Whale Rider

Whale Rider tells the tale of Paikea Apirana as she attempts to overcome resistance to take her place as the next chief of the Maori people in her village. The film encompasses a number of themes, including the tensions between customary culture and the modern condition, mythology and origin stories, post-colonial race and indigenous politics in the Pacific, whilst also shining a light on gender, tradition and change.

"My name is Paikea Apirana, and I come from a long line of chiefs stretching all the way back to the whale rider."

Dissonance, Thou Art A Cruel Mistress

A major portion of the film sees the characters struggle to reconcile their actions with their beliefs and motivations. According to Festinger’s (1962) theory of cognitive dissonance, an individual experiences psychological discomfort when they possess contradictory beliefs, when they act in a way that contradicts their beliefs, or when they are presented with new information that contradicts their existing beliefs. In order to reduce the resulting discomfort, people tend to reject new information and situations that are likely to increase their dissonance. This is most clearly illustrated through Koro’s actions. Although he believes that a male heir is necessary for the continuation of their people, there are instances in which his affection for Paikea is displayed.

A moment of displayed affection before Paikea is to leave with Porourangi

Festinger’s theory postulates that this creates a sense of mental distress within himself which people seek to alleviate through one of four ways: 1. Changing one’s behaviour or attitudes, 2. Changing their conflicting attitudes to justify their behaviour, 3. Introducing new attitudes to justify their behaviour, 4. Ignoring information that contradicts their existing attitudes.  In the film, Koro initially reduces his cognitive dissonance by distancing himself from Paikea after she decides not to leave with her father and choosing not to recognize her strengths and capability as the next leader. When she bests Hemi with the taiaha, Koro does not praise her hard work or talent at the skill, instead reacting negatively, reflecting the fourth method of reducing dissonance. Towards the end, however, we see a change overcome Koro as he accepts that Paikea is worthy of becoming the next chief, thus abandoning his patriarchal views on leadership and succession. He ultimately changed his attitudes in order to attain psychological consistency.

Gender Roles

Another concept that was present in the film was gender roles, which Coleman (2009) defined as a set of behaviours, attitudes, and traits deemed to be masculine or feminine within a certain culture. The movie depicts Maori culture as being strongly patriarchal, with Koro being a staunch believer that a first-born male is required in order for their people to have a capable leader. Koro can be seen as someone who adheres strictly to gender roles. However, Paikea defies the traditional stereotype of what a girl should be, what with her mastery with ropes and knots, and her skill with the taiaha. She also rejects practices which she does not agrees with, such as when she was told to move to the back during the opening of the boys’ training school.

Final Thoughts

Whale Rider is an empowering movie for women and young girls as it depicts Paikea overcoming gendered expectations in order to realize her true potential. While all the actors portrayed the personalities and emotions of the characters extremely well, a special mention goes out to Keisha Castle-Hughes, who was even nominated for an Academy Award for her moving performance as Paikea. Interspersed with scenes from the Whangara coastline, the movie also beautifully captured sights such as the sweep of the bay and the lush of the island. It was also interesting to discover that the film was adapted from a book of the same name, as I am partial to books in a way that I am not with film. While I haven’t yet finished it, I would recommend looking it up if only for the prose, seen here through an excerpt from the prologue:

In the old days, in the years that have gone before us, the land and sea felt a great emptiness, a yearning. The mountains were like a stairway to heaven, and the lush green rainforest was a rippling cloak of many colours. The sky was iridescent, swirling with the patterns of wind and clouds; sometimes it reflected the prisms of rainbow or southern aurora. The sea was ever-changing, shimmering and seamless to the sky. This was the well at the bottom of the world and when you looked into it you felt you could see to the end of forever.

References

Festinger, L. (1962). Cognitive dissonance. Scientific American. 207(4), 93–107. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican1062-93