The New Zealand drama, The Whale Rider, captures the story of a young girl who strived to earn the respect of her Grandfather, Koro. Paikea, the twelve-year-old girl shares her name with the leader who rode to shore on a whales back saving the Maori tribe. At birth Pai was born a twin but her brother never survived--this left Koro upset since he should have been the leader, a role that is meant for a man. The Maori culture was constantly brought out in the film, especially from Pai who strived to live up to her grandfather's expectations.
Pai tried to participate and watch as Koro taught the young Maori boys how to become leaders, yet she was the only one to bring back his whale tooth that was thrown into the sea for the young boys to retrieve, but all attempts were failed. Koro and Pai showed the true beauty of the culture through the land, schooling, and rituals such as praying and calling in the whales.
Excellent posting. I love the still you've chosen from the movie.
ReplyDeleteNice description of the film. This was my favorite part of the movie- great capture!
ReplyDelete-Lauren Checker
Great summary of the movie and capture too that was a tear jerker scene for me.
ReplyDelete- Kia Lee
I loved your opening sentence because it perfectly describes the movie. I like that you brought up how often the Maori culture was present in the film. I really enjoyed that the director incorporated this, it brought cultural value to the film. Great post!
ReplyDelete-Christina Sieb
Really good summary of the film. This scene was very heart wrenching and I think very important to the film. Good job!
ReplyDelete-Amy Wittlieff
This scene gave me all the feels (are the kids still saying that?...)! You described the movie well. Good job!
ReplyDelete- Jackie A.
I love learning about indigenous cultures so I loved this movie! I think your observation is really key to understanding this film because it is ironic that her grandfather is training all the young boys to be leaders, yet she is the only one with the qualifications to do so!
ReplyDelete-Amanda Roloff
Excellent summary! The culture was definitely shown through this movie in the aspects you listed, which made it easier to understand the story.
ReplyDelete-Noor K