job that I love, a nice house, and a carefree life. To achieve this dream, I know there are things that need to be done first, like attending school, getting into a four-year university. On this path, I am sure I will encounter obstacles that will try to deter me from my goal, but I will persevere till the end because I know the prize that awaits me at the finish line will be worth the years of effort I had spent on this dream.
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