The Whale Rider!
First I wanted to say what I thought about the movie...
I was kind of split on this. I liked the movie, but I can't really say why. The little girl really was an amazing actress, and I really could understand how much she was hurting from not being accepted. The topic itself was slightly confusing though. I don't know if it was simply because they didn't explain it enough or what but I was slightly confused most of the time.
Ok, now for the actual discussion stuff. I wanted to ask everyone why they thought that the makers of the film used that topic. Why was it from a community or society that not very many belong to or can really relate to? Also, they didn't really explain its customs. For example, I wasn't sure if the girl wasn't allowed because the grandpa simply didn't want her to or if it really just wasn't allowed by the customs. You would think that they would have used another society, such as africans, like in hotel rwanda. But they only had one person that was being discriminated against, one little girl. So I was kind of confused on that and was wondering what everyone thought on why they did that...
Another thing that i really liked in the movie is how it really related to Blindness... I know we haven't technically read this yet, but chad was talking about how the wife of the doctor still felt compassion for the people that had hurt her and others. I thought that this was just like the girl after she had moved out of her grandpa's house, yet she still came back, and still had enough compassion/love for him to talk to him and ask him to come to her play. Just an observation!
5 comments:
Perhaps one of the reasons the filmmakers used this particular community was to show that even in a small, close-knit community, there are still rifts that can cause conflict. I was completely ignorant of this particular community and its customs, but when watching the beginning I got the impression that because it was a small community, eveyone knew each other, everyone would be there for each other, and that someting as insignificant as gender would not get in the way of that sense of connectedness. But as the movie progressed, my initial predictions were obviously wrong. Here you have the grandfather teaching the few first-born sons how to become leaders, but none of the daughters or even second-born sons. And although we only saw the relationship between the girl and her grandfather, this segregation must have caused some conflicts among other families, friends, brothers, sisters. As an outsider, one may think that there is nothing wrong or that these practices are accepted by everyone in that community--but this movie illustrated that this is not the case.
It is also possible that the filmmakers chose this particular community and way of life simply to educate people about the different people and customs out there. As I mentioned before, I was completely ignorant of this lifestyle, and besides the philosophical questions it raised, it was a good educational video.
I think it would be interesting to do some outside research on the backgrounds and beliefs of the individual filmmakers to see if that had any bearing on the making of the film, too.
Although I am not from the community, I could relate. Demanding family, high expectations, parents who want one thing from a child and not accepting or encouraging what the child is. Love and pride in a community. Or even how a community wracked by few opportunities affected everyone in that community. Could others relate? Or not?
You say: "But they only had one person that was being discriminated against, one little girl." -- Here I think it was clear that all women in this society had certain roles to fulfill or expectations placed on them -- the wife even said "he may be the ruler out there, but I am in charge in here (the kitchen)" -- Likewise, many times the mother bit her tongue when you could see she clearly wanted to stand up for the girl. Also, the boys were being taught "roles" that in some way were discrinitory -- how to treat girls, not to cry, to take pain and make "enemies" afraid, etc.
Others?
I think that the reason the writer of this story set it in a small-enclosed community is so viewers could understand it more easily, not to confuse them. The whole world of the film takes place on a small portion of land in New Zealand, and the viewer recognizes this and accepts it as part of the storytelling style. The story is told like a legend or a myth. The message is very obvious, but powerful at the same time. It is not supposed to offer a worldview perspective or even be realistic. It’s supposed to teach its audience a lesson, and I believe this film did an excellent job of that.
The messages should jump right out. The two main one’s are that women should not be excluded because they are just as capable as men, and that having faith will lead to spiritual fulfillment. The interesting thing about this film is that these two themes usually contradict each other. That is what Whale Rider explores. Karo (the grandfather) keeps to the strict cultural values of the religion that they follow, while Paikea attempts to break the barriers of the culture to become who she is meant to be. There are a lot of parallels of this in our society, mainly from a religious standpoint. Women have always been looked down upon in orthodox Christianity. They are not allowed to hold positions in the church, they are restricted from certain kinds of work, and they are expected to do other kinds. Even the first book of the Bible says that the origin of sin came from woman, not man. Whale Rider looks at this from another point of view so our society can realize our own faults. It is much easier to look at Paikea and feel for her and want the town to accept her than it would be to look at a movie about Christianity and expect an Orthodox Catholic to want a woman to become a priest, or even worse, a prophet.
I don’t think I understand/ agree with comparing Whale Rider to Blindness. I do not really think that the doctor’s wife feeling compassion for the rogues or the couples making love relates very well to the feelings Paikea has and returning back home to her grandfather. When the doctor’s wife feels compassion to the rogues, even though they were terrorizing all of the blind people, withholding the food and even violently raping the women, I think she is mostly feeling sad for them and everyone else. I think she feels this way towards them because, mostly, she is just sad for the position everyone is in and everything they are going through, not just because the people around her are blind. I’m not sure if I can express this idea very well, but in a way, I think you can feel sorry for the situation someone is in, even when they are doing something horrible.
In The Whale Rider, this would be like feeling sad or compassionate towards the grandfather, even though he is treating Paikea unfairly, but I do not agree that this is what Paikea feels. I do not think that Paikea comes back to her grandfather because she feels compassionate towards him, or in any way like the doctor’s wife feels towards the rogues. I think Paikea returns because that community in New Zealand with her grandparents has been her home all her life and she does not want to leave the comfort she feels there. I do not think considered leaving because her of her grandfather, because it is not until after she almost leaves that grandfather starts up the new school and really discriminates against his granddaughter, Paikea.
I thought the whale rider was a very good movie. When it first started I was a little hesitant to whether or not I was going to enjoy it but I definitely stayed interested. Although no one mentioned this above, I don't recall them mentioning it anyways, one part that struck me was how Paikea father left her to grow up with her grandparents. Her mother had dies therefore all she really had in her immediate family was her father but he was barely ever around. I guess I don't understand why he didn't stick around or keep her. She was supposively no use to the grandpa so why did the grandparents agree to take her and raise her?
The next part I found interesting was how the grandfather did in fact grow to love her and care for her but yet still when the time came and she upset him, he could be so cruel. As mentuoned above I really did not know much about that culture. However, based on what I know about families, even when a child messes up or breaks the most expensive thing in the house, the parents always forgive the child within a couple minutes. He kicked her out of the house and would not speak to her for the longest time. I guess I have a hard time understanding how someone can do that as well.
Maybe the producer chose this setting because it allows us to see a different lifestyle. Obviously the men were the dominant figures in the movie. But I like how the girl ends up carrying out the role only a man was suppose to be able to do. It shows that people just have to have the will power, and then they can do anything. Paikea proved herself worthy and useful to the grandpa, I just think it was a shame he was so hard and cruel to her at times before she did.
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