The Whale Rider

The movie is based on the Maori tale of Paikea, The Whale Rider. The movie is rich with cultural representation. The Maori believed that above all nature gives life, and in the movie Paikea is never seen with shoes on. As funny as this sounds, not wearing shoes to lots of cultures to show either respect or to bring yourself closer to Earth is really common. Some people believe that when you walk barefoot, you are letting Earth pass its energy to you and you pass your energy to Earth. The director even made a point in showing after Pai's first concert everyone left their shoes outside and then we see them putting their shoes back on outside. For me, I also see this as a form of respect. Since Pai is Maori, for her to be shoeless most of the time can be her connecting to Earth, but also giving respect to the earth as well. 

From the movie I can infer that the Maori view men as the only ones that can be leaders. In the movie Pai is often told she can't do certain things, like train with the boys. Her grandfather took the task of training the first born boys to be the chief that their people needed. The grandfather believed that it was Pai's birth that brought the distress and it was his job to fix it. Pai kept trying to prove herself and to get her grandfather to let her train, but he would not hear of it. In the end, it is found out that a group of whales have beached themselves and when Pai tried to help she was told by her grandfather that she need to go away because she had done enough, meaning he thought it was her fault that they beached. Pai then takes it upon herself to ride the whale back into the ocean saying that she is not afraid to die. Pai is willing to give her life for the approval of her grandfather. 

My response to this film is emotional. This is a story that can be seen and interpreted across many cultures. The story is, one feels they are not good enough for their family and they keep getting metaphorically knocked down when they try and prove themselves, then in the end they either die or come close before their family or family member finally accepts them. Pai came close to losing her life and it took that before her grandfather would actually accept her and treat her life he would treat one of the boys in the tribe. The ending is debated on if Pai died or not, and I like to believe that she was lucky and because she was doing something of the tribe, her ancestors protected her and made sure she came out alive.