What is your response to this film?

Thankfully the journey of Paikea ascension to Chief makes the ending satisfying
for me despite it being a bit clich and obvious. Koros disappointment at
Paikeas sex is made apparent throughout the film which made me pity him. His
absolute requirement that the next chief should be male blinds him to the
possibility that Paikea has the ability to fulfill that role. I think he knew of her
potential and only found ways to deny it by preventing her from participating. She
does challenge gender expectations by successfully showing that she can
accomplished tasks meant for the boys.

Paikea states that she wasnt afraid to die while riding the whale. I think her
death would have been a fitting ending to her story. I can assume to be a true
whale rider one must survive riding a whale. I think Koro would have still asked
forgiveness at the end of the film and recognized that Paikea was their new chief
and the tribe would have been united despite her loss.


What is the power of tradition? What argument is made about tradition?
Tradition does bring a bit of continuity to ones life as well as lessons to be
learned. Tradition is a way to hold on to ones culture heritage and identity.
Without it, a person, a whole societys identity can disappear forever. However,
holding on steadfastly to a specific tradition can have the ability hurt peoples
feelings as with the case of Koros belief that the next chief should be a male.

Choose one theme or metaphor. How is it used in the film to convey
meaning?
I felt the rope was a good metaphor on how individuals in a tribe need to work
together to make the tribe stronger. By breaking the rope while trying to start the
motor, it shows that Koro is responsible for continual demise of his tribe. There
is a bit of foreshadowing shown when Paikea finds a way to put the broken rope
together, stronger than before, so she can start the motor. At the end of the film,
the entire tribe is re-united under their new leader because she was able to bring
them all together.

Choose a strong line from the reading. Quote the line and explain what you
find compelling about the sentence.

Wise leader, forgive me. I am only a fledgling new to flight.

Koro finally recognizes that Paikea is the new chief and he himself is still learning
how to deal with the change in tradition. He may be admitting to his own failure
as chief and not so much admitting his mistake of not allowing Paikea to learn
the ways of being a tribal chief.