The Whale Rider: Historical Response

In watching The Whale Rider, I had to keep the historical context of the film in mind. The film is centered around the life of the Maori people in New Zealand. Although the movie is contemporary, the film focuses a lot on the ancient ways of the Maori people. Koro heavily focuses on the idea of creating a chief out of one of the first born sons. He could not do so with his own child, or his grandchild. Since he could not find a chief out of the boys in the neighborhood, he thought he had failed. This exhibits how much the ancient teachings and his ancestors meant to him. In the film, the viewers are also told the story of Paikea, the chief  of the Maori tribe that rode a whale to where his people were to settle. Koro believes that Pai cannot be the chief because she is a girl. Again, this relates to the ancient belief. Overall, this film just shows how important the Maori history is to the tribes of people, even to this day.