What is the plot of Whale Rider?
Only males are allowed to ascend to chiefdom in a Maori tribe in New Zealand. This ancient custom is upset when the child selected to be the next chief dies at birth. However his twin sister, Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes), survives. At age 12, she enlists the help of her grandmother (Vicky Haughton) and the training of her uncle (Grant Roa) to claim her birthright. But to break with convention, she’ll have to do the impossible: win over her ultra-traditional grandfather (Rawiri Paratene).Whale Rider / Film synopsis
What happens at the end of the Whale Rider?
The film ends with Pai’s father, grandparents, and uncle coming together to celebrate her status as the new leader, as the finished waka is hauled into the sea for its maiden voyage.
What was the main problem in Whale Rider?
The main conflicts of the film are between Pai and her grandfather, as well as Koro and Porourangi when the man refuses to become the chief and leaves. The first conflict is only resolved when the Koro sees the evidence that the girl is ready to become the leader when she manages to return the whale into the sea.
What is the climax in the movie Whale Rider?
Heroic Sacrifice: In the climax, Pai climbs onto the largest whale’s back and coaxes it back into the ocean, causing the other beached whales to follow, saving them all. Pai nearly drowns as a result, though she ultimately survives.
What does Nanny decide to hide from Koro?
She hides the fact that Pai found the whale tooth. She says that he’s not ready for the truth yet. What does Pai’s speech at the school program reveal about her feelings toward Koro?
Does Koro want a grandson or granddaughter?
Koro is Pai’s grandfather. A chief of his people, he follows a traditional way of thinking. He wants a grandson to be chief after him.
What does the whale tooth symbolism in Whale Rider?
The rei puta, or whale tooth, is a symbol of a leader’s status or position within the tribe. The name, Paikea is both a reference to Pai’s ancestor and a symbol of her destiny to become a leader.
What is the subplot in Whale Rider?
The movie has a subplot dealing with the relationship between Paikea and her father, but the film mainly revolves around Paikea’s struggle to prove herself worthy to her grandfather Koro. Even though Paikea is much better than the boys at performing the ceremonial exercises, her grandfather is blinded by his prejudice.
When Pai refuses to sit in the back at school after Koro tells her to?
10. Koro begins his “sacred school of learning” for the firstborn boys in Pai’s generation. He refuses to allow Pai to take part in it. When Pai refuses to sit quietly in the back, Koro demands that she leave.
What whales were in Whale Rider?
Trivia (18) The whales in the movie are a combination of footage of real whales, life size models (some with humans creating movement) and CGI. Keisha Castle-Hughes said the key whale riding scene took place 15-20 miles offshore, and was terrifying.
What does the rope symbolism in Whale Rider?
The rope is a symbol in the whale rider because it symbolises the ancestral line of the Maori community that they live in. When the rope is broken it symbolises the community is broken and falling apart. Paikea then fixes the rope and its as if she has rejoined the community again.
What does the whale tooth necklace symbolize in the Whale Rider?
The whale tooth is a representation of the Maori people who shaped and built their religion and community, as well as being a representation of Paikea and many other traits that would be needed by a chief, many of which, Paikea has.
What does the whale tooth necklace symbolize in Whale Rider?
What happens in the opening scene of Whale Rider?
The scene begins with an announcement by Pai’s teacher that the young girl won an award for the speech she is about to give. One layer of subtext is that her grandfather is absent, so part of Pai’s emotional state is influenced by her disappointment.
What does Koro say to Pai in the hospital?
KORO: That’s right. (He recites a saying in Maori.) “Weave together the threads of Paikea so that our line remains strong.” Each of those threads is one of your ancestors all joined together and strong all the way back to that whale of yours.
What is the Whale Rider about?
Stephanie loves to read and has a bachelors degree in History. ‘The Whale Rider’ tells the story of a girl destined to be a leader of her people. Meet Kahu, a young Maori girl, and follow her journey as she contradicts the roles females are expected to play in her culture and develops a relationship with whales.
Who is the first born son of the Whale Rider?
The village leader should be the first-born son, a direct patrilineal descendant of Paikea, the Whale Rider, he who rode on top of a whale (Tohora) from Hawaiki. Pai is originally born a twin, but her twin brother and her mother died during childbirth. Pai is female and so technically cannot inherit the leadership.
What is the symbiotic relationship between the Whale Rider and his whale?
One relationship in particular — that between the whale rider and his giant whale — was exemplary of a symbiotic connection. This whale rider casts spears as life-giving objects to the islands, but one spear he casts 1000 years into the future, which is the time of the story’s young heroine Kahu.
What happens to the bull whale in Whale Rider?
All the while the bull whale fondly remembers communicating with the human Whale Rider and eventually leads the herd to New Zealand. A different herd of whales washes up on the beaches of Whangara, and though most of the locals attempt to save them, the whales all perish.