Anatomy of Difference: Whale Rider - Movie Review Example

Anatomy of Difference- Whale Rider An Assignment Submitted by Fall Anatomy of Difference- Whale Rider Introduction In a society, historical, racial, and cultural perspectives can influence gender roles thereby leading to “othering”, particularly “othering” of females by the males. People who live in the society would be influenced by the above-mentioned historical, racial, and cultural factors, as part of their daily lifestyle and during crucial moments. In that direction, males of the society would act and behave in a specific manner with the females based on the ways their ancestral males behaved with their counterpart females from historic times, and importantly based on the ways their culture stereotypically stipulates. Because of this skewed historical and cultural perspective, numerous societies in the world are based on a patriarchal system where gender roles are stereotypically defined. So, the male child is only considered as the heir of the family, sidelining any role for the female child. The film titled The Whale Rider directed by Niki Caro, based on the novel of the same title by Witi Ihimaera, depicts the struggle of a young girl, Paikea Apirana to persuade her patriarch family accept her as the leader of their tribe. Using the movie, the analysis will be done regarding how historically and culturally influenced gender roles and the resultant patriarchal mindset can cause the issue of stereotyping and “othering”, with females like the character of Pai being stereotyped to perform certain roles and sidelined by the males. Stereotyping based on Historical factors Society is full of stereotyping or even labeling. This stereotyping involves viewing or even “fixing” people based on their specific characteristics. That is, based on certain individuals’ inherent characteristics such as gender, race, religion, age, and so on, majority of the people would view those individuals or group of individuals in a generalized and unambiguous manner. Bennett (1990) defines stereotyping as a form of social or mental grouping among individuals based on common, exaggerated and even inaccurate generalizations. This stereotyping will normally have historic origins particularly when one views gender stereotyping or inequalities. From historic times, men and women have always been stereotyped to play specific roles, with women always stereotyped to play subservient roles (Churchill, 1992). Although there are number of exceptions to this stereotyping, certain stereotyping continue. In the film, Whale Rider, since Pai’s birth, Koro objects to her becoming the next chief. He backs his decision first based on certain historical factors. Although people live their daily lives and take crucial decisions based on the current situation and the related factors, there would be number of occasions where historical events and factors could play a major role. That is, historical events and the resultant beliefs would continue to influence one’s thinking, and so he/she would take key decisions based purely on those events and beliefs, pushing into the background current situation and relevant facts in hand. On those lines, the tribe in particular Koro believes that the famous whale rider “Kahutia Te Rang” was their ancestor. Kahutia Te Rang was their first chief and so after him the male heir of the family continued to lead the tribe. “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” (Caro, Barnett, Hubner & Sanders, 2002). Koro was expecting a male child in his family when Pai was born, so that he can hand over his responsibilities to that male heir. However, he is disappointed when Pai is born to his elder grandson. So, it is clear that certain key historical perspectives led to the formation of stereotypical gender inequalities in Koro’s mindset and thereby among the tribal society as well, which in turn led to “othering” with Pai being the main victim of it. Stereotyping based on cultural or “tribal” identity When one views stereotyping from a different perspective, it can be seen that people’s characteristics and behavior may not necessarily lead to the formation of stereotypes, instead the already formed stereotypes could influence people’s characteristics and behavior. So, stereotyping can work both ways. That is, individuals would play certain roles or exhibit specific characteristics based on their culture, language, race, their national identity or even tribal identity, and the resultant gender inequalities, as in the case of Whale Rider. In a way, stereotyping involves a standardized and even simplified viewing of particular people on the basis of their commonly visible attributes (Antonio, 2009). Stereotyping based on the above-mentioned attributes creates a situation where group of people belonging to the particular culture as well as the outsiders would view that group in a specific or generalized manner. That is, stereotyped people would view themselves in a stereotypical manner. This happened in the case of tribes featured in the film, Whale Rider. The Maori Tribe in particular Koro stereotypically viewed themselves that they are male-dominant society with females needing play secondary roles. In that direction, Koro refrains from teaching Pai about key cultural traditions that are followed by their tribe. He stereotypically thinks that boys are the ones who will carry forward the tribal tradition so he teaches them at a Meeting Place all about their Maori culture, even while barring Pai from coming to that place. Understanding gender norms – or other socially/culturally accepted norms and what happens when individuals go/are born/are placed or opt to be outside those established accepted understood boundaries (Readings). Koro believes that all the cultural traditions including leadership traits and protecting duties in a society are passed from a father to son, and so he thinks that Pai had no role to play in preserving the tribal culture. He is very stubborn and is unwilling to conceive alternative structures of lineage where girls can be given prominence, by dumping the current patriarchal structure. Stereotyping based on gender and the resultant patriarchal mindset Men and women were stereotyped to perform certain roles based primarily on their gender. This allocation of certain roles could have arisen early because of the differing physical and mental attributes of the men and women. That is, from the historic times, men only hunted, collected food items, protected their families, and importantly took leadership roles because of their stronger physical attributes and the resulted mental confidence. On the other hand, women’s roles were restricted inside their homes because of their supposed inferior physical strength. These historic identities and the resultant stereotyping of men and women continued all these centuries, and are visible in the fictional works like the Whale Rider. Thus, the very conditions of stereotype were created by historical factors (Churchill 1992). Although Pai was praised by others, Koro is reluctant to accept her as a suitable person to be elected as the next chief mainly because of her gender and the resultant patriarchal mindset of his. For example, Pai had the magical ability to communicate with the whales. However, Koro never tried to comprehend these powers of Pai and the ways those powers could have been beneficial to his tribe, until the climax. He is firm on his stand that a boy only possesses the abilities and the needed powers to lead the tribe. The belief that only a male heir can be the next chief is ingrained in his mind to such an extent that he is not ready to accept Pai, a girl as his successor. The politics and culture of distinction encourages greater surveillance and harassment of the deprived sections who are considered unequal mainly because of their gender (Antonio, 2009, pg.29). So Pai was never considered to be capable of being the chief of the tribe. But his intentions are thwarted by his wife, Nanny Flowers and her liberal thoughts. Conclusions- Breaking of stereotypes and “othering” Based on the above analysis, it is possible to state that stereotyping based on historical factors, culture, identity, gender, and other factors can lead to “othering”, with females being the main victims. Although, the selected film of Whale Rider reflects this “othering” for most parts, towards the climax, there are some positive changes that break the stereotypes. After Nanny’s persuasion, Koro along with the tribal people sees Pai coaxing and riding a whale, which facilitates him to acknowledge that she is indeed their future chief. In the end, the film challenged patriarchal system and “othering” by showcasing Pai’s abilities and proving she is the leader of the tribe. So, it can be assumed that individuals particularly females can break all the stereotypes induced by historical factors, culture, gender inequalities, and others. When they do that they can “shatter” othering thereby playing optimal roles in the society, without any stereotypes. References Antonio, S. D. (2002). Contemporary African American Cinema. New York: Peter Lang. Bennett, C. I. (1990). Comprehensive Multicultural Education: Theory and Practice. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Caro, N (Director), & Barnett, J., Hubner, F & Sanders, T (Producer). (2002). Whale Rider [Motion Picture]. USA: Newmarket Films. Churchill, W. (1992). Fantasies of the Master Race: Literature, Cinema and the Colonization of American Indians. M. Anette Jaimes & Maine Monroe (Eds). Common Courage Press Read More