Liberec 2015
ANALÝZA POSTAVENÍ ŽEN V MAORSKÉ KULTUŘE V SOUČASNÝCH
NOVOZÉLANDSKÝCH FILMECH
Bakalářská práce
Studijní program: B7507 – Specializace v pedagogice
Studijní obory: 6107R023 – Humanitní studia se zaměřením na vzdělávání 7507R036 – Anglický jazyk se zaměřením na vzdělávání Autor práce: Monika Bartoňová
Vedoucí práce: Sándor Klapcsik, Ph.D.
Liberec 2015
ANALYSIS OF THE WOMEN’S POSITION IN MAORI CULTURE IN RECENT NEW ZEALAND
FILMS
Bachelor thesis
Study programme: B7507 – Specialization in Pedagogy Study branches: 6107R023 – Humanities for Education
7507R036 – English for Education
Author: Monika Bartoňová
Supervisor: Sándor Klapcsik, Ph.
Prohlášení
Byla jsem seznámena s tím, že na mou bakalářskou práci se plně vzta- huje zákon č. 121/2000 Sb., o právu autorském, zejména § 60 – školní dílo.
Beru na vědomí, že Technická univerzita v Liberci (TUL) nezasahuje do mých autorských práv užitím mé bakalářské práce pro vnitřní potřebu TUL.
Užiji-li bakalářskou práci nebo poskytnu-li licenci k jejímu využití, jsem si vědoma povinnosti informovat o této skutečnosti TUL; v tomto pří- padě má TUL právo ode mne požadovat úhradu nákladů, které vyna- ložila na vytvoření díla, až do jejich skutečné výše.
Bakalářskou práci jsem vypracovala samostatně s použitím uvedené literatury a na základě konzultací s vedoucím mé bakalářské práce a konzultantem.
Současně čestně prohlašuji, že tištěná verze práce se shoduje s elek- tronickou verzí, vloženou do IS STAG.
Datum:
Podpis:
Acknowledgement
I would like to thank my supervisor Sandor Klapcsik, Ph.D. for his time dedicated to this paper, valuable advice, enthusiasm and support. Further, I would like to thank my family and friends for their great support and inspiration.
Annotation :
This thesis deals with the position of women in Maori culture. In the first part, the author mentions two different definitions of gender. These are followed by basic information on Maori people, a brief introduction to their history and the structure of traditional Maori society. The author makes a reference to the impacts of the arrival of Europeans and the institution of trade on Maori, laying major emphases on how the position of women was changed. This settlement was gradually overgrowing into a steady settlement and colonisation. Then, description of current situation is provided based on data from the last census conducted in 2013.
The second part focuses on two carefully chosen films and thorough analysis of the female characters.
Key words: Maori, films, women, colonisation
Anotace:
Tato práce se zabývá postavením žen v maorské kultuře. V první části autor uvádí dvě rozdílné definice genderu. Dále poskytuje základní informace o příslušnících maorského etnika, krátký úvod do jejich historie a struktury tradiční maorské společnosti. Autor také pojednává o tom, jaké následky měl příjezd prvních Evropanů a zavedení obchodu, kdy se soustředí především na to, jak se tím změnilo postavení žen. Toto usazování postupně přerůstalo v trvalé osidlování a kolonizaci.
Následně je zde nastíněna současná situace, při použití dat z posledního sčítání lidu provedeného v roce 2013. Druhá část se zabývá analýzou dvou pečlivě vybraných filmů, a to především analýzou ženských postav a jejich postavení ve společnosti.
Klíčová slova: Maorové, filmy, ženy, kolonizace
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Table of Contents
1 Introduction ... 8
1.1 Goals and Methods ... 8
1.2 Definitions of Gender ... 8
1.3 Maori People ... 9
1.3.1 Traditional Maori Society ... 10
1.3.2 European Impact ... 12
1.3.3 Maori in the 20th Century and Today ... 14
2 Analysis ... 17
2.1 Once Were Warriors ... 20
2.1.1 Beth, Harassed Yet Strong ... 24
2.1.2 Grace, Victim of the European Values ... 27
2.1.3 Other Female Characters ... 29
2.2 Whale Rider ... 30
2.2.1 Paikea, the Female Leader ... 33
2.2.2 Nanny Flowers, the Symbol of Female Strength and Wisdom ... 37
2.2.3 Other Female Characters ... 39
3 Conclusion... 40
Bibliography: ... 43
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1 Introduction
1.1 Goals and Methods
The goal of this thesis is to define and analyse the position of women in Maori culture through the analysis of recent New Zealand films. It focuses on the impact of colonisation, which incorporated mainly European values into the indigenous culture. To accomplish this goal, the author studied materials on Maori history, traditions and structure of their society. These are provided in the first part of this paper. Also, many New Zealand films had to be watched to choose the most suitable ones, which deal with Maori issues and do not ignore the Maori female character as they are quite rare. After choosing the films a thorough analysis was conducted, focusing on the female characters synthesised in the conclusion.
1.2 Definitions of Gender
“Gender must be understood as a social structure. It is not an expression of biology, nor a fixed dichotomy in human life or character. It is a pattern in our social arrangements” (Connell 2009, 10). However, it is generally agreed that gender differences are to be understood as a central feature of patriarchy, a social system in which men have come to be dominant in relation to women. There are, as we shall see, questions around to what extent gender is imposed on individuals as a result of the material conditions and social structures in which they live (Holmes 2007, 2).
A more general definition of gender is provided by Rezetti and Curran:
9 People define themselves in many different ways – and one of them
is, saying ‘I am a man’ or ‘I am a woman’, when they define themselves from the point of sex. The message that they send by this simple sentence exceeds anatomical description of their own body. It also evokes an image of a complex of personal characteristics and action patterns connected to it. Other people create an idea about them, without even seeing them, including the way they dress and express themselves and what activities they choose1 (Renzetti, Curran 2003, 20).
1.3 Maori People
The Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. The date of their arrival is still a matter of debate, but current belief is that it happened in the 13th century.
They came from Hawaiki, the mythical land in Polynesia. They actually have Polynesian roots and brought the “language and culture, over the centuries, both of them were adapted to the new and often harsher environment” (Henry 2013, 296). The Maori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, which means The Land of the Long White Cloud, since this is what Maori people saw when they reached the North Island of New Zealand – the mountain’s peaks covered by clouds.
1 „Lidé se definují mnoha různými způsoby – a jedním z těch nejzákladnějších je, když řeknou „jsem muž“ nebo „jsem žena“, když se vymezují z hlediska pohlaví. Sdělení, které takovou jednoduchou větou vysílají, však přesahuje pouhý anatomický popis jejich vlastního těla. Právě tak totiž vyvolává i představu určitého souboru osobních vlastností a vzorců chování, které se k nim vztahují. Ostatní si o nich, i bez toho, že by je viděli, udělají určitou představu, a to včetně toho, jak se oblékají a vyjadřují a jakým činnostem se věnují.“
10 At present the number of Maori people is approximately 15% of New Zealand population (Kulhánková 2010, 70).
1.3.1 Traditional Maori Society
Traditional Maori society was very religious; in fact, everything they did was closely related to their gods or ancestors whom they have worshipped. Their religion comes from the natural cult and the highest god was Io, whose name was allowed to be pronounced by only the most important spiritual men (tohunga). Moreover, he gave birth to many gods and demigods, from whom the first man was created – Tane2 and also, Hine, the first woman was created for him. The lives of Maori were closely connected with the gods, ancestors and natural powers. Each individual is bonded with the place where they were born. Their genealogy is derived from the first tribal ancestor who came to New Zealand.
The tribal society was structured, differentiated into classes, even according to their nobility, founded on reciprocity and gift exchange (Henry 2013, 296).
The basic units of the society were whanau – extended family based on shared genealogy, that used to be part of hapu – sub-tribes consisting of several families and the most general were iwi – tribes (Hokamau 2009, 182). Whanau used to be the most important group for Maori people, especially for women. There was collective responsibility for everyone’s well-being, so in case of abuse or mistreatment, it was the whanau who supported them unconditionally. “In pre- colonial Maori society a man’s house was not his castle. The community intervened to prevent and punish violence against one’s partner in a very straight forward way”
2 The whole myth is contained in Whale Rider novel.
11 (Milroy 1994 in Mikaere 1999, 4). Furthermore, bringing up the children was performed by the whole community as they did not recognize parents as sole care- givers known in societies with nuclear families. This form of child rearing is one of the prerequisite which “enabled women to perform a wide range of roles, including leadership roles” (Mikaere 1999, 4).
Maori society had a clear structure: the leader (ariki), aristocracy, religious leaders and warriors (Stafford 1997 in Kulhánková 2010, 77). Most of the people belonged to middle class and on the bottom; there was a class of slaves. The thing that determined their position in society was mana, a connatural personal power which can be influenced only by the aristocracy by spilled blood, winning wars and good turns. The Maori strengthen their mana also by cannibalism and marriage between couples from different tribes. The leader had the strongest mana.
This position was not necessarily ascribed to men but the situation often required it, as the tribes were always in a war situation with each other. They had to be very skilled in all fields of leading (Sinclair 2003, 24).
In the old times, before the first Pakeha (people of other than Maori origin, most often Europeans) came, women were respected within their tribe; they could become leaders, warriors, in fact anything that men could. Their positions were even.
Mikaere states that it was demonstrated in several ways. Firstly, is the language in which “both the personal pronouns (ia) and the possessive personal pronouns (tana/tona) are gender neutral” (Mikaere 1999, 3). Secondly, they used to wear similar clothes and after marriage they kept their original names and remained part of their original whanau (3). Further, it is the fact that Maori define their genealogy from their male as well as from their female ancestors. It results from their understanding of the world, “both men and women were essential parts
12 in the collective whole, both formed part of the whakapapa [genealogy] that linked Maori people back to the beginning of the world, and women in particular played a key role in linking the past with the present and the future” (2).
1.3.2 European Impact
The Maori had the first contact with Europeans in 1642; with Abel Janszoon Tasman, who discovered this land for the Europeans and also named it New Zealand.
Nevertheless, his visit did not change anything for the Maori. The man who changed the order of their lives was James Cook, who reached the coasts of New Zealand more than hundred years later and set out the bases for trade on which many others wanted to start their business with Maori and to settle down in the new country (Sinclair 2003, 27-35). In 1814 the arrival of the first missionaries occurred, this changed the Maori social structure forever. According to Johnston and Pihama,
“women were treated differently from men because the colonists brought with them specific ideas about the roles and positions that women should occupy. These roles were predominantly linked to Victorian ideas about possession” (Johnston and Pihama 1994, 2). Other critics share similar ideas; Ripeka Evans says that the destruction of traditional Maori values and the structure of the mana system
“was the prerequisite to successful colonization” (Evans 1994, 2). It also meant bringing along the colonist's Judeo-Christians beliefs and the nuclear family model as a norm (2). In contrary to this model, Mikaere does not blame the downsizing of Maori women’s position on religion but she ascribes the inferiority of women mainly to English law, which derived their status from Roman law: “The term
13 [family] was invented by the Romans to denote a new social organism, whose head ruled over wife and children and a number of slaves” (Scutt 1983 in Mikaere 1999, 6). In society under English law the position of women was wholly different in comparison with the one in traditional Maori society. As children, they were the possession of their father and when they reached their adulthood and got married, it was transferred to their husbands (6).
Since the arrival of colonists and the beginning of their settlement:
The roles profferred for Maori women were mainly those of servitude, as either maidservants for Pakeha households or 'good wives and mothers' for Maori men […] Maori girls and women have been made invisible through being written out of historical accounts. Colonisation has had, and continues to have a major impact on the ways which Maori women's realities are constructed (Johnston and Pihama 1994, 2).
Obviously, their position changed significantly, as well as the way other people treat them. They were taken as inferior, in agreement of the colonizers beliefs, on the basis of both their physical appearance and psychical constitution. In general,
“the inferiority of women on the basis of sex serv[ed] as justification for the denial of access to a range of spheres. Hence, for Maori women, the overall impact was a denial of crucial cultural aspects and a redefinition of their roles within Maori society” (4).
Even at the time when the Waitangi Treaty (1840) was signed women could hold political leadership in tribes, which is demonstrated by the fact that at least three
14 Maori women signed the document (Evans 1994, 3). The number of female signatories differs in various sources. Sinclair (2003) claims that the number was five, whereas Mikaere (1999) states that possibly thirteen women signed the Treaty.
Nevertheless, the number seems insignificant in comparison to more than five hundred men. Such disparity can be explained by the theory that those women who were allowed to sign, had to be approved by the missionaries; others whose mana was not strong enough could not participate on the decision, even though they
argued that they should be permitted to, as the other side (Queen Victoria) is also a woman (Sinclair 2003, 49). Mikaere (1999) presents a similar theory: “The fact that the Treaty was signed predominantly by men, sometimes pointed to as a reflection of pre-colonised Maori society’s attitudes towards women, is more an indication of the influence of Christianity and the fact that those seeking signatories largely ignored the possibility of women signing” (Mikaere 1999, 8).
By signing the Treaty Maori lost their political power and much of their land, which was essential for their lives and beliefs. As a consequence, they became increasingly more and more dependent on Pakeha paid employment (Houkamau 2009, 182).
1.3.3 Maori in the 20th Century and Today
The second most important milestone for the Maori society was the Second World War, after which the urbanization set out. Until the 1950’s the Maori were able to maintain their distinct identity, to a certain degree, as they still lived predominantly in rural areas, while Pakeha were centred in larger New Zealand
15 cities. Those who were raised at that time state that they were surrounded by positive Maori role models, male and female.
The change was a result of an economic growth of New Zealand; therefore Maori migrated to the cities to seek employment and by the 1970’s only one quarter of them remained in rural areas. Predictably, as the two different cultures mixed, Pakeha required Maori assimilation “to mainstream ‘New Zealand’ culture and become ‘One People’ with Pakeha” (Houkamau 2009, 182). This meant that Maori language and culture were to be forgotten. In general, their status was very low and they were “channelled into semi-skilled and service jobs” (182) whose availability decreased and logically, unemployment happened to be common within the Maori. Many other issues cumulate in such situation.
As a reaction, the ‘Maori renaissance’ arose and “educated Maori challenged and attempted to reverse the effects of Maori land loss, urbanization and deculturation by advocating Maori reclaim their heritage” (Poata-Smith 1997 in Houkamau 2009, 183). They also initiated to incorporate Maori language and culture into school’s curriculum, as well as the emergence of political movements and parties. Recently both television and radio Maori broadcasting started to take place in everyday reality too (Houkamau 2009, 182-3).
On the other hand, although the Maori feminist movement also began its activity in the 1970’s, it is still not being recognized by either Maori men or Pakeha people. As an example Evans describes her own experience when giving a speech on Maori education and the Treaty and sang a protest song at Pakuranga Rotary Club. After her performance, many of those present simply ignored her and the most striking moment was when the President of the Club thanked them, but at the same time remarked that they “should have sung a real song and could
16 even have done the karanga [part of a welcoming protocol performed exclusively by women]” (Evans 1994, 4), giving them the opinion that Karanga is what women are meant to be doing, instead of speaking about political issues. The commonly shared attitude is “that female oratory should be restricted to rituals of encounter stems from a belief in a divine ordinance that the marae3 area belongs only to men”
(4).
At present numerous efforts to promote Maori culture and Maoriotanga (Maori traditions) are carried out, such as the establishment of urban Maraes where young Maori alienated from their tribal and whanau roots can encounter others and learn about their history and traditions. It is also useful for being able to construct their identity as Maori. In addition, most New Zealand cities also hold Maori cultural festivals (Whitmore 1997).
In the last conducted census in 2013, fifteen percent of New Zealand resident population identified themselves with Maori ethnicity, which is six percent higher than in 2006. There are two concepts of counting Maori – according to Maori ethnicity or according to Maori descent of whom the later is slightly higher.
It is a fast growing population whose number increased by 40 percent over the past 22 years. The majority of Maori population is located in the North Island, from which almost a quarter lives in the Auckland region. Only more than a fifth is able to use Maori language to have a conversation about everyday life. Concerning
3 Marae is a traditional community centre and gathering place where all important events in tribal lives happen. It is also very symbolic and bonded to the (ancient) ancestor of the tribe as it refers to his name. “The whole building should represent his presence - the access front resembles welcoming arms, each timber symbolizes his ribs and the roof is his spine”(Kulhánková 2010, 72).
The marae is decorated with carvings on the front and side timbers which show the mythology of the tribe and various religious symbols.
17 formal education, 12.3 percent of Maori women and 7.4 percent of Maori men reached bachelor’s degree or higher. On the other hand, there still remains a third of Maori population aged 15 and over with no qualification, these are predominantly men. In contradiction, men are more likely to find a full-time employment (52.9%) than women (35.1%). Most of them, regardless their sex, were employed as laborers (19.4%), professionals (16.4%) and managers (13.1%). The Maori unemployment rate was 10.4 percent and 13.1 percent were employed in part-time jobs (Statistics New Zealand 2013).
To summarise these data, although an increasing number of Maori is “becoming educated, literacy rates are still a cause for concern, housing is poor in certain areas of the country, and unemployment rates have been consistently higher than for Pakeha” (Royal 2015). The ability and will to apply Maori cultural knowledge are still questionable. Maori society yet integrated stays on the margins and people who belong to it meet difficulties to identify themselves as Maori without prejudice (Royal 2015).
2 Analysis
Thompson provides a brief introduction to New Zealand film industry.
The first New Zealand feature, Hinemoa, was made in 1914 by George Tarr.
Over the following 70 years very few films were produced in New Zealand until the establishment of the New Zealand Film Commission in 1978, which has encouraged and supported the New Zealand screen industry (Thompson 2003, 236).
During this period and even in more recent productions “Maori have been positioned
18 in various ways” (Keown 2008, 197) as the films were most often made by Pakeha.
In some cases they have been erased from the environment, in others they were presented as “childlike or ‘ignorable savage’ subject to the paternalistic or ‘civilising’ guidance of the European colonising culture” (197). The most frequent motif was a “cross-cultural love story, a fantasy of bi-racial integration which allegorised the ‘national dilemma’ faced by a settler culture attempting to lay claim to a country already occupied by an indigenous culture” (Blythe, 34 in Keown 2008, 197). This has been partly changed by the rise of the Maori renaissance in the 1970’s when films directed by Maori were produced, such as Ngati (1987), Mauri (1988) (Keown 2008, 197-198). These started to portray Maori as they see
themselves.
The first Maori producers had to face not only the difficulties caused by “working within a ‘white male-dominated’ film industry” (198), but also the financial and market pressure. At recent times, the financial issue is still actual and applies to New Zealand film making industry in general. It has caused the fact that Maori producers and directors focus predominantly on “documentary, video and short filmmaking, rather than full feature film projects” (207).
The author has viewed numerous films produced in New Zealand to choose the most suitable ones for the purpose of this paper. She has decided to analyse two films which present the position of Maori women in society most clearly.
After a thorough consideration, the decision was laid on Once Were Warriors (1994) and Whale Rider (2003).
Other films, such as Boy (2010) also handle the Maori issue but the main focus is on the male characters. The film is set in 1984 near Bay of Plenty and it presents the world of an 11-year old boy, Alamein, who is raised by his grandmother,
19 along with his cousins and younger brother. His mother has died and his grandmother leaves at the very beginning for a funeral, so Alamein is in charge of the whole family. Then, his long-gone father returns from prison and spends time with them, but surely one cannot say that he would take care of the children.
He is partying with his friends in a shed most of the time or looking for the money he buried in their garden. Boy imagined his dad as a hero, until the time he met him.
Once he gets to know him more, he realizes who his father really is, feeling very disappointed (so does his father once he discovers that he is not even able to impress his son who adored him so much in the beginning). Their grandmother comes back at the very end of the film. Thus, the film does not portray a much of a female element.
Another film that was taken into consideration is River Queen (2005) but neither this film depicts the position of woman in Maori society. It only presents that Maori were willing to accept an Irish women in their society, even though she belonged to the Irish colonists. They traded her acceptance for curing the chief.
Also it tackles the topic of Maori children upbringing, the common belief that children belong to the whole whanau and not only to their parents. In the film the tribe kidnaps son of the main character, Sarah, as it is also son of Tomi, a Maori man.
Then, there is the film, Piano (1993) which features a story of Scottish woman who is sent to New Zealand to marry an early settler. She is deaf and mute. This film is not suitable to be analysed from the same reason as the previous two. Similarly, in Crooked Land (2001), which tells a story of a Maori community, the female characters are minor.
20 The first film chosen is Once Were Warriors (1994), and it is set in one of the biggest New Zealand city, Auckland. It depicts Maori who decided to move out of their tribal communities, their whanau. They have to cope with many common problems brought by the colonizers, mainly the consequences of urbanization.
Whereas the second film, Whale Rider (2003), portrays a traditional patriarchal Maori society, in which people live in a strongly bond community. It is set in a country side in a small coastal village of Whangara, an important place for the Maori as the myth, introduced later on, is closely connected to the place.
It “is a story that combines the deep enduring power of myth – of eternal connections – with very contemporary details. Though repeated visual and aural motifs we breathe in the ancestors – in the forms of whales, the ocean, land, and carvings in the marae – their ever-watchful, waiting presence” (Figueroa 2004, 423).
2.1 Once Were Warriors
Once Were Warriors, directed by Lee Tamahori in 1994, is the first New Zealand
film which became a world-wide known indigenous blockbuster (Thompson 2003, 230), receiving prizes from many international festivals4. It is based on the eponymous novel written by Alan Duff, who also co-operated on the film as a screenwriter – although not the main one (Moran and Vieth 2009, 335-336).
Its main contribution to New Zealand film industry is changing the way Maori are depicted in films, as it is not a romantic picture of a tribal society as in all
4 There is a sequel to Once Were Warriors called What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? (1999) produced by Ian Mune, but it has not become so successful. It describes Jake’s redemption and his developing relationships with his remaining children who are still alive.
21 previous productions5, but a portrayal of rootless society suffering from the intention of the colonizers “to be ‘raised’ to the level of European civilization, thus facilitating the transition to ‘one New Zealand people” (Williams 1997, 20 in Thornley 2001, 25). It shows the Maori who are unable to cope with the new lifestyle as their
“ties to their own history” (23) have been destroyed. The film was produced exclusively by Maori (23), therefore Rena Owens (the actress who plays the main character Beth) stated:
As a Maori production (cast and crew), Once Were Warriors was a response to such traditions of representation. This film tells the truth about what happens to a race that has been systematically demoralized, what’s left after you have stripped a people of their pride and made them feel like second-class citizens. […] Here we are seen as we are (Clinch 1994 in Thompson 2003, 235).
The opening scene presents a beautiful view into a tranquil landscape
“featuring a lake and snow-capped mountains” (Keown 2008, 206) similar to the ones we can see in tourist’s brochures. The whole image is even strengthened by the sounds “of traditional Maori instruments such as koauau (flute) and the purerehua or ‘bull-roarer” (206). However, something does not feel quite right. The music is occasionally interrupted by a truck horn and as the image gets closer, one can clearly hear the traffic noise – the whole scenery is revealed to be only an illusion. It is a billboard on the side of a busy highway in Southeast Auckland, one of the poorest areas of the city, where the film is set.
5 For example: Ngati (1987), Mauri (1988), Piano (1993), etc.
22 The film presents the life of the Heke family, who live in a state housing tract with their five children. The married couple, Jake and Beth, is afflicted with alcoholism, domestic violence, crime, unemployment and poverty – the common Maori problems. To be more precise, their oldest son, Nig, joins an Aotearoa Toa gang, a Maori gang whose function might be substitution of the tribal society in urban environment (205-206). It seems that he is not able to find respect and identity within his family. Furthermore, their middle son, Boogie, is repeatedly arrested and removed from the family to be brought up at youth correctional facility where he learns about Maori traditions and Maoritonga in general. For him it is the place to find himself and his identity.
The plot climaxes when Grace, the thirteen year old daughter, commits suicide on a solo tree in their backyard because she was raped by her Uncle Bully6 on one of her parents’ frequent party nights at their house. On a similar party the mother, Beth, is brutally beaten and abused by her husband and nobody seems surprised or disgusted by his actions and everybody just clears the house. Even on the next day, there is no sign of commiseration from Beth’s friend when she comes to visit and finds her having a beer with her face swollen and bruised “so badly that she does not dare attend [Boogie’s] court hearing the next morning” (Maslin 1995).
Everybody simply accepts it as normal.
This vicious circle is broken after Grace’s death when Beth discovers what drove her daughter to hang herself: the rape. She gains all her courage and decides to return back to her place of origin with her children. She resumes back to her marae where she belongs to the nobility (in contrast with Jake’s social status
6 He is a friend of the family, not her real uncle.
23 within his tribe – he comes from a long line of slaves) and where she can rely on her whanau (extended family), leaving Jake to his fate in the city.
There exist several views of the film; two of those are to be mentioned in this paper. First is an opinion of Mandy Treagus who suggests that “in bringing accommodation of Maoritanga into everyday urban life, the film resists romanticizing Maori heritage and the dehistoricization that often goes with it.
Maori are not projected back into a timeless past, but rather shown to be part of a developing, adapting and surviving culture” (Goldsmithh and Leeland 2010, 268).
An opposing point is stated by Michelle Keown, namely, that the film romanticizes the marae and promotes “an unrealistic solution to the plight of urban Maori through a return to a tribal source” (Keown 2008, 207).
Once Were Warriors had a major impact on New Zealand society: not only
it brought people to realize the situation today’s Maori have to live in, but also it was a trigger for many women to leave their abusive husbands. Thomspon states that after the release of this film many women found the courage to sort out their own situation, contacting either the women’s refuge centres or the police. Jill Hema, a Maori women’s refuge coordinator, declared that “South Auckland refuges were overflowing. Women have been coming through saying ‘We’ve seen Once Were Warriors and that’s me. It’s hit home” (Thompson 2003, 233). To sum up, the film has had a major influence to the whole society, especially to those in the suppressed position, the Maori women living in abusive households.
24 2.1.1 Beth, Harassed Yet Strong
The mother of the Heke family comes from a traditional Maori tribal community in a rural area. She decided to leave the tribe for her love’s sake. Jake was not good enough for her family because he comes “from a long line of slaves” (Tamahori 1994, 52:59) whereas she was descended from the tribal nobility. They got married despite the fact that her family disapproved of their relationship and moved to the city.
Her strength comes from her whanau; it is in her marriage that she becomes weak. She lives with her violent, unemployed husband Jake, who spends most of his days in the local pub, often moving the party to their house in the middle of the night.
Beth either joins them or stays in her room keeping her disapproval to herself.
On one of these nights, she joins the party and has short argument with her oldest son. Being madden, she becomes audacious at Jake who gets outrageous and hits her in her face and body, drags her around, slams her against the walls and other objects and pulls her hair very brutally. On the next day she wakes up in the morning – sexually abused, with her face very badly swollen. It is obvious that “wife-beating, while disgraceful, is acceptable behaviour, especially if the woman has the audacity to talk back to her husband” (Berardinelli). Her friend Mave comes for a visit and even jokes about it: “Jeez, woman, is that the result of one of a hell orgasm or what?” (Tamahori 2004, 34:30) Beth only says it is the “same old story”
that she never learns to keep her mouth shut (34:38) and Mave replies with a smile on her face: “Well, you know the rules, girl. Keep your mouth shut and your legs open” (34:50).
25 Consecutively, Beth “does not dare to attend [a court hearing of her son]
the next morning” (Maslin 1995), which does not lay the best light on her as a mother. She ‘loses’ one of their son Boogie, for being considered reckless to their children’s upbringing. Beth seems much more concerned about her son that Jake does. To keep the promise she has made to Grace and also to compensate her failure, she organizes a family trip to visit Boogie. She even persuades Jake, who agrees to use the money he has just won at horse race betting. They spend a beautiful family day which is almost too perfect for their family – they have a picnic, visit Beth’s native “piece of dirt” (Tamahori 1994, 51:27), sing in the car – everybody seems incredibly happy. This lasts only until the time when Jake wants to stop “for just one”. Of course, he does not stick to only one, leaving the rest of his family to wait for him outside. They are getting nervous that they will not be in time for the visit; therefore, Beth goes in several times trying to get the car keys so they could drive themselves. Nevertheless, she is not successful. At the end, she just gives up and walks home with the children, angry and disappointed.
At this time she did not have the courage to stand for herself and her children yet, and remained under his strong influence, living in fear of his anger.
Beth is not an excellent parent, but she sure loves her children deeply, but neglects them most of the time leaving most responsibilities to her oldest daughter, Grace, who also takes care of the whole household. This practice might be a consequence of her being raised within a whanau, where the child’s bringing up and housework are a matter of the whole community, not the individual.
The breakpoint when she realizes that this is not the way she wants to live is the suicide of her daughter. The first time she dares to oppose her husband is when choosing the place for Grace’s tangi (funeral). She organises the ceremony
26 to take place in the land of her people, the Maori village, despite Jake’s strong disagreement. This is also the time when she decides to embrace her Maori heritage (Adah 2001, 51). She feels proud of her middle son Boogie when he sings a Maori mourning song at the funeral, by which he demonstrates his identity, his knowledge and his respect.
When they return back to the city after the ceremony, Beth shows her kind- heartedness by inviting Grace’s homeless best friend to live with them. Beth is determined to start their life again, even with Jake beside her. This lasts only until she finds out the reason of the death of her beloved daughter. While going through her belongings – mending her notebook into which Grace used to write her stories, she found a note about the rape and also who did it. As a consequence, she packs all her children into a car and goes to the pub to tell Jake and confront Uncle Bully, taking the notebook with her as a proof. There she, accompanied by her oldest son, lets everybody at the table know what happened and without any emotions she watches her husband bashing Bully and then she just leaves with no intention of coming back. This gave her strength, which is proved by her last words expressed self-confidently, with no sign of fear:
I have found something better, Jake, and I am going to make damn sure my kids have it all. From now on, I am going to make the decisions for my family. […]You have got nothing I want.
Our people once were warriors, but not like you, Jake. They were people with mana, pride. People with spirit. If my spirit can survive living with you for eighteen years, then I can survive everything.
Maybe you taught me that. (Tamahori 2004, 1:33:30)
27 The film describes a spiritual journey of a woman who managed to become strong and take her life into her own hands. A woman who has the experience of being nobility and also of being at the very bottom of social hierarchy (in her marriage and society as a whole). A woman who realized that living this life is not what she wants for her children and herself and has enough courage to change it.
2.1.2 Grace, Victim of the European Values
Grace is a sweet 13 year old girl, the oldest daughter of Beth and Jake. It is her who conducts the most responsibilities in the household – to take care of her siblings, to tidy the house after her parents’ parties and many more. She is very sensitive;
therefore, she runs away from the reality to writing her own stories. Most often, they are Maori themed; even though, she has never been confronted with traditional Maori culture and traditions.
On the other hand, she seems quite comfortable in the urban setting. Her best friend is a homeless boy, Toot, to whom she reads her stories. They spend most of the time in Toot’s car, which is also his home. He is her closest person and she confides to him almost everything during her quite frequent visits. However, she has kept one painful memory to herself, the rape. Her Uncle Bully sneaks into the children’s room when on a party at their house and rapes her, not minding the other two children that are sleeping in the same room. After he is finished, he whispers to her: “It’s our secret, ay, Gracie. Don’t tell anyone, do you hear me?
Keep your mouth shut” (Tamahori 2003, 1:03:01). And she does; the only way she lets that secret out is in her diary. After this incident she changes notably,
28 she turns from a carrying, cheerful person into an incommunicative and broken- hearted girl.
From the beginning, it is obvious that she really suffers from their family situation. She takes care of her younger siblings, comforts them while their parents are fighting. She is the only one to attend her brother Boggie’s court hearing and her oldest brother’s joining the Aotearoa Toa gang does not help her mental tranquillity. Until the rape, she is able to cope with all of this, but afterwards it is just too much to handle. She visits Toot and gets stoned with him, gathering all her courage to tell him about the rape. But he reads her signals in a wrong way and instead of listening to her, he tries to kiss her. This is the final straw: she runs away, feeling hopeless she roams around the city with no idea what to do.
Meanwhile, her mother anticipates that something is not right and searches the city, furious with fear whereas her father has another party with his friends, playing guitar and singing songs in their lounge. Once she enters the house he starts at her very angrily, upbraiding her for worrying her mother. He sends her to her room and as she turns around to go, Uncle Bully asks to give him a goodnight kiss. She refuses, which is a trigger of anger for her father; he grabs her very harshly and forces her to do so. At that moment one of his friends intervenes, to let out his anger Jake at least tears her notebook. Grace picks herself up from the floor and storms out to the garden, while the group of men retrieves back to singing. Several moments later, Beth returns home and is assured that Grace has come home and that she is safe and sound in the garden; therefore, Beth hurries into the garden to discover the harrowing sight. It is the climax of the unsustainable situation of the Heke family and urban Maori in general. Paradoxically, this fatality turns Beth into a strong woman who knows what she deserves.
29 The film suggests that this whole disaster would not occur if they lived within their whanau, as it provides strong support and protection to its members, especially to women. It may be considered an over-exaggeration, but it is very convincing.
2.1.3 Other Female Characters
There is one more female character that is accentuated enough to be mentioned explicitly and it is Mave, Beth’s friend. It is she who visits Beth after she was beaten.
Her reaction is surprising; she regards it normal and even makes witty remarks on its account. Mave sometimes performs in a local pub as a singer and also takes part at the parties at the Heke’s house.
In general, there is not much respect shown towards women. Mave’s boyfriend unashamedly flirts with another woman in front of her. He is just about to start kissing the other girl when she spots it. She simply grabs him with words: “Duly, what the fuck are you doing, you are with me!” (Tamahori 2003, 23:33) and they leave. There is not a big fuss about such things. Further, they are supposed to stay at home while their men are out in a pub, it is expressed in a scene in which Bully comes to the pub with two women and brings them to their table.
Jake’s reaction is very clear: “If I wanted to drink with women, I would go to a fucking lounge bar” (11:55). Without a word, the women leave. When at a party, women are expected to stand ‘in a corner’ and gossip and worship their men, or to flirt.
Otherwise, other women in the film function more or less as background. They do not appear in bigger roles, nor do they speak. From that, it seems that they are in a suppressed position in society.
30
2.2 Whale Rider
The film written and directed by Niki Caro “has been received rapturously on the world stage, winning numerous awards across a range of countries and festivals” (Goldsmith 2010, 278). It was featured in 2003 and gained nine prizes on the New Zealand Film Awards and thirteen awards internationally (Moran and Vieth 2009, 288). It is based on a novel of the same name, Whale Rider, written by Witi Ihimaera. There are several nuances between the book and the film;
most importantly, it is the narrator of the story. The film is narrated from Paikea’s point of view, whereas the book is from her uncle Rawiri’s perspective, which changes the general impression given to the receiver. He sees the relations in the world, brings more humour into the story and acknowledges that there is more than the village. Further, the film was simplified; as Mandy Treagus points out,
“while the book tells essentially the same story, it is told in the context of wider world in which Maori strive for rights in the national context” (Goldsmith 2010, 278). The book mentions that Koro is not only to lead the tribe, but also to participate in the Maori national movement. “[H]e is a prime mover in political activism” (278);
therefore, he travels to many conferences throughout the story. It also touches some other social problems such as racism, however, not in New Zealand;
brutality when killing the whales, etc. and incorporates more myths within the story.
Thus, it gives the reader a better overall view, one not as romantic as in the film.
Nevertheless, even the film draws us into a community which struggles with the consequences of colonialism and modernism.
The film starts with the scene of a Maori woman giving birth to twins, a boy and a girl, of whom the boy dies and he takes his mother with him.
31 He was supposed to become a next leader of his tribe, as “in every generation for more than thousand years, a male heir born to the Chief succeeds the title” (Film Education, 2003). While watching the scene one listens to the myth told by the survived girl, Paikea, about the arrival of their tribal ancestor of the same name as her:
In the old days a man felt a great emptiness that was waiting, waiting to be filled up. Waiting for someone to love it. Waiting for a leader, and he came on the back of a whale, a man to lead a new people, our ancestor – Paikea, but now we were waiting for the firstborn of the new generation, for the descendant of the Whale Rider, for the boy who would be Chief (Caro 2003, 1:27 – 2:27).
At first the grandfather, Koro, does not want to acknowledge his granddaughter and he strongly disagrees with the name her father gave her, because the name of the mythological leader, Paikea signifies her “direct line to the foundational ancestor, and establish[es] her chiefly mana” (Figueora 2004, 422). But as time goes, he learns to love his granddaughter. She is raised by her grandparents as her father cannot cope with the current situation and expectations imposed upon him (to finish his waka, become the next leader himself or give another son) and chooses to move to Europe. He comes back when Pai is twelve years old and after an argument with his father (which hurt Pai), he offers her to come with him to live in Europe for some time. She agrees at first, but hearing the whales sing makes her change her mind soon after they leave the village for the long voyage. Koro blames the difficulties the tribe has been overcoming on her: “When she was born,
32 that is when things went wrong for us,” (Caro, 28:45 – 28:50) and he starts the process of finding a new leader within other firstborn boys who belong to the tribe. To achieve his goal, he sets up a secret school of learning for the boys to acquire all important skills. It is forbidden for girls to attend this school, or even to learn certain skills such as fighting with taiaha (a wooden fighting stick).
But he has no luck; none of the boys is able to succeed in all the required skills.
He feels very hopeless and still blames Pai for what has been happening.
As a consequence, she has to move to her uncle’s house for some time.
Simultaneosly, he falls into deep depression because he failed his task.
One day Pai brings him an invitation for her school concert, it is only her who believes that he will turn up; nevertheless he does not. Pai makes a striking speech about her and her ancestors, which is dedicated to her Koro. Although crying she finishes her performance and everybody is moved by her recital. However, Koro has decided to come, he puts on his good suit Nanny has prepared for him, but as he steps out of the door he hears the stranded whales calling. That means only one thing, a disaster for their tribe. It is Paikea’s (the ancestor) whale and his herd.
The reason they have come is that they have known the tribe has been in trouble (and Pai called them earlier in the movie). The whales stranded on the beach are dying. The whole village tries to save them, in particular the Paikea’s whale, but unsuccessfully. So they decide to have a rest and come back later, only Pai stays and has her chance to ‘talk’ to the whale, and she persuades it. She rides it back to the sea as her ancient ancestor did.
At that moment Koro acknowledges her as the right successor to become a chief, a prophet who will save the tribe. She was predestined to be one; he just did not want to see it. She ends up in a hospital where Koro talks to her while she is
33 asleep: “Wise leader, forgive me. I am just a fledgling new to flight” (Caro 2003, 1:33). The film ends with a scene of the whole tribe going out to the sea on a waka (canoe) and Pai, together with her Koro, leads the waka. Even her father is there with his pregnant girlfriend from Germany. At this point, she is accepted as a part of the tribe. “The last scene makes clear that the resolution of the gender issue and the Maori/ European issue can only come about by upholding a variation on the traditional ways” (Hubbart 2015). Paikea has already contributed to the betterment of the tribe situation, indicating that Maori have no problem with incorporating Pakeha into their society.
2.2.1 Paikea, the Female Leader
Although it is not recognized until she proves her gift by saving the stranded herd of whales by riding on the back of the chief whale, she is a girl predestined to become a new tribal leader. Her strength begins to be shown in several aspects and scenes.
The first moment that signifies her capability is the cut after the birth scene in which her grandfather shows a great dissatisfaction with the fact that she is the one to survive; we see Pai and her grandfather “tangled together in love, as at the age of twelve, Paikea rides on the bar of Koro’s bicycle – the way he fetches her from school every day. As they ride, she holds onto the carved whale’s tooth he wears around his neck marking the fact that he is chief – the position she would inherit if she were a boy” (Figueora 2004, 423).
34 The next scene which shows her impact on others is when she tells off her grandmother and aunts for smoking, giving them lecture on the negative impacts on their health and the society; and they ‘fear’ her, they actually put their cigarettes down and open the window, trying to air the room when they see her coming.
This presents respect towards her and maturity infrequent for her age of twelve.
Furthermore, she is very sensible and forgiving. It incredibly hurts her feelings when she hears her beloved Koro saying to her father that he should take her to Germany with him because she is no use to him. Nevertheless, she stays strong, forgives him and keeps on trying to persuade Koro that she is to be the next leader, that the “limitations are meant to be broken, and are simply social constructions in most instances” (Moran and Vieth 2009, 341).
Characteristics of a chief are numerous; besides those personal qualities stated above, most importantly the leader has to encompass a thorough knowledge of Maori culture and traditions, which Pai possesses – in fact she loves it. She always asks about the history and how things work. This is, for example, apparent in the scene in which Koro repairs the engine of his boat and Pai comes to ask where the whale on whose back their ancestor Paikea arrived comes from. That brings them to a topic of Hawaiki and the ancestors. He explains her the way their ancestors lived on the example of a rope – each of the strings is one of their famous ancestors, and when tied together they are strong. It symbolizes the importance of being connected with the ancestors, which makes one powerful – he wants to demonstrate it, so he pulls hard and the rope breaks. The situation makes him angry, therefore he stamps furiously to the shed to get a new piece of rope, and meanwhile Paikea manages to fix it and start the engine. It might be considered and interpreted as an indicium of her fixing the situation of the whole tribe.
35 A constituent part of the knowledge of Maoritanga (culture and traditions) is the ability to speak Maori. Furthermore, a leader has to be a good speaker who is capable to influence and persuade the audience. Pai gives a speech at the school concert to which she has invited all her family, including Koro who has not appeared, but besides him basically the whole tribe is there. It is the same speech she gave at an East Coast Area School Speech Contest, which she won. The speech, dedicated to her beloved Koro, is about her tribe, herself and leadership and it is concluded by a chant that Paikea, the ancestor sang to his ancestors to help him on his way, to lift up his spirits and give him strength when he was struggling, ready to give up - also a parallel to the situation of the tribe, in particular, of her grandfather. Her performance is one of the most moving scenes of the whole film.
Strength and dedication are other essential attributes of a chief. Both of them come up when Koro starts his school for boys to find and prepare the new leader.
Even though Pai knows that it is a matter for boys, she never gives up and tries to sneak up to the Marae while they are having lectures and to learn as much as the boys. She does more than just watch; she secretly learns the skill of fighting with taiaha (a wooden stick) from her uncle Rawiri, knowing it is forbidden for girls and regardless Koro’s explicit ban on doing so. Another demonstration of her dedication is when Koro sets up the final task of his test to choose the most suitable candidate to become his successor. None of the boys succeeds in withdrawing Koro’s carved whale tooth (the symbol of a chief) from the deep waters, so Pai went back later that day with Rawiri who knew the exact spot, dived into the ocean and brought the tooth back as she was aware of its importance for her grandfather.
36 A leader should be courageous; this she demonstrates by slamming the door on Koro when he does not show any happiness after she changed her mind about moving to Germany with her father because she realized that Whangara is the place where she belongs to. Although she deeply respects him, he hurts her feelings once again and she is not afraid to express her disappointment.
Additionally, a chief should master the skill of communicating with their ancestors or gods; the skill that makes them so exceptional. Paikea has the gift.
She can hear and call the whales, which are so significant for her tribe. One day
“[f]ar out at sea a school of whales respond to Pai’s calls for guidance. They swim to the village but become beached. Symbolically the tribe will die. Only Pai is willing to make the sacrifice to save her people, and because of this Koro accepts her leadership” (Hubbart 2015). It again proves her predestination to become the next chief because of her connection with her ancient ancestor Paikea, who communicated with the whales as it was a necessity for his journey to New Zealand.
If one looks at Pai’s character more closely, they must realize that she is not an ordinary girl. The way she dresses herself is very masculine and the combinations seem regardless to any rules concerning colour-matching. Furthermore, her hair-cut is rather boyish, short and dishevelled. It is despite that she has several female
‘role models‘ in her family, such as Nanny Flowers, uncle Rawiri’s girlfriend or her teacher, who are all very feminine and neat. Another fact worth noticing is that Pai has no female friends whatsoever (Hubbart 2015). This does not apply to her character in the novel, where she always wears a white dress and white ribbons on her pigtails.
37 All in all, Pai is a strong, young girl who rebels against the traditions because she is aware of her ability, wisdom, courage and desire to lead her people and to save her tribe. As it has been said before, she is not an ordinary girl; therefore, her position in Maori society of recent days is also unique – at least towards the end of the film when she becomes recognized as a future chief. Her oddness is noticeable in her relationship to modern and urban lifestyle. She prefers, unlike other children in the film, the healthy and old-time values, such as nature, their ancestors and history. Moreover, she specifically dislikes usual treats, such as Coke and sweets. Last but by no means the least, is the fact that she is willing to prioritize the needs of the whole community to her own, even risking her life.
2.2.2 Nanny Flowers, the Symbol of Female Strength and Wisdom
The nature of Nanny Flowers’s character is truly beautiful; one representing a traditional yet strong woman. Unlike Paikea, who deep inside of her feels the duty of becoming a new leader, Nanny Flowers is happy to be the boss only within the walls of their house and their family. Wisdom and wittiness are great characteristics of hers. Since she is in her 60s, she is experienced enough to know her tricks; furthermore, her warm-hearted nature emanates from everything she does.
It might be her from whom Pai has learnt so much empathy as Nanny is her major care-giver.
Although she accepts her position, she is by no means submissive to her husband. The first moment of resistance is in the scene from the hospital when she refuses to listen to her husband’s order to “take her [Paikea] away” (Caro 2003,
38 5:45), so as he could say a prayer for his firstborn dead grandson. She stays in the room and commands him strictly to acknowledge his newborn granddaughter and he does. Although he makes clear that the only one who he is interested in is the dead baby-boy, the boy to become the new leader instead of him.
Another of her great, almost a feminist gesture, which is a sign of Nanny’s power and the respect her husband holds towards her, is when Koro ‘ignores’ Pai as a possible successor and starts a new school for other first-born boys from the village. At the first session Nanny Flowers invites Pai to do at least the welcome ceremony and lead the boys into the Marae, trying to compensate the fact that she cannot participate in any other way. It is again against Koro’s will.
This is an exceptional situation because Nanny Flowers never intervenes into the tribe’s matters publically – no woman should do so according to the rules of Maori post-colonial society.
Her private dominance is further expressed in the scene when Koro angrily hits a table with his palm and breaks a sauce pot because he is furious about Pai using the taiaha. Then he tells Nanny Flowers to let Pai clean the mess, but Nanny Flowers replies to him: “You might be the boss out there. I am the boss in this kitchen.
I will do it” (Caro 2003, 40:03). When comforting Pai after this incident, she gives her a pearl of wisdom for her life:
Nanny Flowers: “He has got a lot of rules he has to live by.”
Pai: “It’s not fair.”
NF: “I know. But sometimes you just have to let him think that he is the boss.”
Pai: “He IS the boss.”
39 NF: “Not of me. I let him think he is, though” (Caro 2003, 43:30 –
43:46).
By this Nanny Flowers presents Pai her independence and determination and advices Pai to get the knowledge ‘somewhere else’ when Koro disagrees with her participation on the ‘education’. By ‘somewhere else’ she means her second-born son Rawiri, who is also of no use for his father Koro (as a second- born son), but he is great with the taiaha.
The cause of Flower’s independent nature is her origin; she comes from the Muriway tribe led by a strong woman. Therefore, she considers herself a descendant of her - strong and sovereign. This might be the reason which enables her to see Pai’s potential and accept her as a future leader. On the contrary, publically she accepts the subordinate role. Nanny’s roots are more emphasized in the novel; so is her independence.
2.2.3 Other Female Characters
Miss Parata is a young, beautiful Maori teacher who makes the best effort to distribute Maori knowledge and traditions, including the language, songs and dances to her pupils. Her character is of a great interest due to Koro’s opinion that she would make a good wife for his first-born son Porourangi and that this aliance might give him the desired male descendant. Therefore, Koro invites her to come and watch pictures of Porourangi’s work when he visits Whangara, in desperate desire to match them up. But during the presentation some private pictures come up on the reel, one of which shows him tangled in love with a blond
40 girl. Porourangi explains that it is his pregnant girlfriend from Germany.
There is nothing but awkwardness in the room and to add on the tension Koro orders Rawiri to take her back to town. The most striking fact about this scene is that she respects the chief of the tribe to such an extent that she is willing to undergo the obvious attempt of setting her up with her son. It is clear that she knew the purpose of the invitation and that the thing Koro wants the most is a boy.
She was respected within the tribe but the situation described above shows that she allowed others (the leader in this case) to take control of her life, which proves a great dedication to the tribal traditions as well as her weakness.
In contrast, there is Rawiri’s girlfriend Shilo, who is friendly and supports Pai when she has to move to her house and on other occasions, but she is not much of a contribution for the community. She lives with Rawiri and their friends in a frowsy, untidy house and spends their days by lying around, playing pool, idling and smoking marihuana. Otherwise, there is not much of her character shown in the film. Similarly, the other women appearing in the film are more or less only coulisse, often seen in the marea kitchen.
3 Conclusion
Both films portray the difficult position that Maori women are in. Not only that they are Maori, but they are also women, which creates an even more difficult situation that they have to deal with. They are in suppressed position inside their homes as well as outside, within the whole society. But both of these films are stories
41 of hope. Once Were Warriors features a different kind of story of hope, the hope that women are strong enough to fight for a better life. In this case it means “to leave her abuser, reject nuclear family model and return to the safety of her whanau”
(Mikaere 1999). On the other hand, it demonstrates the insufficiency of the nuclear family model for the people. The older ones are not used to such responsibility required as that of solo-care givers, as they are accustomed that whanau takes care of many arisen problems and control behavior of their members. In the cities the control fails, which causes many problems such as alcoholism, violence, neglected children and many more. This situation is more common in urban areas where Maori were forced more intensively to adopt a European way of life and value system.
Whale Rider suggests that women can be recognized leaders as long as they have skills and determination to accomplish such goals. Also, it shows that their public position does not necessary have to agree with the influence they possess at home, demonstrated on the character of Nanny Flowers.
All this applies primarily to traditional rural societies.
Both of the films reflect the impact of colonization and present the alternated society, as well as the rural that is considered old-fashioned nowadays. The major changes are the male dominion and acceptance of the nuclear family model.
Lastly, a note worth to mention is that both of the films, although made in New Zealand and mostly by New Zealanders and to certain extent even by Maori, they were primarily intended to be screened internationally. They follow the Hollywood style of film-making. Therefore, one should realize that the facts may be altered and slightly adapted so it becomes understandable for the overseas audience without any or only a little knowledge of the Maori background.
