Children's Medial: Whales and Traditions


Whales and Traditions

This child's performance of this monologue is one of the best monologue performances in film in my books. 

Last week's focus for our class was diversity. It is interesting to see superheroes and to recognize the majority of race and gender that is presented: white males. I knew that the majority of superheroes that are presented in children's media are men but the class discussion really opened more of my eyes to the white representation in superheroes. I respect X-Men for trying to have a little more diversity than just having white, main characters. I love how artists have recognized that and have drawn or written more superheroes that are females and that are a different race. The image of the African American Spiderman was powerful. I think children need more of a fair representation of different races and genders.

Now, for the film, Whale Rider (2002), the story and characters are set in one of the most beautiful places on the earth, New Zealand. I had seen this film back in high school and I remember that I enjoyed it but I couldn't remember the plot too much. Let's say I was reminded of the beauty of story, the location, and the performances from the cast, specifically from the little girl, Keisha Castle-Hughes. In this film, traditions that have been in the family for centuries are presented to the viewer. There are traditions such as singing the ancient language to the ancestors but also the tradition of what the father or chief says goes, no matter the gender or age. This film shows the struggle and hardships that traditions can bring to specifically younger children who do not live up to the tradition's expectations. It can be very dangerous if a child feels that they aren't worth anything due to their gender. Saying mistreated doesn't even do it justice to what the little girl faced from her grandfather.

I love that film's story includes the little girl's continual hope in trying to make her grandfather and her family proud. If the grandfather would have recognized the true beauty before him in his granddaughter, than much hardship would have been avoided between him and his granddaughter but also his wife. There is a redemption for the grandfather at the end to accept his granddaughter for who she is. The final scene shows the viewer the family all together in the large boat, and the granddaughter leads the singing right next to the grandfather.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What to Wear?

Image
Medium Specificity T-Shirts are at the bottom of the page      The choice to be able to use any medium we desire is a thrill. I was sitting back in my school chair pondering all of the mediums that were coming to mind, film, painting, photography, maybe even interpretive dance. Then, the idea came to me like a fireball hitting Mt. Doom. I would make my own t-shirt. The medium that contains cotton and ink. Now as I was struck with that idea I overheard Dhane Taylor, a student from my TMA 112 class, speaking with a friend telling her that he was going to make a shirt. I thought he must have been hit with same fireball. Well if we were both targeted and hit, then we should collaborate and make TWO t-shirts. We collaborated and we decided to make one t-shirt, my t-shirt, say, "Since when did this (a picture of a man with a mustache) become more attractive than...". His t-shirt says, "This (with a picture of a man who has a beard). Here at BYU, there are many men who hav...
Read more

Welcome to Dinosty!

Image
Artist Statement:   Bleecker’s statement that “one can do science fiction not only as a writer of stories but also as a maker of things” is exactly what we did for this project. We didn't create a science fiction narrative in which there is an exposition, climax, and resolution. Instead, we created a kind of narrative by making artifacts from a world that doesn't exist. These artifacts reflect a society that exists in a world in which dinosaurs never went extinct. They are, in fact “totems through which a larger story can be told, or imagined, or expressed.” This is essentially the process that James Gurney went through to write his  Dinotopia  series. These books tell the story of people who live with sentient dinosaurs. This idea came to him while working with  National Geographic  archaeologists to envision ancient cities. Gurney used, among other techniques, both photographs of costumed people and maquettes (or scale models) to create elements of his...
Read more

Twinery: Hyperfocus

My link to my awareness video game named Hyperfocus : (copy and paste it in your URL) http://www.philome.la/cam_babcock/hyperfocus Artist Statement:    Is there a difference between ADD and ADHD? Yes, they have similar symptoms but a different diagnosis. What are the symptoms like and they do they affect the person? I have met friends who have ADD. They are great examples to me because they work hard in their endeavors while having a great attitude towards the future. In researching more about Attention Deficit Order, there is much better treatment now than there was in the past.     Dictionary.com defines Attention Deficit Order as  any of a range of behavioral disorders occurring primarily in children, including such symptoms as poor concentration, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. This disorder involves the physiology of the brain and his or hers environment. Now, in an article "Mental Disorder" by Andrew C.P. Sims, M.D. shares that now pat...
Read more