Whale Rider Analysis

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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