Whale Rider Culture

In the film the whale Rider we see Koro trying to teach the young boys of the town or village if you will the old ways. Koro feels as though without an heir, he must teach the young boys of the village how to be the Chiefs. I think the film goes a long way in showing how the ancient cultures of the world are losing much of their historical heritage to modern advances in society as well as a more worldview of the culture. Just as Koro sees his oldest son’s refusal to take another wife after he lost his first wife and one of his children as a betrayal of his culture. Though I do think that the film left a lot out that should’ve been put in that would help explain the Maori culture a lot better, such as in the very beginning of the book where
it speaks of the old bull well that cast the spear upon the land which is where Paikeas people now live and how at the end of the book where she’s becoming the well writer the Mother whale of the pod reminds him of the spear he cast 1000 years ago to lead the Maori into the future, overall not a bad adaptation of the story itself.