A Few Whale Rider Themes

The movie Whale Rider was unlike most movies I have seen. I have never been exposed to those certain beliefs and customs, and I found the viewing experience quite enlightening. I also thought that the filmmakers did a very good job of developing the characters and portraying the different struggles that Paikea went through and had to overcome. For me, this was one of those movies that I could actually “get into.”
The gender segregation of Paikea and the first-born sons and the resulting conflicts were obvious themes to pick up on. Yet while viewing this movie and thinking about it afterwards, I noticed some other, perhaps more subtle ones. At the beginning of the movie, for example, Paikea’s grandfather made it clear that he was not happy with the fact that his son produced a daughter rather than a son. This was manifested in his apparently apathetic demeanor toward the news of his granddaughter and also when he was chanting over his dead grandson and told his wife to take the granddaughter out of the room—as if he did not want his granddaughter to be near a ritual so holy or special. When I saw this, my first reaction was something along the lines of “What a jerk.”
Yet as the movie progressed, it was clear to me that although Paikea’s grandfather was not happy he did not have a grandson, he still loved Paikea very much. He always picked her up from school and let her ride on his bike with him, and when it was time for Paikea to go back with her father, her grandfather gave her a very long hug and then watched out the window as they left. In my opinion, these are all indications of a loving feeling toward something. Even throughout the rest of the movie when Paikea’s grandfather would scold her and exclude her from the leadership school, I never got the feeling that he didn’t love her—just that he really believed a girl should not take part in those activities. I feel like although Paikea’s grandfather would rather have had a grandson, he still accepted her and grew to love her.
I also picked up on a subtle conflict between Paikea’s grandfather and her uncle, the second son. I recall a part in the movie when Paikea’s grandmother was telling Paikea about her uncle and how slim and fit he used to be. Paikea asked what happened for him to have changed so much, and her grandmother responded, “He was the second son.” There was also a time when Paikea’s grandfather and her uncle were in the boat with the students from the leadership school and the grandfather threw his whale tooth out into the ocean and told the boys to get it. Two of the boys stayed behind and when the grandfather looked to them for an explanation, Paikea’s uncle said something along the lines of “It’s ok.” From the grandfather’s behavior, I got the feeling that he did not think it was all right, and the uncle’s response seemed like a direct defiance to his father’s ways. I think that there was an obvious yet unstated conflict between these two characters (Paikea’s grandfather and uncle) because Paikea’s uncle was not the first born, and therefore had been written off by her grandfather. Furthermore, I think that when Paikea asked her uncle to teach her what was being taught in the leadership school, her uncle took it as an opportunity to prove to himself and others that he was worthy of knowing such ways even though he was the second son. All in all, I noticed many different themes and ideas presented in this movie, but these two were the ones that really got me thinking. I do believe that although he was extremely hard on her and sexist, Paikea’s grandfather really did love her—he was just completely convinced that she did not belong in that leadership school. I also feel that there was some tension between Paikea’s grandfather and her uncle, and that her uncle had not been taken so seriously because he was the second son and the grandfather’s first had left them.