Sexism In Whale Rider

The main character of the film Whale Rider is Paikea Apirana. She is an 11 year old girl, who was born in the New Zealand Maori tribe. As soon as she was born, she was unwanted by the members of her tribe. This is because both her mother and twin brother died during the birth, leaving Paikea alone. Paikea states in a voice over of this scene, “there was no gladness when I was born. My twin brother died and took my mother with him. Everybody was waiting for the first born boy to lead us but he died and I didn’t”

I have analyzed this film and I am going to inform you of 2 main themes of this movie, Sexism and Struggle, and how these themes are portrayed.

The first scene I chose, is the very first scene. In it, Paikea’s mother is giving birth