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.

For the kid who might be the chief" (Whale). Paikea turns out to be strongly fascinated on this legend because of the way that she is the latest of the bloodline descendant, which implies she is prepared to make every one of the basic decisions of being a chief other than the reality of being female. The youthful heroic girl refers to the legend when contrasting with herself as an approach to empower her rising as the current bloodline descendant. She keeps on participating in the myth all through the movie with a specific end goal to express her enthusiasm for her way of life (William, 3).

In the beginning of the movie, we learn that the Maori tribe only allows the first born son to become the next chief. This custom is broken when Porourangi’s son dies at birth, but his twin sister, Paikea, lives. As she grows older, she develops a close relationship with her grandparents as her father leaves to pursue a sculpting career in Germany. Once, Paikea takes interest in Koro’s cultural school, he condemns her and blames her for the conflicts occurring within the village. Paikea must take on the challenge of getting her grandfather’s approval to claim her birthright.

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.

Blackfish is a shocking film that reveals a lot of information regarding Sea Worlds famous known “Killer Whales”. These enormous whales are highly trained by trainers of Sea World who perform for thousands daily. The film uses the tragic tale of Tillikum to support their many claims and an investigation of the Sea World

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

The legend of Hi’iaka and Pele is a story of betrayal, jealousy and revenge. But also an explanation of the powerful effect of love and how it has no limitation. This myth also connects to the Reeves and Leslie family from their Hawaiian ethnic origin. The family comes from the Royal bloodline of Kauikeaouli or Kamehameha The Third. In their belief, the main Hawaiian spiritual protector is the Goddess Pelehonuamea (the fire Goddess) and they ask her for many different qualities to perpetuate their homeland and to keep the Big island healthy. This Goddess is also the one responsible to forming more of the early Hawaii island, helps push away storms and grant the local people the aspects of life that they surely need. Also, one of the family

When I was born, my twin brother died and took our mother with him” (Whale). This shows that the grandfather had no joy when Pai was born because all he wanted was the boy so he could choose him to be the next chief, according to the tradition. Afterward, when Pai eventually became the first female leader of the tribe, the entire community changed.

The film Whale Rider is based around a family living on the East Coast of New Zealand, in Whangara. The film revolves around two characters, Koro and his granddaughter Paikea. Koro is the chief in his village and he is growing old meaning soon he will have to pass down his title. Staying true to his history of passing down his

The biggest gender role breakthrough for this tribe is when Paikea finally 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

Her father is used to show how Perpetua is more rational than him, a man who is supposed to be the manly leader and breadwinner of the house. Her father quickly loses authority of himself over his daughter’s decision to remain a Catholic even if it leads to her demise. He pleads with her three different times, each time becoming more frantic and desperate. The first is when he comes to visit her and prison and asks her to deny her Christian faith which she refuses saying she “cannot be called anything other than what she is, a Christian.” (pg. 48)

Pao-Chai being the consistently considerate person she is, gives most of her presents to her family, especially Tai-Yu. Everyone is very grateful for her presents, except for, and ironically, Tai-yu. However, she is not upset because of from who the presents came from but from where. The presents originated from the south which once again reminds her of parents. Once again, Pao-Yu comes to the rescue.

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.