Critical Analysis

We have critically analyzed the social constructs in the film, and have identified the following:

Micro-Aggression

Micro-aggression is unintentionally, but constantly committed from privileged onto disadvantaged people (Brookfield, 2014).

Gender Microaggressions

After she starts boat motor Koro says, “I don’t want you to do that again. It’s dangerous”

Myth of Meritocracy

There are many factors that work against people in disadvantaged positions, and it is a myth that hard work is all that is needed to elevate people out of these disadvantaged positions (Alvarado, 2010).

Paikea’s hard work was not paying off because she was a girl (at a disadvantage).
The more she tried to prove herself as worthy, the harder her grandfather worked against her, and set up more and more barriers.
The boys just had to be first-born sons and were praised very easily.
It was only after she had completely proven herself as the Whale Rider that the grandfather accepted her. Even while she was riding the whale, he asked his wife, “Which one?” when she showed him the rei-puta (whale tooth necklace). He still thought it was one of the boys who retrieved it, meaning he still hadn’t completely believed Paikea’s worth at the time she was riding the whale, and his wife had to say angrily, “What do you mean ‘which one’?”

Feminist Pedagogy

The inclusion and respect of all individual voices (Cope Watson, 2008)

Koro – Cares more about task/traditions than building relationships :

“Not you”, in telling Hemi that he is not worthy to come on the boat.
He does not help any of the boys back into the boat, but the Uncle Rawiri does.
Falls into depression when no one retrieved the rei-puta, and leaves late for Pai’s concert.

Paikea – has everyone’s best interest in mind:

“If the knowledge is given to everyone, then we can be strong, and not just the leader” (example of inclusion).
“I wasn’t scared to die.” (Puts her own safety at risk by riding the whale to save all the whales and restoring traditional values of their culture.
“…but I know that our people will keep going forward, all together, with all of our strength” (the last scene with the waka symbolizes a combination of traditions and modern era with her new leadership style).
Pai is wise enough to know her grandfather loves her, but cares deeply about his culture, and so she is forgiving of his actions.
Pai understood that despite the traditional stance on gender roles within her culture, her culture, despite being strong and “traditional”, was also evolving with the introduction of outside cultures. She understood that a strong leader does not always mean a male leader. (McRea, 2019).

Adolescent Masculinities (Martino & Pallotta-Chiarolli, 2007)

“[T]he role of sport and the body as a social practice through which many boys learn to validate their masculinities and to gain the status of being ‘tough’ or ‘cool’ through enforcing a distinction from those subordinated boys considered to be inferior” (Marino & Palllotta-Chiarolli, 2007, p. 357).

Koro tells the boys to be angry and fierce in Chief training school
“Anger is part of your battle.”

Deficit Ideology (Gorski, 2011)

Deficit Ideology relies on mainstream stereotypes to justify why some groups are disadvantaged, and puts the responsibility on social groups to fix their own inequalities (Gorski, 2011).

Paikea was disadvantages because of the false stereotype that females are weak and do not make acceptable leaders.
The responsibility was on Paikea to prove her strength and leadership skills with no help from her Grandfather (or culture).

Working together to dismantle oppression (Johnson, 2018)

“Privilege is always a problem both for those who do not have it and those who do, because privilege is always in relation to others” (Johnson, 2018, p. 8).

Paikea was on her own to dismantle her own oppression as a female. Those who were privileged (such as her grandfather and the first-born boys), did not see her oppression as a problem as it is the privileged who were benefiting.

Pai and Uncle Rawiri’s Relationship

Rawiri was a fellow disadvantaged member of the culture who was helping Paikea work through her struggles. It was not the privileged who were helping her, which is what Johnson (2018) believes should happen.

Uncle Rawiri and Pai bond over commonality of rejection from Koro as both were considered unqualified to be leader

Uncle Rawiri is the second-born son, and Pai is a female. So they experienced the same oppression.

Patriarchy

“In a patriarchy, … power is gendered through its cultural association with men and manhood. This makes power look natural on a man but unusual and even problematic on a woman, marking her as an exception to be scrutinized and explained” (Johnson, 2018, p. 77).