Revised Piece

Traditions are the cornerstone of any culture. Ancestral ways that were passed down from generation to generation are what many cultures pride themselves upon. These ways are meant to guide future members and are usually very ancient and much cherished. However, these old ways sometimes have to bend for new traditions. Conforming to a cultures ways is not always easy and is even harder when you know that there is a need for change.
In the movie Whale Rider, a young Maori girl struggles to find her place amongst her people. She is thought of as an outcast by some, a beloved family member by others and a curse by her grandfather. When Pai was born her mother and her twin bother passed away. This painful event was compounded by the fact that her brother was thought to be the next chief for their people. Her grandfather is sadden and angered the most by this loss and sees Pai as the reason for this taking place. As the movie progresses we see that not only is her grandfather wrong about her, but that she is actually the true heir to the title of chief.
Pai is seen throughout the movie as a rebel. She is constantly going against the old ways of her tribe and doesn't understand how she is doing wrong. Pai's grandfather is determined to find the new leader for his people and begins to teach all of the boys in the tribe the ways of a chief. He feels that if he does this a new and rightful leader will make himself known and all of his troubles will end. He never thinks about asking the girls to join because in his tribe only males can lead. However, the boys only continue to disappoint him and Pai tries to show that she can do what he is asking. She eventually goes behind Kora's back and learns the fighting style, dances and chants on her own. Kora catches her doing this and severely reprimands her. He is blind to the fact that she is better than the boys in her tribe and shuts her off only because she is female.
One scene in the movie shows Kora taking the boys out to sea and throwing his sacred whale tooth out into the waves. He tells the boys that only one of them will bring it back to him. They all try and fail. Later we see Pai and her family out in the same spot. She turns to her uncle and asks if this is where Kora threw his whale tooth, he shows her the general area and Pai dives in; returning several minutes later with the tooth. The fact that she found this when only the true successor is supposed to, shows her family that she has potential.
Pai struggled from the day that she was born. She was seen as the reason for the tribe’s problems when they should really have looked to her for the solution. Within every culture there is the urge to conform. If you don't you are usually out-cast or taken in by another community that fits your ways. But the challenge to stand up and say that even though we have traditions we should still be open to new ones is a hard one. Pai is only a young girl and looked at as weak and unworldly. But once she is given a chance to show her true strengths and her true qualities she is shown as a strong leader; one worthy of her tribe, despite the fact that she is a girl.


Like most women in a male dominant society, she felt out of place when faced with her true feelings of leadership. Being a female myself I can relate. I am a stay at home mom and some look down upon that fact in society today. Women have struggled so long to gain respect as leaders that some now fear being in a position of support, although I view this important position as a way to lead, even if it is just to guide my own children. Women naturally have the ability to nurture and encourage and unfortunately that usually places us in a position of support instead of being in the forefront, like Pai’s grandmother. Although she wasn’t a leader she often times was the influence on Kora when he needed to be steered in the right direction. This movie enhanced my already strong feelings that women can lead and should strive to no matter the odds. Women can not only support their families, but at the same time we can pilot the way and positively impact others through guidance.


This movie shows how when we are blind to change we end up only hurting ourselves in the end. The urge to conform is strong and to go against it is hard, but sometimes necessary. If we can't find a way to keep old traditions and integrate new ones than many cultures will not survive. Change is a natural way of life, those who embrace it are braver than most and are often stronger than those who follow them.