‘My nameisPaikea ApiranaandIcomefromalongline ofchiefs,stretching all theway backtotheWhale Rider.I’mnotaprophet, butIknow thatour people willkeep goingforward, all together, withall ofourstrength.’ Whale

Rider

ISSUE 35 ISSUE AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION SCREEN AUSTRALIAN  STUDYGUIDE Kate Raynor Introduction

In the small New Zealand coastal village of Whangara, the local Maoris claim descent from Paikea, the Whale Rider. The legend tells how their ancient ancestor was saved by a whale when his canoe overturned. He arrived in Aotearoa on the whale’s back. In every genera- tion since, a male heir has succeeded to the title of chief, but now it seems that the bloodline will be broken. The current chief, Koro, has a son, Porourangi, who is expecting twins. But when Porourangi’s wife and son die in childbirth, he is overcome with grief and flees the town, abandoning the surviving twin, a girl. Before he leaves, he names the infant Paikea, in hon- our of the family legacy. She is raised by her grandparents, but Koro is unable to accept his granddaughter as a future leader. Believing that the tribe’s misfortunes began at Pai’s birth, he calls for his people to bring their first-born sons to him, hoping that a new leader will be re- vealed. Pai loves Koro deeply, but she feels compelled to challenge him and the generations of tradition that stand between her and her destiny.

Whale Rider is a film of intense emo- levels, but could be adapted fairly eas- • What did you most like/dislike tion. It shows us myth and magic ily to other years. Relevant key learning about this film? mixed through everyday domesticity, areas include: English, Media Studies, • Does this film remind you of any an idea of the sacred somehow im- Gender and Indigenous Issues. other films? mersed in quotidian detail. And in Pai, • Does this film make you reflect on the film gives us an archetypal heroine, Key Words your own personal circumstances? equal parts stubborn determination • What personal qualities (and experi- and fragile vulnerability. Keisha Castle- Aotearoa: New Zealand ences) do you share with Pai? In Hughes’ performance has been widely te reo: Maori language what ways are you different? acclaimed; it is a revelation, a tribute kaumatua: elder to stillness and restraint. The other rangatira: chief Focus on Film key performances are similarly subtle wharenui: meeting house and nuanced. Whale Rider offers an tikanga: customs • Encourage the students to take intimate portrait of Maori life; but it also whakapapa: genealogy notes during the screening, record- tells a classic story about family, the tapu: sacred ing scene changes, key narrative expectations and disappointments, and waka: canoe events and significant dialogue. the tangled lines of conflict and esteem haka: dance After the screening, construct a ISSUE 35 that draw the generations together. karanga: call timeline showing the sequence of karakia: prayer events in the film. AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION Curriculum Links taiaha: fighting stick • Write a brief description of the mau rakau: stick fighting major characters in the film. Whale Rider is rated PG (adult themes, moko/mokopuna: grandchild • Write a detailed account of the low level coarse language) and is 102 marae: meeting place film’s opening and closing sequenc- minutes long. Many of the themes re- pakeha: white person es. These are privileged moments late to family life, and would be appro- in any film, and in a film as care- priate for students from upper primary PART ONE: FILM ACTIVITIES fully and poetically constructed as right through to VCE. The activities and AND DISCUSSION POINTS Whale Rider, close attention here discussion points that follow are largely can aid in unpacking the film as a  aimed at middle to senior secondary Personal Reactions whole. Consider Koro’s first words ISSUE 35 AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION

 to his son after his terrible loss, under the appropriate headings. unavailable, the teacher may choose the first words we hear him utter • Leon Narbey, the film’s director one particular scene and the class in the film: ‘Where’s the boy?’ This of photography, says, ‘Our key can work as a whole on the activity.) encapsulates his quest throughout concern was naturalism’. What is This exercise could form the basis of the course of the film. He impa- naturalism? What elements of the a class presentation. tiently tells his wife to take his new film are particularly naturalistic? granddaughter away—he’s more in- • Make a list of the visual and aural The Title terested in his dead grandson than cues in the film’s opening sequence his live granddaughter. But Nanny that convey to the audience infor- • Explain the significance of the film’s Flowers is a formidable woman. mation about how poorly Porour- title. She replies, ‘No, you acknowledge angi’s wife’s labour is progressing. • Invent another title that you think your granddaughter’. This cuts to (For example: distorted close-ups evokes a sense of the film. the heart of Whale Rider and the of anguished faces, including a core of Koro and Pai’s relationship: concerned look on the doctor’s Voice-Over acknowledgment. The newborn face; images of tears and sweat; baby settles quickly in Koro’s strong shots of the lights in the operating • Do you think the voice-over is an arms, and Flowers says wisely, ‘She room; blurry, out-of-focus shots of effective device? likes you’. the woman’s mouth and parts of • Transcribe a passage of Pai’s • How would you describe the tone the baby’s face; oxygen mask.) Also narration. How does it function? of the film? discuss how this sequence func- What insights does it offer? Does • Do you think this film has a feminist tions in terms of the use of Pai’s it intensify spectator identification sensibility? Explain your answer. voice-over, the intercut shots of the with Pai? • Could this film be set in any other whales, and the music. time and place? Music • Design a poster to promote the film. Close Analysis Use annotations to explain your • How would you describe the music ISSUE 35 decisions. • Choose one scene that you found that is used during the scenes in • What might have motivated the particularly powerful, and provide a which we see the whales? AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION filmmakers to tell this particular close and detailed analysis of this story? scene, attempting to account for its Setting • Write an outline for a sequel to impact. Make reference to the use Whale Rider. What might happen to of music/sound, camera move- • Describe Whangara. Pai over the next ten years? ment, performance style, dramatic • Describe Koro and Flowers’ home. • The film has been described as com- or symbolic incident, and anything • Describe Uncle Rawiri’s home. bining elements of comedy, trag- else that you observe enhances the edy and mysticism. Draw up three scene’s effect. (Students need to Comprehension Questions columns under those headings and watch their chosen scene several  place as many scenes as possible times. Alternatively, if this facility is 1. What happens during the slide ISSUE 35 AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION

 show of Porourangi’s art? and that his German girlfriend is 9. Koro takes to his bed and Pai is 2. What does Koro say about Porour- pregnant. sent to stay with her uncle and his angi’s sculptures? 2. ‘It’s not work, it’s souvenirs.’ girlfriend. Pai says, ‘It’s quiet down 3. Why is Pai unable to leave with her 3. She looks out to the sea from the deep. Koro needed quiet. That’s father? car and tells her father to stop. what Nanny said. He didn’t want to 4. What does Koro do when Pai There is a suggestion she feels talk anymore. He just wanted to go returns and announces brightly, ‘I’m the spirit of the whales and cannot down and down’. back’? leave. We hear the music associ- 10 Pai is wearing the whale tooth in 5. At the sacred school, Koro tells Pai, ated with the whales and see the film’s final sequence, signifying ‘You’re a girl, go to the back’. What underwater shots of them. her grandfather’s recognition of her does she do? 4. He says coldly, ‘Not now Pai’. She rightful place as the community’s 6. What does the scene in which Pai demands recognition: ‘But I’m spiritual leader. As he sits by her speeds past the busload of boys on back. I’m back!’ He turns back to bed in hospital, waiting for her to her bike tell us? the two men he is meeting with, regain consciousness, he says, 7. What does the golf trophy signify? and she slams the door on her way ‘Wise leader, forgive me. I am just a 8. One of the boys almost grabs out. fledgling new to flight’. The neck- Koro’s whale-tooth necklace in 5. She refuses and is finally sent away. lace is the physical embodiment of ‘the final test, the test of the spirit’. 6. It demonstrates her physical this acknowledgment, and he has What happens? strength and her competitive spirit. placed it around her neck while she 9. What happens after the boys fail to 7. It suggests how damaging Koro’s lay in hospital. retrieve his necklace? rigid adherence to tradition has 10. Who is wearing the whale-tooth at been to his entire family: before he PART TWO: CHARACTERS the end of the film and what does ignored Pai’s gifts, he treated his AND RELATIONSHIPS this symbolize? own son in a similar way. It’s a sym- bol of wasted potential and loss. Pai: A Young Girl in a Male ISSUE 35 Answers And it’s also a sign of the tension World between Western and Maori cul- AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION 1. Koro walks through the sheet upon tures and the Maori ability to adapt: • Draw a diagram of Pai’s family tree. which the images are being pro- there are no actual trophies for mau • The film’s director, Niki Caro, says jected, bringing Pai’s teacher with rakau (stick fighting), but with a little of casting the central role: ‘I didn’t him. This suggests another level ingenuity, the golf trophy serves as want a child actor, I wanted a at which he wishes to control his well. (In a similar fashion, we see real child’. What do you think she son, choosing a wife for him. The Rawiri and Pai using broom-sticks means by this? strategy backfires, causing embar- and billiard cues as their taiaha.) • The casting director saw 10,000 rassment all around, when one of 8. Two boys struggle with each other children before narrowing the selec- the slides leads to the revelation and because of their failure to co- tion down to twelve, who partici-  that Porourangi has fallen in love operate, neither can grab it. pated in a workshop. Caro says, ISSUE 35 AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION

 • We see two of Pai’s school concerts parallels can you discover? in the film. Discuss the contrast be- • Why does Koro say of Pai, ‘She’s tween them. (Note: at the first one, no use to me’? she is excited because her father • Why doesn’t Koro pick Pai up after will be attending and she has not school as he has done for years? seen him for a long time. She takes • Does Koro blame Pai for the the traditional performance very problems besetting his commu- seriously, but one of the other chil- nity? (Consider moments such dren farts and tries to make a joke as the scene on the beach when of it all. At the second performance, Pai reaches out to touch one of she is waiting for her grandfather to the whales. Koro stops her, say- come as her guest of honour, but ing cruelly, ‘Leave it. You’ve done he never makes it.) enough’.) • Pai’s speech at the second concert is one of the pivotal moments in the Nanny Flowers: Wisdom and film. She introduces it by saying, Strength ‘This speech is a token of my deep love and respect for Koro Apirana, • Describe the relationship between ‘Keisha [Castle-Hughes] just shone. my grandfather’. But the chair Koro and Flowers. She’s an astonishing actor. She’s where he should be sitting is empty. • Flowers says: ‘He isn’t my chief. I’m the heart of our film and she’s a gift. Write your own speech, detailing his chief’. Is she right? I just can’t imagine trying to make it where you come from and who your • She also tells Pai, ‘Sometimes with anyone other than her’. Make a people are. Pai invited Koro as her you’ve just got to let him think that list of the qualities you imagine the guest of honour. Who would you in- he’s the boss’. Pai says, ‘He is the casting agent and director would vite as your guest of honour? Why? boss’, but Nanny bristles: ‘Not of have been looking for in their young • Describe a moment in your life me. I let him think he is though’. star. when you felt a tremendous sense What do her asides about their • Kenneth Turan, in his review of the of achievement. relationship suggest about their film forThe Los Angeles Times, de- • Make a list of all the elements that marriage and about the strategies scribes Pai as ‘small and [as] stub- inform our sense of identity: for women use to survive within rigid born as Joan of Arc’. (For reference example, age, sex, county of origin, patriarchal structures? details on this and other reviews country of residence, religion, • Make a note of all the times she mentioned throughout the guide, ethnicity, interests, financial situ- jokes about divorce. (For example, see the reference list at the end.) ation, historic period in which one she cradles the newborn Pai in her What other colourful and evoca- lives. Draw up two columns, one for arms and tells the infant, ‘You say tive descriptions can you come up yourself and one for Pai. Now note the word and I’ll get a divorce’. Lat- with? Make a list of Pai’s qualities. down each element, highlighting er she tells her friends that if Koro Does she remind you of any other similarities and differences between is cross with Pai staying in their characters? you and Pai. house, ‘he can sleep in the road’. • Why is Pai’s age significant? Dis- She also growls at him, ‘You might cuss the idea of early adolescence Koro: The King Lear of as a transitional time. Whangara • Could you describe the film as a coming-of-age story? (Perhaps with • Do you have sympathy for Koro? an emphasis on a spiritual rather Why/why not? than sexual awakening?) • Where does Koro’s anger come • What does Pai learn over the from? ISSUE 35 course of the film? • Is there a sense in which the film • Pai tells Nanny Flowers, ‘It’s not could be seen to argue that tradi- AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION Koro’s fault that I’m a girl’. Do you tional values must give way to femi- think Pai wishes she had been born nist principles? Shouldn’t Koro be a boy? allowed to feel sad and conflicted • Philip Matthews, in his review of that so many generations of male the film forThe Listener, says that rule have come to an end? Castle-Hughes ‘will make all audi- • What does Koro mean when he ences respond like parents: you will says, ‘You don’t mess around with worry for her, feel for her and feel sacred things’? proud of her’. Does this fit with your • Niki Caro says the role of Koro is a  response to her? re-working of King Lear. How many be the boss out there, but I’m the came ‘fat and ugly, you should have boss in this kitchen’.) Do you think seen him, he was beautiful’. When that she would ever divorce him? asked what happened to him, she (Consider the moment during their answers simply, ‘I don’t know … he attempt to save the whale, when was the second son’. What does the rope snaps and the people are this mean? How important is birth hurled backwards into the surf. In order in your family? What number amidst all the confusion, Flowers’ child are you? Does this position first instinct is to reach out for Koro, account for perceived differences in to stop him from falling.) the way your parents treat you and • If Pai had drowned, do you think your siblings? Flowers would have blamed Koro? • Could Rawiri have been a good • What is Nanny Flowers’ position in chief? the community? (Consider mo- • Why can’t Koro see his potential? ments such as when she prevents • On the beach with the whales, two of the men in the audience for when Rawiri tells his father that the the school concert leaving; and people are too exhausted to lead when she refuses to begin the the whale back out to sea, Koro opening ceremony for the school says simply, ‘They’ll do it for you’. • Whale Rider details the complicated until Pai has arrived. She makes a Is this an acknowledgement of sets of expectations that operate point of telling Pai, in front of Koro, Rawiri’s leadership qualities? within and between three genera- ‘Girls are welcome’.) tions of this one Maori family. In a • There are many moments in the Hemi, A Friend For Pai particularly moving scene, Pai asks film that depict Flowers as Pai’s her father why Koro doesn’t want champion. During the first concert, • Describe Hemi’s face when his her. Porourangi says, ‘He’s just when Pai leads the ceremonial father applauds his chant. looking for something that doesn’t performance, Flowers turns to Koro • Why does Hemi cry after his father exist anymore—a prophet’. The and says, ‘No good to you, you leaves? young girl wonders, ‘Is that why reckon?’ Do you have someone in • Hemi tells Pai he wants to go away he’s so hard on you?’ Her father your life who will staunchly defend with his father. What does the film answers, ‘I can’t be what he wants’. you, no matter what? Describe a have to say about the importance And Pai says sadly, tears on her situation in your life where someone of fathers? face, ‘Me neither’. Make a list of six stuck up for you. • Imagine you are Hemi. Write a brief things that your parents expect of • Why doesn’t Nanny Flowers return account of your feelings about your you. What do you expect of them? Koro’s whale tooth to him when she father, your pride at his attending • Have you ever been disappointed first receives it from Rawiri? She your performance, and your subse- by your parents? Have you ever felt says, ‘He’s not ready yet’. What quent disappointment. that you have disappointed them? does she mean? • Describe an event in your life when • Discuss the following exchange it was very important to you that between father and first-born son. Kind Uncle Rawiri a friend or family member was Porourangi: ‘Look at me, for once present. in your life. Go on. You don’t even • There’s a sense in which Rawiri • Imagine you are Hemi’s father. know who I am’. watches Koro treating Pai the way Describe your relationship with your Koro: ‘I know who you were meant he himself has been treated since son. What is your life like? What do to be, who you were born to be’. he was a boy. He uses humour you do with your friends? What do • In this film, father and son disa- to cope with his father’s harsh you hope for your son? Why is your gree over the son’s choices in life. dismissal of him. When his older life the way it is? Have you ever disagreed with your ISSUE 35 brother returns, he tells Pai, ‘Let • Why isn’t Hemi allowed on the boat parents over important life choices? these important guys have their with the other boys? If so, have you been able to resolve AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION talk’—acknowledging that in this • How does Hemi treat Pai? Give the conflict? How? family, he is not important. Despite concrete examples from the film. • Write a profile of one of your grand- the way he has been rejected, he • How do you think Hemi felt when parents. What sort of influence has is kind and compassionate. When Koro wouldn’t allow him to join the this relative had on your life? two of the young boys are unable other boys in the boat? • Koro talks to Porourangi about the to join in the underwater chase for balance between privileges and the whale’s tooth—one has a cold The Texture of Family responsibilities. How do you under- and the other can’t swim—he tells Relationships: Generational stand this relationship? them gently, ‘That’s all right’. Nanny Conflict, Expectation and • Write a short story that begins with Flowers says that before Rawiri be- Disappointment the following lines: ‘There was no  gladness when I was born. When I film has won. Imagine you are the Indigenous Affairs was born, my twin brother died and film’s director. Write an acceptance took our mother with him’. speech for one of these awards. • Niki Caro showed the Ngato Konohi • Because of his adherence to • Philip Matthews, in his review of the tribe the final cut ofWhale Rider, ancient traditional beliefs about film forThe Listener, calls the film seeking their approval. Consultation male leadership, Koro is unable to ‘a celebration’. What do you think with Maori elders was an important see the brilliant leader he has right he means? What do you think it part of the process of making the before him. Have you ever felt that celebrates? film. How important is such sensi- someone in your family was unable • For a negative review, see: tivity to cultural nuance? Is there a to recognize your strengths? Have http://worldfilm.about.com/cs/ sense in which the film acts as an you in turn ever failed to see a rela- australianfilms/fr/whalerider.htm. anthropological artefact? Make a tive or friend for what they truly are? The reviewer calls Whale Rider ‘this list of other films about indigenous year’s pandering faux-foreign suc- peoples (for example, Walkabout PART FOUR: FILM IN cess’, and says that it ‘pretends to [Nicolas Roeg, 1971], Dances With CONTEXT be a heart-warming tale of female Wolves [Kevin Costner, 1990], Black self-realization … [V]iewers every- Robe [Bruce Beresford, 1991], Audience where can congratulate themselves Jedda [Charles Chauvel, 1955]). on being more open-minded about What particular problems and • Who do you think Whale Rider is ancient traditions than the stubborn challenges do these films need to aimed at? Describe the type of au- chieftain’. Discuss this divergent navigate? dience that would be most recep- opinion. • In her article on the film, B. Ruby tive to it. Make a list of three other • Many of the positive reviews praise Rich notes that New Zealand was films that the intended audience for the film for being emotional without the first country to grant women Whale Rider might also enjoy. Ex- being sentimental; the few nega- (including Maori women) the vote. plain your selection, e.g., similarity tive reviews criticize the film for This happened in 1893, decades of theme or tone, style of storytell- being sentimental. Discuss this before the United States, Canada ing. idea of sentimentality. Why has the and Europe amended their consti- term become so pejorative? What tutions to recognize women voters. Critical Reception exactly is wrong with being senti- In this context, Rich writes, ‘I begin mental? How can you distinguish to understand the tradition from • Use the Internet to establish a between emotion and sentiment? which Whale Rider draws, one of sense of the film’s critical reception. female leadership, courage, racial Compile two lists, one detailing The Universal in the Culturally and cultural equity and political en- five negative comments levelled at Specific gagement’. Do you think this story the film, the other list noting five could be convincingly translated to aspects of the film that have been Grant Major, the film’s production de- an Australian setting? What can you praised. Now make your own list, signer, claims, ‘Although Whale Rider is find out about the differences be- putting into point form what you a very local story … it’s [also] a classic tween the rights and relative status see as the film’s strengths and story which can be re-told in differ- of Maoris and Indigenous Austral- weaknesses. ent ways’. On a similar note, Niki Caro ians? • Why do you think the film has been says, ‘My intention was to make Whale • Koro says Porourangi has left the so successful internationally? Rider totally universal, not just local’. community because ‘It hurts you to • Peter Travers, in his review of the She speaks of drawing universality out see what’s happening to us’. What film forRolling Stone, calls Whale of cultural specificity. sort of things might he be referring Rider a ‘crowd-pleaser’. What does to? What do you know about the this commonly-used term actually • Discuss this idea and the tensions problems confronting Maori com- mean? Another word that crops inherent in it. Do you think Caro munities today? ISSUE 35 up regularly in reviews is ‘classic’. succeeded? • Is a return to traditional ways an an- What qualities does the film have • In what ways is the film more uni- swer to some of the contemporary AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION that could be considered ‘classic’? versal than local? Which elements problems confronting indigenous • Sandra Hall, in her review for The of the story are universal? Which cultures? Sydney Morning Herald, describes are local and culturally specific? Whale Rider as ‘an Ugly Duckling • Is there a sense in which the most Legends story with a feminist twist’. Do crucial aspects of one culture (in you agree? Can you come up with this case, a minority indigenous • Research another Maori legend. a similarly snappy phrase for an culture) are at risk of becoming lost (See the reference list at the end of imaginary newspaper review of the in translation in the global (i.e. US) this guide for some possible start- film? marketplace? ing points). 10 • Make a list of the many awards the • What Maori customs are on display in Whale Rider? Research Maori the whales and Pai’s ancient ances- directly after Koro asks, ‘Who’s to customs and traditions. This exer- tors? blame?’ What does this symbolize? cise could form the basis of a class • Why are the people so desperate to (The end of his rule? A shift to a presentation. save the beached whales? new way of thinking?) • Is Whale Rider a fable? Discuss. • Why do you think the whales be- • What is an omen? came stranded? Koro’s Bicycle • After the whales are stranded, PART FIVE: SYMBOLS Pai says, ‘I called them and they At the end of the opening sequence, came. But it wasn’t right. They were we hear Pai’s voice-over: ‘My Koro Underlying Whale Rider’s apparent sim- dying’. She describes the whale wished in his heart that I’d never been plicity of story structure is a poetic use stranding as ‘Koro’s test’. What born … but he changed his mind’. The of symbolism that imbues the film with does this mean? film then cuts to a slow motion shot great richness. This is an area that re- • Koro surveys the dying animals and of Koro riding his bicycle, with Pai wards close attention: an awareness of asks, ‘Who is to blame?’ Do you balanced happily on the front, holding how meaning is constructed is one of think someone is to blame? What is on to his whale-tooth necklace. This the basic planks of strong film analysis. he referring to? is a recurring motif. It’s almost as if it An examination of the film’s symbols • Can you identify any visual or aural shows us the bond between Pai and can provide an opportunity for students parallels between the night-time her grandfather, while at the same time, to engage directly with the text and to scene depicting the community on another level, the film is detailing the practise their own interpretive faculties. struggling to save the whales and ways in which Koro denies her. Through The following questions are suggested the opening childbirth sequence? loving shots of the two of them on his starting points only; the film and its bike, we know, even if Koro doesn’t, symbols can be approached from any The Rope how much he loves her. We can see number of different angles. their closeness, even as he rejects her. While working on his motor-boat, Koro • Discuss the ways in which symbols speaks of the rope as a symbol for their • Make a list of the number of scenes can be used to condense mean- ancestors and the importance of tradi- that feature Koro with his bicycle. ing and to convey a complex idea tion: ‘We weave together the threads of • Write an analysis of how the bike concisely. Paikea so the line remains strong’. But functions. • Choose an object (or animal or then undercutting the explicit symbol- • When Pai decides to leave with her event) that you think could stand ism—or perhaps adding another level father, she has one last ride with as a symbol of you. What proper- to it?—the rope frays, and Koro curses, her grandfather. We see them going ties does this object possess that ‘Useless bloody rope. I’ll get another round and round in circles. Koro represent you and the way you see one’. But he doesn’t need to: Pai fixes then dismounts, wheeling the bike yourself? it, weaving the separated strands to the front of the house where he • Choose an object that could back together, securing it all with a props it against the steps. He goes symbolize your relationship with a tight knot. The motif of the rope fray- inside, into momentary darkness, family member. Write a paragraph ing recurs during the scene in which and looks out of the window as she describing your choice. the community attempts to save the says farewell to her grandmother beached whales. Again, it is Pai who and uncle. Write an account of this The Whales steps in and leads the way. sequence, exploring how the film- makers convey information about • What do the whales symbolize, for • Discuss how this symbol of the what the characters are feeling, and the film and for the community? Re- rope functions to highlight aspects how we are positioned to regard fer directly to the film, using specific of Koro and Pai’s relationship. Pai’s departure. examples to support your inter- pretation of the whales’ symbolic Koro’s Staff Pai ISSUE 35 value. Consider moments such as Pai’s voice-over, when she says: • Make a list of the scenes in which • Is it possible to consider Pai a sym- AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION ‘He [Koro] was calling to the ancient we see Koro’s staff and how it is bol? If so, what do you think she ones, asking them to help him, but used. (For example, he uses it as represents? they weren’t listening—so I tried … a walking stick, a prop for his ag- and they heard me’. ing body; and he thumps it on the The Waka • In another voice-over, Pai says, floor during Pai’s first concert to ‘Koro knew what it meant. It was admonish the children who are not A number of important scenes take Paikea’s whale, sent to us because concentrating.) place in Porourangi’s unfinished canoe. we were in trouble’. What does this • The staff is washed away on the Pai is standing in the waka when she mean? beach during the sequence in calls the whales; she watches Koro and • What is the relationship between which the whales are stranded, one of the beached whales from there; 11 and she has emotional conversations taste for music, a family heirloom, a disregard Pai’s evident abilities. with both her father and grandmother strong opinion defined in relation to • What does Koro try to teach the there too. The waka also features in the one’s parents, etc. And of course a male candidates for the chief’s film’s closing sequence. legacy might not always be positive.) role? • Imagine one day you will be a par- • At Koro’s sacred school of learning, • Write an account of how the waka ent. What legacy would you like to he teaches the first-born boys of functions as a symbol, considering leave your child? the community the ‘old ways’. He is how it embodies the tension and looking for all the qualities of a chief: disappointment between Koro and Community strength, courage, intelligence and his first-born son. Why is it a place leadership. How does Pai demon- of comfort for Pai? Another theme central to Whale Rider strate each of these qualities? concerns the idea of community, the • Where does Pai’s strength come PART SIX: THEMES importance of working together. This from? is played out in the climactic se- • Essay topic: ‘Despite the fact that Whale Rider is a wonderfully rich film, quence when the whales have become Pai is unjustly excluded, good does with great thematic depth. It is an ideal stranded on the shore. come out of Koro’s spiritual school’. text for study, because the issues and Discuss. ideas that it explores are accessible • What other moments in the film • Pai is concerned about the conse- and engaging. All students will have an emphasize the importance of com- quences for the community if Koro opinion on Pai’s family and how it func- munity? fails in his quest for a new leader. tions, because they belong to families • Describe an event in your life where She asks Nanny, ‘What if he fails?’ too. The following broad topic headings you had a strong sense of belong- Nanny brushes aside her concern: are designed to generate classroom ing to a group, working towards a ‘Then he fails. Nothing will happen’. discussion and to encourage students common goal. Do you think there would be any to think more closely about the layers • Pai’s community mixes elements consequences for the community if at work in this one text. of the traditional with the modern. there was no leader? Are there peo- Draw up two columns and note ple in your life who you consider Destiny activities, attitudes and events leaders? that occur in the film that fit into • In Pai’s speech at the second school • Do you believe in the idea of des- one column or the other. Consider concert, she says, ‘I was not the tiny? If so, what is your destiny? scenes that show the elderly wom- leader my grandfather was expect- • What might happen to someone en smoking and playing cards; Pai’s ing. And by being born, I broke the who is unable to fulfil their destiny? uncle and his girlfriend slumped on line back to the ancient ones. It • What factors influence how you un- a couch with a bong between them; wasn’t anybody’s fault’. Pai’s speech derstand your position in the world Hemi’s father and his carload of talks about making the ancient and what you hope for your future? friends … Does the film convey a wisdom accessible to everyone: ‘But sense of the tension between tradi- we can learn and if the knowledge is Tradition tion and contemporary secular life? given to everyone, then we can have lots of leaders and soon everyone • Nanny Flowers tells Pai that Koro Leadership will be strong, not just the ones has ‘a lot of rules he has to live by’. who’ve been chosen’. What do you What are five rules you live by? • Do you think men and women think of this idea? • The film depicts many moments generally have different styles of relating to traditional Maori prac- leadership? REFERENCES tices. What are some rituals and • Would Pai make a good chief? traditions in your family? Support your opinion with evidence Books • Describe two situations, one in from the film. (The film even uses which tradition is a force for good, humour to make its point about - Cleve Barlow, Key Concepts in ISSUE 35 and one in which it is bad. Pai’s natural leadership abilities. Maori Culture, New York, Oxford • Essay topic: ‘Tradition is a cradle When she tells her grandmother’s University Press, 1994. AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION that supports us, but it can also friends that they should stop smok- - Elsdon Best, Maori Religion and become a cage that imprisons us’. ing [‘Maori women have got to stop Mythology, Wellington, Museum of Discuss. smoking. We’ve got to protect our New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, childbearing properties’], one of 1995. Legacy the women notes wryly, ‘Gee, she’s - Judith Binney (ed.), The Shaping of bossy that one’.) History: Essays From the New Zea- • What is your legacy from your par- • How would Pai’s leadership differ land Journal of History, Wellington, ents? (Students can approach this from Koro’s? Bridger Williams Books, 2001. question from a number of angles: a • What skills does a chief need? - Maori Legends: Some Myths and 12 legacy might be an attitude to life, a • List the scenes in which we see Koro Legends of the Maori People, retold by Alistair Campbell, Wellington, ber 2002. - www.nzbirds.com/Maorimyths.html Seven Seas Publishing, 1969. - ‘One of the World’s Minor Miracles’, - www.maori.org.nz/tikanga/purakau - Harry Dansey, Maori Custom Today, Sydney Morning Herald, 26 Sep- - www.crystalinks.com/ Auckland, Shortland Publications, tember 2002. newzealandcreation.html 1978. - ‘A Whale of a Time For NZ Film- - www.history-nz.org/maori9.html - Mary Katharine Duffié,Through the maker’, The Age, 27 September - www.geocities.com/TheTropics/ Eye of the Needle: A Maori Elder 2002. Shores/9338/legends.htm Remembers, Forth Worth Texas, - Sandra Hall, ‘Whale Rider’, Sydney - www.interlink.org.nz/projects/myth/ Harcourt College, 2000. Morning Herald, 10 May 2003. myhtlytt.html - Bunty Howearth, Mists of Time: - Philip Matthews, ‘The Chosen One’, - www.uniquelynz.com/maori_ Myths and Legends, Auckland, Listener, 25 January 2003. legend.htm Reed, 2003. - Kylie Message, ‘Whale Rider and - www.janesoceania.com/ - Witi Ihimaera, The Whale Rider, the Politics of Location’, Metro, newzealand_maori_legends Auckland, Heinemann, 1987. (This no.136, 2003. - www.maoritreasures.com/konae_ is the novella upon which the film is - Elvis Mitchell, ‘A Girl Born To Lead, aronui/customs.htm based.) Fighting The Odds’, The New York - www.maori.org.nz/tikanga - Land of the Long White Cloud: Times, 6 June 2003. - www.vuw.ac.nz/maori/tohu.html Maori Tales, Myths and Legends, - Paul Mulrooney, ‘Whale Rider’, The selected by Kiri Te Kanawa, Lon- Dominion-Post, 6 February 2003. Whale Rider don, Pavilion Books, 1997. - Lorenza Munoz, ‘A Girl Shall Lead - I.H. Kawharu, Conflict and Com- Them’, Los Angeles Times, 6 May Director: Niki Caro promise: Essays on the Maori Since 2003. Screenplay: Niki Caro (based on the Colonisation, Wellington, A.H. and - B. Ruby Rich, ‘Finding Niki’, San novel, The Whale Rider, by Witi Ihi- A.W. Reed, 1975. Francisco Bay Guardian, 25 June maera) - Michael King, Maori: A Photograph- – 1 July 2003. Director of Photography: Leon Narbey ic and Social History, Auckland, - Peter Travers, ‘Whale Rider’, Rolling Editor: David Coulson Reed, 1996. Stone, 30 May 2003. Production Designer: Grant Major - Warren Pohatu, Maori Animal - Kenneth Turan, ‘Whale Rider’, Los Costume Designer: Kirsty Cameron Myths, Auckland, Reed, 2001. Angeles Times, 6 June 2003. Music: Lisa Gerrard - Maui Pomare and James Cowan, Producers: Tim Sanders, John Barnett Legends of the Maori, Auckland, Web Sites on the Film and Frank Hubner Southern Reprints, 1987 (originally Associate Producer: Witi Ihimaera published 1970). - www.whaleriderthemovie.com/ Co-Producer: Reinhard Brundig - H.T. Rikihana, A Trainer’s Guide This is the film’s official web site. Executive Producers: Bill Gavin and To Maori Language and Customs, - www.metacritic.com/film/titles/ Linda Goldstein Knowlton Auckland, Reed, 1992. whalerider Cast: Keisha Castle-Hughes (Paikea) - D.R. Simmons, The Great New Zea- - www.gisborneherald.co.nz/ Rawiri Paratene (Koro) land Myth: A Study of the Discovery whalerider.htm Vicky Haughton (Flowers) and Origin Traditions of the Maori, - http://worldfilm.about.com/ Cliff Curtis (Porourangi) Wellington, Wellington, A.H. and cs/australianfilms/fr/whalerider.htm Grant Roa (Rawiri) A.W. Reed, 1976. - http://www.hybridmagazine.com/ Mana Taumaunu (Hemi) - M.P.K. Sorrenson, Maori Origins films/0603/whale-rider Tyronne White (Jake) and Migrations: The Genesis of - ‘Into The Heart of Maori Culture’ at Some Pakeha Myths and Legends, http://www.purenz.com/index.cfm/ Kate Raynor is the former editor of Metro Auckland, Auckland University purenz magazine and Australia Screen Educa- Press, 1990. - www.geocities.com/ratesjul/ tion and is now a freelance writer. - Eruera Stirling, as told to Anne whalerider Salmond, Eruera: The Teachings - ttp://www.imdb.com/title/ This study guide was produced by ISSUE 35 of A Maori Elder, Auckland, Oxford tt0298228/ ATOM. For more information about University Press, 1985. - movies.go.com/movies/W/ ATOM study guides, The Speakers’ AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION - Steven Webster, Patrons of Maori whaleriderthe_2002/index.html Bureau or Screen Hub (the daily online Culture: Power, Theory and Ideology - http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ film and television newsletter) visit our in the Maori Renaissance, Dunedin, WhaleRider-1122892/reviews.php web site: www.metromagazine.com.au University of Otago Press, 1998. - www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ or email: [email protected] ASIN Film Reviews/Articles Web Sites on Maori Myths, - ‘Whale Rider’, Screen Daily, 26 Legends and Customs September 2002. - ‘Whale Rider’, Variety, 19 Septem- - www.folksong.org.nz/paikea 13