Whale Rider

Few months back or about a year ago, I saw a video on Facebook that bewildered me. It was a wedding that was held in New Zealand, and the bride and bridegroom were standing in front of a group of men, and all of a sudden a war cry started. Initially, I was appalled, and amazed at the same time. I questioned myself, why were they screaming in that manner while banging their chest, and stomping their feet? Then as I Googled, I became aware of the tradition of the Maori people. Here is the link to the video, though I initially saw it on my Facebook news feed, I wanted to learn more about their culture, so I found the video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUbx-AcDgXo

The movie Whale Rider took me deeper into understanding their culture, and I love learning new cultures. Their language sounds so unique, their tradition, the way they greet each other by touching each other’s nose, and they most importantly, they take pride in who they are. This movie also touched on how a little girl called Paikea strives to prove her grandfather, Koro that she is worthy to uphold the lines of chiefs, which implies that every woman deserves a chance to show what they are capable of.

One thing I observed throughout the movie was how patient Pai was with her grandfather. The grandfather sort of resented her, because whenever he looks at her, he thinks of the baby boy who could become the future chief. However, at the same time, he loved her. A concept that could relate how Koro was feeling would be cognitive dissonance. Koro sees Pai as unworthy, but still loves her unconditionally. Getting back, to how patient Pai was, knowing her age in the movie, she is matured enough to know that whatever Koro said to her was not really his intention to hurt her. A scene that could exemplify her maturity, was after Koro told Porourangi that she is no use to him, Pai went to the shore, and her father came along to comfort her, and she said “He didn’t mean it..about me”. Most kids in her age would rebel, or sulk or not talk to their parents after such thing happens, but she did not because you can see that Pai really, really loves Koro more than anyone in the world, and she has she never raised her voice, even though she really wanted his approval.

This movie also served a good message for woman empowerment. Paikea was raised in a patriarchal tribe, and only the first born male has the rights to become the chief. However, a tragedy occurred and they lost the first born, therefore putting Pai next in line, but she is a female, so Koro had to find another alternative. But, throughout the movie, we saw that Pai was the obvious one to become chief, she has everything that a future chief should have, she is no different than the boys who came for Koro’s class to learn their ancestors’ ways and traditions. We can relate this to the glass ceiling effect that women are facing today. Even though we are living in the 21^st century, there are still not many women holding higher titles in the corporate world. We know women are as good as any men out there, but still we struggle to climb up the corporate ladder. I am starting to become a feminists, and I think both genders or all genders should have equality in everything and anything.

In short, I loved the movie, it was an eye opener to the Maori culture, their language, their tradition and customs, and I am particularly still dazed by the Haka dance. It is a wonderful family movie which I think would inspire anyone, especially young girls out there, that with the patience and determination like Pai, you too can be a ‘chief’ one day.