Decolonization in the film ‘Once were Warriors’

Since as the lecture mentioned about Renan’s statement that 1) the nation is always created with the violence and 2) the successful creation of nation is achieved by forgetting those violence, decolonization seems to require the recall of forgotten violence among people in some way. Therefore the Hip hop and rap music those which have an elements of anger will suite for the way of decolonization in marginalized minority groups such as African-American in slum or Maori people in New Zealand.

Then, what about the violence representation in New Zealand film which depict Maori? For example, the film ’Once were warriors’ is the film about Maori family. In the film, the eldest son of the family, named Nig, was a member of the street gang, ‘Teo Aoteaora’. Since the film is based on the novel, there are some arguments about the differences between the film and the novel. The difference of representation of the violence is the one. While the film celebrates gang culture, the original novel repeats the condemnation of gangs. And also while Nig who died early in the novel is arrived and support his mother in the film.

What these differences means if we see the film as one of the way of decolonization like what Kirsten Zemke talked about pop music in terms of decolonization in her lecture?? It can be said that by depicting young gangs as people who seek their Maori identity, and by giving Nig a positive image to help his mother who suffered a domestic violence from her husband rather than people who employ their violence to discriminately anyone, the film accept the violence as a means to protect their own right and identity. These representation of violence are distinguished from the violence by family’s father, Jake, toward his family and children which is all used to express his own dissatisfaction toward the world surrounding him. Also the difference of these violence emphasized the role of violence which was used to protest in many histories.

By depicting different kinds of violence, the film ‘Once were warriors’ reminds the audience of forgotten violence and struggle which was used to create the assimilated nation in a history. Therefore, the film’ Once were warriors’ can be said that it have a aspect of decolonization media for the marginalized people similar to Hip Hop or Rap music as the essay of Dean Hapeta argued.