Whale Rider

Physical journeys involve different types of obstacles and movement to new places. They provide opportunities for travellers to extend themselves physically, intellectually and emotionally as they respond to challenges and learn more about themselves and the world around them. The film Whale Rider I about a young girl named Paikea. The film does not only show us one girl’s experience of growing up, but also tells us about the Maori culture, tradition how gender is treated, and their leadership. The Happiest Refugee is an extract from a memoir, it is about Ahn Do’s journey to a better life, it tells us about all the challenges he and his family have to face, along with the joyful rescue.

In the middle of the film Pai presents her speech in front of the audience for her Paka (grandfather). Half way through her speech Pai realizes that Koro isn’t coming. This shows an emotional importance because her speech is about her ancestors, and how the ‘line’ from the accident ones was broken. An emotionally journey is represented through this scene because it shows how Pai has come to except that she isn’t to blame for there being ‘no leader’. This scene uses multiply camera shots showing the important focus on Pai and what she is saying, they include close-ups with enables viewers to understand the actor’s emotions and also allows them to feel empathy for the character and also a long shot which gives the viewer a more specific idea of the setting. In the scene of the storm of The Happiest Refugee the passengers are faced with an emotional journey having all their food, water and other resources ruined a quote that shows the emotion the passengers would of faced is “She sat crouched down wrapping her arms around a wooden pole” This quote creates imagery, its shows how weak and broken this families were after the terrible tragedy.

There are many physical examples shown in the film whale rider, especially shown in the scene at the beginning of the film at the hospital.