The Whale Rider: Historical Framework

To focus on New Zealand, we watched a film called The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimarea. This was a very interesting movie that showed a lot of historical and cultural aspects. The main character, Pai, was a little girl who lost her twin brother at birth. It was always the dream of her grandfather to have a grandson that would take over their tribe. When he did not get his grandson he was horribly disappointed and his feelings showed through on his interactions with Pai. The culture of the tribe was something that was so important to the grandfather in order to keep the history alive in their culture. Pai went against the norms and acted more masculine than most other girls her age. She did all of these things in order to gain respect from her grandfather and not let her tribe down. This movie did a great job of showing the tight bond of the tribe that the characters were a part of as well as all of the traditions and customs that were present that were passed down from generation to generation.