Leonie Pihama asks a very relevant question: Are films dangerous?
In a recent lecture we were shown trailers of two famous New Zealand Films which answered this question. One was Whale Rider directed by Niki Caro and the second was The Piano directed by Jane Campion. Both films made headlines both nationally and internationally and were either known for being nominated or winning many prestigious awards. Besides the commonality of both films displaying Maori characters, the other feature that they have in common is that they were both directed by Pakeha females.
Is this really relevant you may ask??
I actually didn't realise how relevant this particular fact was until I watched the trailers and noticed issues that I previously had disregarded. For example, the feministic views that Whale Rider has towards Maori culture without explicitly saying it in the movie. The most memorable part in the movie I can refer to is where Paikea Is told by her grandfather that she is to sit at the back of the men while speeches are being performed. Yes, I didn't notice that previously due to it being a well respected practice on all Marae, however, looking closely at the demographics that this movie would have been displayed to, I am beginning to rethink what others may have thought of Whale Rider the movie.
I asked a non-Maori friend of mine to tell me what she thought of the movie, besides the cultural and spiritual aspect of the film she copiously rattled on about a number of scenes in which she thought could be argued from a feminist point of view. (her sociological side prevailing)
It seriously made me wonder and begin to think that Leonie is indeed correct! Not only do these types of films promote Maori culture in a sense, they can also be the ruination of it by a story being told by a pakeha perspective as in this case of the Whale Rider.
The second film shown to us was that of the Piano, where Leonie describes the portrayal of Maori in the film as: "happy go lucky, native, simple minded, barbarians who only spoke in terms of sexual innuendo."
Wow, I had simply not seen this movie like that before. I use to think how awesome it was for Maori to be displayed in a top featured film without thinking of the actual consequences of how this may wrongly display our culture.
Leonie describes this as a series of constructions of Maori people which are located firmly in a "colonial gaze." She answers her question by stating, that yes, this is dangerous. Dangerous in the fact that the portrayal of Maori people is continuously paraded as "the way we were"
I too would see this as dangerous as obviously our culture has evolved since colonisation and we are no longer seen as primitive barbarians as the Piano shows. Also, the feministic views of the Whale Rider. Within Maori culture our female are held in high regard, although most Marae would prefer women not to speak, it is simply because both male and female have their particular roles in which my grandmother has always taught me, the women actually run the Marae (but don't tell the males that) My concern really is that this form of media distorts the true conception behind Maori culture.
Knowing that these films are watched internationally, how might another audience react to such displays of Maori culture? Are films including indigenous people in fact dangerous? Also, how might we be able to deconstruct the "colonial gaze?"
