Introduction:

            In the 2002 film, Whale Rider, the director, Niki Caro created a magnificently empowering movie that serves as an inspirational tool for females. The film is based on the Whangara people from the East Coast of New Zealand, who believed that their existence was purely reliant on a brave prophet, also named Paikea, who rode on the back of a whale to escape death when his canoe was overturned at sea. From that point forward, Whangara chiefs believed that the first born males are Paikea’s direct descendants (Whale Rider, 2002).

            Paikea Apirana is the female protagonist of the film. She is an 11 year old girl, who was born in the Whangara patriarchal tribe. Right from the moment of her birth she was shunned upon by the members of her tribe. This is because her mother and twin brother both died during the delivery, leaving Paikea as the unfavourable child to her grandfather Koro. She states, “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” (Whale Rider, 2002). The first thing the grandfather does when he walks in is he asks where his deceased grandson is, without acknowledging his deceased daughter-in-law (who is lying dead in front of him) or Baby Paikea (Whale Rider, 2002).

            Although approximately half of the human population consists of females, they are highly underrepresented in films. Most of the leading protagonist roles are favoured to men. Females are typically casted in a stereotypically traditional role as being the passive follower; females are the ones that obey the demands requested by the males. A great example is Mrs. Apirana, Paikea’s grandmother. Although she does voice out her disapproval and annoyance of her husband’s traditional preaching about males being superior over females, she still maintains the household and takes Paikea out of the room whenever her husband is speaking to other male members of the community. This shows that Mrs. Apirana knows her role is submissive and that she must obey the orders of her husband in order to satisfy the traditional standards that he upholds (Whale Rider, 2002). Paikea, on the other hand, is the complete opposite of Mrs. Apirana. Through the “female gaze” and “counter cinema”, Niki Caro portrays Paikea as a strong, self-assertive, relentless, intelligent, and ambitious girl, who wants nothing more than to assume the role as the tribe leader. Although her desires are shunned upon initially, the outcome of her diligence and perseverance to accomplish this goal allows her to not only gain the title as a prophet-like leader, but also gained the respect of her male counterparts. She also became an inspiring role model for females to follow in her footsteps. Through the “female gaze” this film, Niki Caro focuses on empowering women to be relentless about achieving their goals and never giving up regardless of the doubt that others may have (Whale Rider, 2002).

1. How is Paikea a female counter-stereotype? Use the "female gaze" theory to describe how the film and the character fit this model of the female perspective and female “voice”. Use the web link provided in Week 11 module on the Female Gaze (the Rubaiyat Hossain article, “Female Directors, Female Gaze”).

Paikea Apirana is the 11 year old protagonist of the film, and she is the exact opposite of her grandmother. She is an exemplar of a female counter-stereotype; in other words, she is not passive, weak, and submissive. In fact, Paikea is a strong headed, confident, intelligent, curious, diligent, and fearless young girl who defied the odds against her of succeeding in a male-dominated society. In many ways, Paikea exhibited characteristics that resemble the male stereotype. Paikea knew from the moment of her birth that she was not well-liked. Paikea had a soliloquy at the beginning of the film, where she states “there was no gladness when I was born. My twin brother died and took my mother with him. Everyone was waiting for the first born boy to lead us, but he died and I didn’t” (Whale Rider, 2002). Her grandfather often reprimanded her for being a girl because only boys can carry on the tradition of being the successor of the almighty Whale Rider of the Sea. Her grandfather looked down on her with contempt and viewed her as a burden because she could not fulfill this role, even though she was always trying to convince him of her superiority. For instance, when her grandfather’s boat’s rope was broken, Paikea took the initiative to tie the rope back and rev up the engine. Without acknowledging her cleverness, he dismisses her skill and tells her, “don’t do that again, it’s dangerous” (Whale Rider, 2002). Her grandfather is the perfect example of someone who idealizes male dominance and the fact that his granddaughter was able to fix the engine when he could not, he felt ashamed and of lesser value than a female. If Paikea was a male, her ability would have been greatly applauded and the grandfather would have given her more tasks to perfect on (Whale Rider, 2002).

            According to Rubaiyat Hossain’s article, “Female Directors, Female Gaze”, she states that a female “is never fully recognised as a human subject; either a Goddess, or a Whore, an animal who is only valuable because of her body parts that can give pleasure to men, procreate to continue the patriarchal kinship lineage” (Hossain, 2011, para 3). This is an example of the “male gaze” because it is based on the expectations males have of females. As a result women will adjust themselves to fit this standard. “Social and cultural myths about women transmit themselves in the main/male stream filmic representation validating and creating models for real women in the society to follow and perpetuate the myth of the man made female, creating a vicious circle. The representation of women as subsidiary characters to men in main/male stream films not only validates women's position in society as sexual objects, but women's role in the ideological realm of the masculine construct of identity and nation-state” (Hossain, 2011, para 6). This explains why Paikea was having a difficult time in obtaining the role as leader; women are only meant to fulfill the supporting role. They have the duty to become excellent housewives and mothers, whereas Paikea wanted to take over the male role and learn the chanting ritual and the stick fighting skill. She did not want to settle with staying at home and become a housewife like her grandmother, or escape the Maori grounds like her father did and pursue a different identity. When Paikea’s father asked her leave; she wanted to remain within the confines of the territory that she truly believed molded her into becoming an aspirating hero (Whale Rider, 2002).

“Today there is no 'one' type of feminist films, rather there are films made by different women, representing diverse women, depicting ranges of experiences, feelings and senses women feel -- elements that never make into the main/male stream currency of images and desire. The masculine visual economy of desire will only place women in a place from where her sexual beauty is desirable and enjoyable, and secondly place women in a place from where she is forever the secondary object, never the central human subject” (Hossain, 2011, para 8). The Whale Rider film is one element of a “female gaze” it was created to counter the idea that women cannot be the central human subject. In films created with the “female gaze”, females are given the rare opportunity of being the central role. Like Paikea, she is given the leading role because Caro wanted to use her as a success story. Just like the real world, Paikea is not taken seriously when she wants to pursue the role as leader because it deviates from her assigned role. This further shows how Paikea was a counter stereotype because she was expected to be a passive and weak person; instead, Paikea defies all odds and becomes an inspirational role model for all young girls to admire (Whale Rider, 2002).

Hossain questions, “should female directors, in order to represent their female protagonist as a 'human being' and not a sexual object, defeminise the protagonist, strip her of her female beauty, a beauty which may in many ways overlap with the male/main stream cinematic representation?” (Hossain, 2011, para 10). The answer to this question is yes, female directors must defeminise the female because the “feministic standard” was created by males and it is solely based on the male expectation. Often times, if role reversals are implemented, a female is capable of accomplishing many of the tasks expected of men. The assigned tasks are unjust and discriminatory. It always favours men to succeed and females to fail. A female is never given the opportunity because she is predicted to fail. The female’s perspective is that her abilities are hidden because society condemns her of her abilities when she overtly reveals them. For instance, when Paikea reveals her ability to fix the rope to the boat engine for her grandfather and also, when she defeats Hemi in a stick fight, she is scolded by her grandfather because in a patriarchal society, females are not allowed to defeat males (Whale Rider, 2002). The male is supposed to be the stronger one; he is the one who takes charge and protects the female from harm. In ancient times, males were once regarded as the hunters and females were the gatherers. Men went out to seek for food and defended their territory from potential intruders; whereas women stayed home and ensured future generations would survive with food and loving nourishment. In Paikea’s case, she was stripped away her own gender assignment; she was not the female that everyone wanted her to be. She defeminised herself in order to succeed. Even though mainstream films would have favoured a sexually pleasing female protagonist, Niki Caro chose a female tom boy who did not show any skin throughout the film and she is forever remembered for her ability to overcome the suppression of male dominancy. Her ability came from within and not her superficial appearance, otherwise that would be an example of a “male gaze” film.

            “Hossain’s second question is “if women's economy of desires has been created by the patriarchal masculine episteme, then how do we know what is our real desire as women and what has been imposed on us?” (Hossain, 2011, para 13). Films like Whale Rider help women to differentiate what is expected of females in a patriarchal dominated society and what females can truly accomplish without the oppression from male induced female stereotyping. Niki Caro teaches us that our real intended desires come from within, as evidenced by Paikea. When we listen to what others expect of us, that is just a reflection of what others want from us, but it does not genuinely mean that is what we want for ourselves. However, if females look deep inside and pursue endeavours they truly want themselves, such as when Paikea wanted to join the boys and learn the ancestral teachings of her tribe, that is a true reflection of what she wanted. A female’s voice is often neglected and dismissed as unimportant, as Paikea’s grandfather would do to her. Hence, the female voice is often portrayed as a silent or nonexistent one. Deep down inside, every female wants to voice out what she wants, but fears the punishment of going against preset societal standards. The female voice is suppressed and silent, if given the opportunity females will be heard, and this does not mean that females must speak to get the message across. For instance with Paikea, when she rode the dying whale back into the waters, her courageous and fearless action spoke louder than words; the message was clear, she wanted to take the torch from her grandfather. She disregarded her obligation to be a female and assumed the role of a male because using the “male voice” enabled her to reveal her underlying talent of being a capable tribal leader (Whale Rider, 2002).

Hossain proposes that “female sexual psychology to trace out the process of female identity formation process and the desire of her unconscious that drives her sexuality to create an identity where she will perform according to the male desire. Her adherence and resistance to perform this role is something these directors have very successfully represented in their films” (Hossain, 2011, para 18). Paikea’s role was used to portray the female perspective. Females do not like being undermined and neglected. Females are talented and ambitious. The female perspective is defined as females wanting to be taken seriously and not brushed aside. In order to pursue dreams, they must assume the role of a male because the male role is a goal-oriented and high-achieving position. From the female perspective, females feel discriminated and they recognize that they are classified as second class citizens that are not given equal opportunities. In order to be considered successful, they must put behind their female roles as housewives, mothers, and caregivers because it lowers their potential to be taken seriously when they want to accomplish personal dreams in a male dominated society. Females must gain the credibility of their male judges by adapting male roles to convince the males that they are worthy of the challenge. Paikea demonstrated this with Hemi when they went into a stick fight for the first time. Initially, she did not know how to even hold the stick, but Hemi taught her and he began to respect her instead of join the boys at school and tease her. He began to see her in a different limelight and he started to value her as a female. Especially in the second dual, when Paikea defeats Hemi; Hemi respects her superiority at the sport. This smile represents that he no longer lowered her standing because she is a female or mocked her for trying to be leader because he actually believed she is a high achiever (Whale Rider, 2002).

            “In the beginning of Female Perversions a text appears, providing definition of a perverted object as something that has been restricted to grow in its natural way and forcefully grown into an unnatural shape. Thus, by the title of the film Streitfeld is actually making a point about the patriarchal hegemony -- a system of power that forces women to deviate from growing into their original forms, and into 'perverted', 'unnatural' objects” (Hossain, 2011, para 21). Through the “female gaze”, Paikea defies her grandfather’s belittlement and goes against the patriarchal standard and fights to be a part of the ancestral teachings. She learned secretly, without anyone’s knowledge, how to fight with the stick. When her grandfather refuses to pick her up with his bicycle, she learns to ride the bicycle on her own. She rides past a bus full of boys. The boys originally jeered at her and made farting noises when she was performing her solos during school plays, but soon realized that Paikea was different from the traditional female, and they started cheering for her as she rode past them with her bicycle. By earning respect from her male peers, through the “female gaze” that is exactly what the director wanted to portray women to be: strong, independent, fearless, relentless, and powerful creatures that do not back down to contempt (Whale Rider, 2002).

“The ultimate complexity of women's sexual psychology that enables her to live with the oppressor and evolve to love him and stand by him has perhaps not been better depicted in any film than Female Perversions. In all these narratives I describe, at the end the female protagonists get some sort of a resolution, they either go away, or settle with the lover, or realise their inner complex of loving the oppressor and seek to find a way out of it. However, these narratives remain only the first step towards realising the full potential of female subjectivity” (Hossain, 2011, para 23). Niki Caro used the “female gaze” to depict females as strong undefeatable characters; however, she also recognizes that females have an obligation to fulfill. She uses Mrs. Apirana to fulfill this example. Despite how much Mrs. Apirana hates the way her husband neglects his granddaughter’s feelings, she always threatens to leave him. Even at Paikea’s birth she states, “stupid old paka, you say the word and I’ll get a divorce bub. Just say the word” (Whale Rider, 2002). Even though she sticks by her husband, eventually she leaves him, but as Hossain says it, she learns to love him. Through the “female gaze” females are not only powerful and strong like the males, but they also adapt a more realistic approach of genuinely being the “creature with feelings and emotions”. She still loves her husband despite the fact that he is stubborn and only wishes to teach the boys in the community. She states, “sometimes you got to let him think he’s boss. I let him think he is, what is wrong with me?” (Whale Rider, 2002). She allows her husband to get his way at times to avoid arguments; however, when it comes to defending her granddaughter, she steps up to the plate to ensure that Paikea knows she is important. There is a scene when the grandfather becomes enraged by Paikea’s disobedience and he swats his cup to the ground and he demands that Paikea should pick it up, but Mrs. Apirana says, “you might be the boss out there, but I’m the boss in this kitchen, I’ll do it” (Whale Rider, 2002) and Mrs. Apirana picks up the cup (Whale Rider, 2002). This shows that Niki Caro’s version of the “female gaze” is that women will defend their loved ones when their loved ones are threatened. Females will stand up for their right when it is necessary.

            Hossain states that “although both genders lose the fusion with the mother's body, the girl additionally loses any sense of the legitimacy and wholeness of her own body because she lacks any straightforward possibility of identification with the legitimising primary signifier, the Phallus, the Father, the law of the father” (Hossain, 2011, para 24). This is evidenced at birth when Paikea was born; she was not cherished because of the fact that she is a female. Instead, everyone mourned the death of her twin brother. Even her mother’s death was considered insignificant compared to the death of the “ future male leader”. The death of the “future male leader” and the birth of the “lively female aspiring leader” disheartened members of the tribe because in their eyes, the female can never lead the tribe, and the tribe will cease to continue without a true male leader (Whale Rider, 2002).

“Women in Lacan's terms represent "the lack of the lack" and her only way out of this lack is to perform the gender role men want her to perform, to see the desire in his eyes for her, and by doing so getting as close as possible to the ultimate object of desire -- the phallus -- the centre of power -- only by reaching this place a woman may gain subjectivity, but since she can never get there the process of gaining a woman's subjectivity remains unfulfilled in Lacan's discourse” (Hossain, 2011, para 25). This statement shows that in a patriarchal society, women are expected to follow the rules governed by male dictators. However, because the film was created by a female director, the environment was shaped by the “female gaze”; therefore, instead of the typical representation of a weak female who can never successfully conquer a society led by men, Niki Caro created a story that opposed the standards through the “female gaze”. Paikea did not listen to her grandfather and back down; her unrelenting efforts caused her many hardships, including a broken relationship with her grandfather. Unlike her grandmother, who chose to allow her grandfather to take the lead to avoid martial discourse, she went on to assume the male role. She escaped her responsibilities of the female role and acquired the skills taught in Koro’s class. Eventually, she rode the dying whale back into the waters and her grandfather finally recognized her strength, and allowed her to sit in the boat with the other men (Whale Rider, 2002). If Paikea did not take on the male role, she would be stuck as an unrecognized individual. If she did not step up to the plate and fight for her right to be a leader, she will always remain a follower.

“Agnes Varda took her exclusion from the main/male stream patriarchal saga of filmmaking with a twist of feminine sense of humour because she has already created herself as a female subject. Even if she has been hidden behind the shadow of her male counterparts, history will seek her out” (Hossain, 2011, para 32). This quote shows that women are often overshadowed by their male counterparts, but the “female gaze” depicts Paikea to be a strong character. She creates a new self-image; she is not scared or willing to back down because people do not give her credibility because of her gender. The female “voice” wants to speak out and counter the claims that men have defined for them. Females do not want to settle as second class citizens that take on passive and subordinate roles, they want to be leaders and inspirational teachers as well. Through the “female gaze”, Niki Caro showed the audience that the power to be a strong female leader is deeply hidden inside. It is being suppressed by the unrealistic demands of the patriarchal society. A female needs to search deep into her soul and uncover those hidden talents and desires that men suppress and deprive them of. In order to succeed, females act on those deep inner feelings and prove to men that the male role is subjective and skewed. A female’s talent exists, but a female is often forced to hide her talent to ensure that the hero is the male and not the female. Paikea is truly a hero; she was expected to remain silent and allow the first born males around her to be the leaders. When her grandfather threw the Reiputa (the whale tooth necklace) into the ocean and announced the one who could retrieve the Reiputa is the winner and future tribe leader, none of them succeeded. Paikea was the one who went out on her own and obtained the Reiputa (Whale Rider, 2002). This demonstrates that her ability was inherent, but her gender forced her to be silent.

            “Varda seems safe and sound in the belly of the whale -- the female world, the currency of female desire and vocabulary of female images, the female subject that she has become and depicted in cinema, the female gaze and female subject she has created for herself and for the next generations of women to come” (Hossain, 2011, para 36). Paikea has paved the way for many aspiring female leaders, whether these women aspire to become doctors, lawyers, professors, political leaders, judges, engineers, mechanics, or so on, they can be as long as they follow the “female gaze” because the “female gaze” allows females to realize their inner strengths. They do not need to be submissive to comply with patriarchal standards; they are their own voices and their own desires. Paikea is a hero, not only to her tribe, but to all females.

2. How is Whale Rider a statement of empowerment for women and girls? How does Paikea challenge gendered expectations? Use scenes/characterization/dialogue from the film to give examples.

            In the 2002 epic film, Whale Rider, Niki Caro intended it to deliver the message that females are empowering individuals that can counter the “male gaze”. The film revolves around the life of an 11 year old girl, who wants to gain the approval of her grandfather and assume the role of being a tribe leader that her late twin brother was destined to be. From an early age, Paikea was disciplined, as evidenced by her objection towards smoking. When she finds her grandmother’s friends smoking at the table, she informs them that they should stop smoking to maintain their reproductive integrity. In school plays, Paikea is always the center of the group. She even won a speech contest for the East Region of New Zealand. Caro presented Paikea as an independent and strong minded individual who had the ambition to learn. When her grandfather revoked her of her right to learn at the boys learning session, she secretly recruited her uncle to help train her in the art of fighting with a stick. She demonstrated her true ability in the scene with her good friend, Hemi. Hemi is fighting back tears when his father abandoned him. Paikea found him and he is ashamed that she witnessed him cry. Hemi is a well trained student of Koro’s, and he became frustrated when she kept asking why he was upset. As a result, he proceeded to pick up a stick to fight Paikea, but to his surprise, her covert practices with her uncle had paid off, and she defeated Hemi without any hesitation. When her grandfather witnessed that event, he scolded her and said to her, “what have you done? Go wash your face Hemi! You have broken the tapu of the school!” (Whale Rider, 2002). What makes it worse is Hemi defended her by saying, “it wasn’t her fault” (Whale Rider, 2002) meaning he acknowledged his own defeat. The grandfather was infuriated because according to him she had broken the traditional belief system that males are supposed to be the undefeatable ones. Men do not cry and women do not prevail (Whale River, 2002).

            Paikea challenges gender role expectations by showing her ability to accomplish tasks that well trained boys were not able to achieve. For instance, when Koro took the boys on a boat ride, he threw his Reiputa (the whale tooth that the first born male carries around his neck) into the waters and challenged each one of them to try and retrieve it. All of them failed at the task. When Paikea learns of this challenge, she asked her uncle and his wife to take her out to the site where her grandfather had tossed the Reiputa. She dove in without hesitation and eventually uncovered the Reiputa from the bottom of the waters, alongside a lobster for dinner. This scene was metaphorical; throwing the Reiputa into the waters and witnessing it sink symbolized the grandfather’s failure was deeply sunken and that the tribe is sinking deep into defeat without a true male leader. When none of the boys could recover the Reiputa, it will be lost forever, much like the Maori people without a male tribe leader. The traditions that were once held so deeply will be lost at sea because none of the men are able to step up and rescue them. However, from a “female gaze’s” perspective, Paikea’s ability to retrieve the Reiputa symbolizes female strength and feminism. She defied patriarchal 

expectations by accomplishing tasks that her male counterparts could not accomplish (Whale Rider, 2002).

           

            Not only is Paikea as physically strong as a male, but she is even stronger intellectually. This is evidenced by her victory at the speech contest at school, where she was crowned the winner of the East Coast Speech Contest. She was given the opportunity to recite her speech solely. Upon fighting back tears, she recited her speech and dedicated it to her grandfather, “I come from a whole line of chiefs, stretching back from Hawaiki. His name was also Paikea, but I was not the leader that my grandfather expected me to be” (Whale Rider, 2002). Paikea believes that she was born to be a leader, but she is limited by her gender. She continues by saying, “but we can learn and if the knowledge is given to everyone, we can have lots of leaders and soon everyone will be strong, not just the ones that have been chosen. Because sometimes, even if you’re the leader, you can be strong, but you can get tired” (Whale Rider, 2002). This showed that Paikea wanted an equal chance to succeed. She genuinely believed that her gender should not dictate who she is as a person. If she was given the opportunity, then she would excel. She was not afraid to stand up to her own belief systems, for instance, when Koro recruited all the boys into the school to lecture his sacred teachings, Paikea attempted to sit down to listen, but Koro says to her, “you’re a girl, go to the back” (Whale Rider, 2002). Paikea refused and Koro demanded that she must leave immediately. This symbolized that Paikea was not afraid to stand up to her own belief system. Most audiences would have expected Paikea to break down and cry from the inequality, but not Paikea. Paikea held her head up high and did not admit to defeat. She secretly listened from the outside of the classroom to learn how to chant and she practiced how to fight with the stick with her uncle. She was often seen walking down the road by herself chanting and maneuvering the stick with skill (Whale Rider, 2002).

            Most films depict the daughter as the weaker child. When her father returned from his trip from Europe, he asked Paikea to live with him. The night before, Paikea’s grandfather told her father that as the first born son, he was a coward for leaving his obligation as a future tribe leader. The father replied with, “But I failed, ya, eh Dad? Because why? Because I had a daughter?” (Whale Rider, 2002). The grandfather got so upset that he yelled “take her, she’s no use to me!” (Whale Rider, 2002). When Paikea heard that she became very upset, but still does not break down like most female characters. She did not become depressed and assume the role of the “innocent, sweet, belittled, compliant, and incapable” girl. She went out and sat on the rocks alone and questioned the validity of her grandfather’s judgment towards her. When her father joined her, he offered her the option of leaving. Paikea accepted and packed up to leave. On the morning of her departure, her grandfather rode his bike with her and then Paikea hugs him to say good-bye. He responded with a brief hug and walked back into the house, where his eyes welled up with tears (Whale Rider, 2002). This is also another metaphorical scene. In this scene, both men are shown to exhibit qualities that fit the female stereotype. The father escaped his predestined fate of becoming a tribe leader because he feared that he could not fulfill the role to his father’s satisfaction. The grandfather wept because he realized how much he truly loved his granddaughter. On the other hand, Paikea took on the male stereotype, when she sat in the car and suddenly in the middle of the trip, she reflected, “when she was born that’s when things went wrong for her, that’s where we’ll find the answer” (Whale Rider, 2002). That’s when Paikea requested that her father turn the car around and she said, “I have to go home, I just have to” (Whale Rider, 2002). Even though Paikea’s father was crying, she does not shed a tear because upon gazing at the full view of the waters, she realized her mission was to be a leader. Her relentless nature instructed her to persevere and strive to show her grandfather that she is worthy of more than what he is giving her credit for. She wanted to return home because she knew that was where she was destined to be a leader. Her continuous efforts to go against the odd define her as a true hero for females. This is what Niki Caro wanted to portray in Paikea’s character, a girl that can defy gender role expectations. Paikea went against the grain and liberated herself from the restraints that come with being a female (Whale Rider, 2002).

            Paikea is truly seen as a leader when her hard work rubs off on others around her. Her uncle was taken aback by Paikea’s perseverance and decided to start jogging in the mornings to change his sedentary lifestyle. Paikea also inspired her grandmother to speak up to her grandfather whenever he tried to overpower her. Mrs. Apirana is fed up of his stubborn and traditional beliefs and his constant lack of acknowledgement of his granddaughter’s successes. She packed up to leave him for a few days to make a statement. Paikea’s ability to stand up to her grandfather inspired Mrs. Apirana to realize that just because he is a man it does not mean that he has the right to dictate the outcomes of everything around him. When Paikea disobeyed her grandfather and he got angry and knocked the cup to the ground and demanded that Paikea pick up the pieces. Mrs. Apirana told him that even though others out there respected him and treated him like he is the leader, in the household, she is the boss. By picking up the pieces herself, she was telling her husband that he cannot force anyone to do anything just because he is a male. When Paikea was in her hospital bed at the end of the movie from riding the dying whale into the ocean, even the lady who used to sneak into her grandmother’s house to smoke swore she would never smoke if Paikea lived because Paikea often encouraged the ladies to. During the fight with Hemi, Paikea defeated him, but he accepted his defeat and realized that just because Paikea was a female, it did not mean her strength would be weaker. He began to respect her as a female and he showed his respect by defending her when her grandfather got angry at her victory (Whale Rider, 2002). Paikea’s ability to influence others to change in a positive manner is evidence that she is truly a leader. Not only were her influences positive, but they were widespread and well-regarded.      

   

           The true test of Paikea’s ability to counter the female gender stereotype was in the scene when all the dead whales washed up to the shore. Her grandfather saw it as a sign that she had corrupted the system and the ancestors are punishing them. The dying whales represented the dying patriarchal standards; all the men were failing to succeed, if men cannot succeed at what they were predisposed to do, then there is nothing left for them. The ancestral teachings can no longer be passed on and the tribe’s purpose will die along with the whales. However, I believe that Niki Caro was building up the story for the final climax. The final climax took place when Paikea looked from afar and discovered the largest whale and she thought to herself, “it was Paikea’s whale that was sent to us because we were in trouble” (Whale Rider, 2002). Even though her grandfather blamed her for the dead whales because she had been disobedient and crossed roles to assume the male role, she touched the whale and slowly held onto it and climbed to the very top. She road on top of the whale and the whale came back to life and swam into the water. Niki Caro’s message at this point is that, asides from the male hierarchy dying, a female leader will reign. She rode the back of the whale and she thought to herself the entire way, “I wasn’t scared to die” (Whale Rider, 2002). Paikea knew instantly that this was her moment to save the whales, just as the whale had saved her ancestor Paikea from drowning at sea; she was saving the whale by bringing him back to waters. The legend that the whale saved their ancestor Paikea started when the whale rescued him from the waters, which lead future generations to believe that their ancestors came from the back of a whale. Paikea’s new story as a female will be she did the opposite; to save the dying whales, she rode on the back of the whales into the waters. Just as her ancestor was rescued from the waters, Paikea does the opposite and saves the whales and returned them to the waters. In this instance, Niki Caro used the whales to symbolize the tribal men; these men needed to be rescued by a woman; she is currently the new hero, and she can legitimately start her own teachings and possibly begin a new legend based on her heroic efforts to save the origins of her ancestry. One can look at this as counter-stereotyping or challenging gender expectations because males are expected to be the heroes, not the ones shipwrecked and needing assistance at sea. Females are not supposed to be revolutionary and independent. They are not supposed to be leaders and capable of achieving goals that even the men have failed to do. When everyone discovered that Paikea went missing after riding the whale into the sea, the grandmother handed Koro his Reiputa and he asked her to identify who recovered it; she simply stated, “who do you think it was?” (Whale Rider, 2002). Without a doubt in his mind, he knew it was his brave granddaughter. He broke out in tears, admitting his own failure to recognize Paikea’s inherent strength. In the end, Koro placed his Reiputa around Paikea’s neck when she was in the hospital bed and finally acknowledged her strengths and ambitions. When she recovered, he took her out on a boat ride; this is something he would never have done in the past. If she had not rescued the whale, perhaps she would still be facing the torturous belittlement from her grandfather and the disapproval of her fellow male counterparts. She transcended beyond what most females are expected to do in films, she did not dress provocatively or play a secondary role as a passive and weak character that needed to be rescued; instead Paikea was the hero, she set a new path for females to ensue (Whale Rider, 2002). The moral behind this is: females are undermined by gender stereotypes; however, when given equal opportunity, a female can do greater things that even men may struggle to accomplish.

3. How is Whale Rider an example of “counter-cinema” and the “female gaze”? Use the 1990’s Lecture notes in Week 11 Module to help with this answer and the “Hollywood” article by Kord and Krimmer in the course package.

            The female gaze is defined as work that is presented from a female’s perspective and it focuses on the female’s attitudes, desires, feelings, and actions. A film is usually labeled as a female gaze film because of the creator’s gender (the director being female herself) or the film was geared towards a female audience. The female gaze is a distaff counterpart. Distaff counterpart is defined as a “spin-off”, creating a show that is equivalent to the original film but the main character is the opposite sex, quite often a female. Therefore, using the distaff counterpart theory, the “female gaze” is the opposite of the “male gaze”. The “male gaze” is defined as films made by heterosexual males that create the vision of women as sexually submissive objects. The main difference is that the “male gaze” is geared towards both male and female audiences, whereas the “female gaze” is aimed to satisfy female viewers (TV Tropes, n.d.).

            Counter cinema is defined as “non-mainstream visions, that stand in opposition to the dominant forms of Hollywood” (Danilovic, 2012, p.2, slide 9). In order to understand counter cinema, we must first look at mainstream cinema. Hollywood is saturated with films about males being the heroes and females being the victims that require rescuing, for instance, Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy, is a perfect example of the dominant mainstream culture of films. It exemplifies the “male gaze”, as Batman is the epic superhero that needs to defend Gotham City from the prevailing evils of villains such as the Joker, Scarecrow, Bain, and Ras Al Ghul. His love interest is a beautiful young woman named Rachel Dawes. In the second movie, The Dark Knight, she gets tied up and Batman is forced to rescue her, but in the end, he failed and the audience fells great sorrow that although he did manage to save Gotham City, he failed because he ultimately lost the love of his life. In the last movie, The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan introduced Catwoman, an extremely curvaceous, sexy, drop-dead gorgeous female that is a thief and betrays Batman when he leads her to Bain. Bain pays her a lot of money for the capture and destruction of Batman. Men love women that fit this “femme fatale” character, and Batman is not any different. Batman desires for her, but she is poison to him. In mainstream cinema, men like to idealize themselves as the “perfect” gender, and females are the ones with flaws, they are weak (Catwoman is weak because she is money hungry) but males are strong (Batman saves Gotham City in the end by sacrificing his own life by disposing the bomb implanted by Bain). Counter cinema is a movie that defies the mainstream, popular, and patriarchal standards, and incorporates ideas that challenge the “male gaze” or male dominance. Often times counter cinema incorporates ideas from the “female gaze”, which is a more realistic approach (TV Tropes, n.d.). The perfect example of a counter cinema that incorporates the “female gaze” is the Whale Rider.

            In the film Whale Rider, Paikea is the strong headed, determined, and ambitious young girl who dreams to not only gain the approval of her grandfather, but also to live up to her name “Paikea”, as the tribe leader. She is not a typical young girl; she does not dress up in pretty dresses and play with dolls, instead she eagerly tries to convince her grandfather that she is worthy of becoming the tribe leader. Caro uses her character to deliver the message that females have an inherent ability to be able to accomplish things that men are assigned to do in society. Women are limited because of their gender role assignment. According to Kord and Krimmer, “the female characters who illuminate screens of our movie houses not only reflect and perpetuate the status and options of women in today’s society, but also play an active part in creating new female role models” (Kord & Krimmer, 2005, p. 1). Niki Caro took the opportunity to use Paikea’s character to create a strong female image. She created her to be a leader and role model for females to follow. As a female director, Caro created a film geared towards influencing both male and female viewers to understand the tragedy of being an oppressed female living in a patriarchal society. She expressed the pain of being rejected because of being a female through the eyes of Paikea and what it takes in order to gain approval and recognition from both male and female community members, who only possess knowledge about male dominance and female repression. Caro used the “female gaze” to issue a message that females desperately want to come out of their shells and be equated at the same level of men because they want to accomplish many of the goals that men have been assigned to achieve. Without giving up their feminine persona and adapting the male character, females cannot participate and be given full credibility. Niki Caro also uses Paikea’s charater to show that a female must succeed in order to gain respect. There are several instances where Paikea accomplished this: when she rescued the Reiputa when none of the boys could, when Paikea defeated Hemi in a dual, and lastly, when Paikea saved the dying whales at the end. Her physical ability validated her strength and Maori males started to recognize that strength, especially Uncle Raiwara, Hemi, and Koro. Niki Caro presented Paikea as a female role model, to teach females that females are not limited by gender role assignment; instead, one’s inner desires and perpetual ability to accomplish these desires despite everyone’s biased perspective is a true measure of heroism. Kord and Krimmer also state that, “all these movies present us with images of femininity that have the power to strengthen, discourage, or simply annoy us. It is a high time we became more aware of the messages behind these images” (Kord et al., 2005, p. 13). Niki Caro created a film that was the exact opposite of mainstream cinema, which would put a male protagonist as the undefeatable leader, and created a leader out of a young female. Caro is trying to tell us that even though it requires more effort to be recognized as a female hero, it is not impossible. Through Paikea, the message is: as a female, it is an honour to be able to live up to your dreams; everything a male can accomplish, a female can accomplish as well with a little more effort. Males and females are created equally, but they are not assigned gender roles equally; therefore, males have a slight advantage because they are favoured and expected to succeed, whereas a female is unfavoured and expected to fail. Females are expected to fail and realize that if they adapt the male role and neglect their roles as females, they will be punished, such as in the Mildred Pierce film, where the female protagonist gets punished for being a successful business woman. She not only loses her business and her lover at the end, but she loses her daughter and society blames her because she is unable to fulfill her role as a mother. As a mother she is expected to bring her daughter up to be a righteous individual. Although we have long escaped that era in film, the female stereotyping prevails; with Paikea, her grandfather punished her for adapting the male role and neglecting the female role. The film focused on how the patriarchal society punished her for trying to be someone who she was not “supposed to be”; a hero. Despite her ambition, Paikea is humble. She does not see herself as a prophet, but someone who wants to reclaim something that would have otherwise be granted to her if she were a boy (Whale Rider, 2002).

            Kord and Krimmer claim that “reactionary female stereotypes are paired with progressive and remarkable women characters” (Kord et al., 2005, p. 2). “This has an effect on the portrayal of women in movies, as well: Hollywood heroines are designed to appeal to both the stay-at-home mom and the high-powered female executive, to the traditionalist and feminist alike. When transferred from the real world to celluloid neither type rules the screen; rather, both appear in curiously watered-down form” (Kord et al., 205, p. 4), “it becomes commercial to take an unconventional viewpoint or to verge into experimental forms” (Kord et al., 2005, p. 4). Niki Caro portrayed Paikea as a girl that every female can relate to. Instead of the cinema’s traditional female hero, who typically is a six figure lawyer from upstate New York, she is an average working class girl, who lives on the East Coast of New Zealand. Because Caro portrayed her in this fashion, anyone can relate to her struggles for validity in a male dominated society. Most females have encountered the same problem, whether it’s not getting a job as a mechanic because that person happens to be a female or getting rejected from an upper management position because she is not seen as a credible leader in the workforce. Because Whale Rider is a counter cinema production in 2002, where feminists are growing in power, it is a realistic portrayal of real life mundane struggles females face, at home and in the workforce.

            Kord and Krimmer also claim that “women viewers are not just cultural dupes tricked by a cynical industry to swallow female stereotypes. Rather we assume that these movies also have something to give that women want to have.” (Kord et al., 2005, p. 9) “women’s films are designed to function as father confessor, psychiatrist, and female support group rolled into one. They aim to provide the answer to our identity crisis, relieve us of our bad conscience, reconcile our differences with the world, and provide comfort for our inadequacies. Well-aware of our gender specific soft spots, films for women pay particular attention to questions of self-esteem, self-assertion, and identity formation” (Kord et al., 2005, p. 9). Niki Caro uses the “female gaze” to create a film about a young female with a strong sense of self-esteem, self-assertion, and independence. Despite everyone’s doubt in her, she was bold and confident that she would succeed. Even when she was about to leave with her father, she turned back because she realized that she had unfinished business. She was drawn back to the tribe because she felt that she had an obligation to herself and her name “Paikea” to achieve the true title as the whale rider.  Throughout the entire film, Paikea is trying to build her identity by uncovering her ancestral roots and following the traditional male role as a feminist. She is assertive that her name was assigned to her for a reason. When she was able to recover the Reiputa from the waters, it symbolized that she is the jaw of the whale and the tooth that was thrown into the waters fits around her neck, just like a real tooth fits into the jaw of a whale. Therefore, this symbolizes that she is the keeper of this tribe. The tooth fits into the whale jaw, just as the Maori tribe fit under her future regime (Whale Rider, 2002).

            Kord and Krimmer leaves us with the question, “do you sometimes feel like nobody really knows who you are, that you don’t even exist?” (Kord et al., 2005, p. 9). As a female, I would like to say, that indeed, sometimes I question if the people around me limit me of my options in life because I am a girl. Growing up, I was told to get married early and have children. When I went to pursue my post-secondary education, my parents were appalled to hear that it would take me four years to graduate. Now that I am passed 30, they believe that I have failed to fulfill the traditional female standard because I am not married. In a way, I see myself relating to Paikea; she wants people to find her as a legitimate leader and not discriminate against her because she is a girl. She is my role model, and through the “female gaze”, I have empathy and compassionate towards her suffering. The counter cinematic portrayal of this movie made me realize that females can legitimately be heroes without having to put a wanted criminal behind bars or kill an unrelenting villain. Women do not need to be physical to be a hero; instead, women can fight for their right and not let others dictate their future. Women have inner strengths that tend to be hidden because of fear of penal consequences; however, Paikea teaches us that if we let out our inner strengths, and counter the stereotypes that are assigned to females, females can easily break down that gender stereotypical barrier that separates males from females. To quote Paikea, she says, “we can learn and if the knowledge is given to everyone, we can have lots of leaders and soon everyone will be strong not just the ones that have been chosen” (Whale Rider, 2002). This tells us that through the “female gaze” in cinematography, females want equality; female directors will portray strong female characters in order to teach female audiences that the sky is the limit when it comes to striving to become an outstanding member in a patriarchal society. The “female gaze” tells us that we should not be labeled as the “male” or “female” victor, but rather the champion and leader without having to put “male” or “female” as a prefix.

References

Caro, N. (Director). (2002). Queen Christina [Motion picture].Auckland, New Zealand: Henderson Valley Studios.

Danilovic, S. (2012). Hollywood in the 90’s. Women in Film GHUM 1024 Course Pack. Toronto, ON: George Brown College Bookstore. (Reprinted from Hollywood Divas, Indie Queens, and TV Heroines: Contemporary Screen Images of Women ., 2005, New York, USA: Rowman and Littlefiedl Publishers). 

Hossain, R. (2011, May). Female Directors, Female Gaze: The Search for Female Subjectivity in Film. The Daily Star. Retrieved from: http://www.thedailystar.net/forum/2011/May/female.htm

Kord, S. & Krimmer, E. (2005). Hollywood.  Danilovic, S. (2012). Women in Film GHUM 1024 Course Pack. Toronto, ON: George Brown College Bookstore. (Reprinted from Hollywood Divas, Indie Queens, &TV Heroines, 2005: Contemporary Sceen Images of Women, New York, USA: Rowman and Littlefiedl Publishers).

TV Tropes (n.d.). Female Gaze. Retrieved from: 
          http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FemaleGaze