I am no expert on Maori culture but I feel the portrayal of the people and culture doesn't really do justice to them - to say it mildley. If I were Maori I'd be pretty upset about this portrayal, I suppose. I like the movie, but that's a point that I find disturbing.
Any thoughts?
>> portrayal of the people and culture doesn't really do justice to them
No, not really. What exactly you didn't like? They became disturbed during performance? So what? They haven't seen anything like that before.
Most viewers myself included don't understand what Maori say and in this situation it is difficult to form an opinion.
I never mentioned the play (?!) and this is not what I am referring to, so no point to go into detail about this .
I really don't feel that you must necessarily understand the language of the group to have an opinion on how the group is portrayed. A person/group can be portrayed without them having any text at all. So this argument doesn't make any sense to me quite frankly. In a film there are more clues than just the spoken word. Also, they did speak English. So really....the argument that you need to speak Maori to be able to judge this is not valid.
I just felt they were portrayed as being inferior and rude.I understand Maoris have traditionally a very sophisticated culture and village community, and I feel this didn't come across. In a way they were just shown as the "clueless servants". Just later in the film they are shown to be empathetic. If you think that is a realistic portrayal, that's cool with me. But I don't see it this way.
I thought they where portrayed as lovely people. Primitives sure but socially more evolved that the Europeans. I don't know how realistic, but this is what I liked:
-Accepting to other cultures (The English)
-Clever (They didn't buy those buttons)
-Peaceful (they stole their lands and although they where angry they didn't start violence)
-Valiant (The maori warrior wanted to save the women from the perceived threat)
-Treehuging (or tree bumping hehe, an unrepressed and healthy view on sexuality)
-Helpful (I don't know if they got payed, but they seemed generous)
Jane Campion had Maori consultants to help with the portrayal of Maori culture. If they were portrayed inaccurately this would fall at the feet of the people she consulted or those outside that circle may not have been in agreement with those she consulted with. Exactly what did you find disturbing?
The two scenes that garnered the most attention in this arena was the portrayal of one of the Maori as gay (does this mean there is anti-gay sentiment in their contemporary culture or do they believe gay Maori did not exist?); and the play scene. I loved the portrayal of the Maori in the film and I didn't have any problems with it but others obviously do not agree and some saw the film as racist which I find ironic since there are Maori tribal consultants associated with the film.
I think she's the saddest girl ever to hold a martini.
Wow you must have been REALLY disturbed by how European people and culture were portrayed then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Now,they did NOT come out looking good in this.Not at all,most disturbing.
I,m a European and in fact, I was pretty upset about this portrayal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think the Maori got off lightly,in comparisson,didn,t you?!.
One Maori. Several Maori.
'Maoris' is not a word.
It doesn't matter who we were, only who we are
FLU
the film shows maori as good people. white males are mostly bad.. except one who are friend with maori.
you 're still not satisfied? well, I checked your posting history. you are mostly arguing about blacks, animals injustice. you once wrote several pages.. about birds being harmed ,yet you admitted to eating animals often.
LOL@the PC revisionist viewpoint...if non-Whites are portrayed as anything other than saints, it means the movie is 'RACIST'.
The Maori were accurately portrayed, with consultation from the local Iwi. They were primitive, stone-age cannibals at the time, whether you like it or not.
Oh., grow up.
While I think the OP's point is silly, you make yourself look even more-so with your pathetic use of the term PC.
And revisionist?
So if it doesn't fit with your understanding of the world, it's now 'revisionist'?
For goodness' sake: if you want to pretend you are a right winger spouting bumper-sticker cliches and act as if you're saying something original , maybe you ought to learn the meaning of the terms you're using - then you might even consider using them in the proper context!
But then again, you wouldn't be a self-righteous and laughably ignorant right winger then, would you kiddo?
Wow. A self-righteous and laughably ignorant left winger who needs to grow up.
squatdog_nz actually has a valid point. In the politically correct world of today, there is a tendency to overcompensate for the wrongs of the past and go too far. Therefore there is an expectation that any individual or group that does not fit into the white-heterosexual-adult-male-human category should get better treatment.
Also squatdog_nz's use of the term "revisionist" is valid. From Wikipedia: "Historical revisionism is either the legitimate scholastic re-examination of existing knowledge about a historical event, or the illegitimate distortion of the historical record such that certain events appear in a more or less favourable light." In this particular case he/she is referring to the expectation that the Maori should be portrayed in a more favourable light than what would be historically accurate.
Finally, you telling squatdog_nz to grow up is ironic because your abusive tone is evidence of your own immaturity.
For dark is the suede that mows like a harvest
Typical whiny leftist can't stand the truth about how culture is being ruined by professional "anti-racists" and their obsessive ar#e-kissing.
shareI would have to agree to a certain extent; although, since subjectivity is used to quite an extent during the film, it could be safe to say that it was trying to show the Maori in a way that the initial settlers viewed them; which wasn't all that good.
I don't think it's an inaccuracy of culture, but more the way they are seen by the settlers. The two older women jump to the assumption that Stuart is boarding up his windows to keep the natives out. The behavior of the children is not touched upon, until the white girl begins to imitate them; she is scolded for acting this way, however the other children are not looked at twice. They do not respect Ada's piano. However, there are scene which also contradict these perceptions, often in relation to the daughter; her relationship with the older Maori woman is one example of this.
I am also questionable as to the nature of the representation of the Maori in this film, but it don't believe it to be a commentary of the culture; more the representation of the unfamiliar.
My good friends Steff & Hoana are Maori and the first to admit that they used to refer to white people as 'Pakeha '(Long Pork). And yes they used to eat them ! Deal with it - the Maori people fared alot better than the Australian Aboriginals .
That which does not Kill me makes me Stranger