Whale Rider Assignment - 2013

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 links provided in Week 6 module on the Female Gaze (the Rubaiyat Hossain article, “Female Directors, Female Gaze”). Clue: the director of Whale Rider is a woman!

In the film “Whale Rider”, the main character Paikea is proven to be a female counter- stereotype in various ways. Throughout the film Paikea is portrayed as strong leader, who has the ability to lead a group and lead herself through the many challenges she faces throughout the movie. From the beginning of the film Paikea's grandfather Koro is not accepting of her. Not because Paikea is a bad person he simply discriminates because she is female. He doesn't believe women have the ability to do and think the same as men and as Paikea grew older she became more and more strong and wise. She proved this when she retrieved her grandfather's necklace from the sea when none of the other boys could and at the end of movie when she was able to save the whale that had washed up on the beach. In the Female Gaze article, the Rubaiyat Hossain says "As women we need to run free with our desires to come to a place when and where we know who we are and what we desire." Paikea had the courage to really let her desires run free. Without being able to do that she would never of been able to prove to her grandfather that she too could achieve the same that the boys could achieve and eventually this led to Koro accepting Paikea for who she truly was.

How is Whale Rider a statement of empowerment for women and girls? How does Paikea challenge gendered expectations?

Whale Rider is a statement of empowerment for women and girl because revolves around the theme that women can accomplish the same challenges that men face and women and girls can do anything they set there mind too. It is a stereotype that the male gender is more dominant, but that stereotype as we know today is untrue. Our world is full of powerful women who have accomplished great things.

In the film Paikea is faced with a series of challenges it is believed by Koro only men can complete. From fighting with the sticks, retrieving the necklace in the sea, saving the whale and fixing the boat motor. She constantly stood up for herself and showed no fear when doing these things. Not only that because she was alone for most on the time because many of the other people were afraid of Koro.

How is Whale Rider an example of counter‐cinema? Use the 1990’s Lecture notes in Week 6 Module to help with this answer and the “Hollywood” article (by Kord and Krimmer) in the course package.

In the notes from 1990's and Beyond, counter-cinema is defined as "cinema that stands in opposition to the dominant forms of Hollywood." Many Hollywood movies continues portray women characters as weak and helpless. Whale Rider is an example of counter-cinema because it completely goes against the Hollywood movie stereotype of women. In the film Paikea is portrayed as a leader who is very strong. This is very much unlike the stereotype for the weak and passive Hollywood woman. Counter-cinema films portray a women who is a strong individual, the heroine and the one who can speak freely and speak her mind, not ashamed of what anyone else might think or do.

Sources:

Whale Rider 2002 film

1990's Lecture Notes

Rubaiyat Hossain article, “Female Directors, Female Gaze"

Mildred Pierce Assignment

1. In the Article “The Genre”, Jeanine Basinger describes 3 main purposes of Woman's Film. The first purpose; being to place a woman at the centre of the universe, the second; to reinforce the stereotype that a woman's true calling is that of tending to the home, the family, children, her man as his wife, a job she can't escape from no matter what else she does and the third being to provide a temporary visual release: an escape into purely romantic love, into sexual awareness, into luxury or into the rejection of the traditional female role (Basinger). The third purpose in this article best describes the message in the movie Mildred Pierce. My reasoning behind this is my analysis of the character Mildred Pierce. Mildred Pierce is a not the traditional house wife. She is tough and ambitious, not looking for a man to sweep her off her feet and take care of her. She has the guts to take responsibility for her own life and she's very smart and doesn't need someone else to think for her. In the movie Pierce is a fierce outgoing woman who pushes to open her own business, this is something that was seldom seen for women during this era. She is able to make a living for herself and even though she meets a man with wealth, she continues to earn money and take care of both herself and her child. Pierce goes to the opposite end of the spectrum of the standard stereotype for women in the 1900's. Even though in the beginning where she says: “she had felt like she lived in the kitchen her whole life”(Pierce), you can immediately tell by her personality she never belonged there as the average housewife. These examples really show that the main messages in the film were pushing for women to gain some sort of stance in society and move away from the stereotype. These examples also show that the third purpose of the three purposes that Basinger describes in her article really fit with the messages in Mildred Pierce.

2. Molly Haskell describes four categories of Woman's Film. The four being sacrifice; herself for her children, marriage for her love etc, affliction; women suffers until she dies, choice; the woman must choose between two suitors and competition; the does battle with another woman. The film Mildred Pierce best fits into the category of Sacrifice. Throughout the movie she is always putting the children before herself and her happiness. She says to Bert “ I'd do anything for those kids, understand? Anything.” (Pierce) Throughout the movie she always saying she'd do anything for her children. She sacrifices her status in society to become a waitress, just so she can earn enough money to give children the best teachers and dress they can ever imagine. Pierce sacrifices many things in this film thus this being the best category to place the film in.

4. In Kathryn D’Alessandro's article “Linking Styles: Mildred Pierce” she describes many visual images in the movie that are very reminiscent of classic film noir. The first one being the visual and narrative styles is the many themes of crime, intrigue and corruption. Just like described in D'Alessandro's article “the film opens with a shadowy murder at a beach house, as the murder victim and murderer’s shadow are captured in a bullet-shattered mirror”. During this scene the use of dramatic lighting is present. This making the scene even more powerful and easily captures the viewers attention.

5. In Sybil DelGaudio's article "Mammy in Hollywood" he states that "the Mammy's image is inexorably linked to either the slave-society image of surrogate materialism and domestic service (in the rearing and socialization of white children)" (DelGaudio). In the movie Mildred Pierce, there is the family maid who fits the standard stereotype of the house maid. She works in the kitchen, she takes care of the children and she does the regular chores.

6. The femme fatale in the movie Mildred Pierce is played by none other than Miss Veda. Veda fits the true stereotype of film noire's classic femme fatale.  She is daring, sassy and has the balls to kill a man. She is what is described as a “dark seductress”. This is proven when she is able to lure and older man, this man being Monte. The classic femme fatale is intelligent, powerful, and has great strength through their sexuality, usually used to lure men.  Many examples of this is shown throughout the movie. Veda has power over her mother. Mildred is serving her wishes. She is working hard to serve her daughter and when her daughter is dissatisfied Mildred works even hard and puts her daughter over her own happiness. Making Veda very powerful. Throughout the film Veda remains in power even in the end when she is arrested for the murder of Monte tell her mother that she will be alright even though she is being thrown in jail.

Mildred Pierce, Director Michael Curtiz, MGM, 1945
Linking Styles : "Mildred Pierce", Kathryn D' Alessandro, Audience Magazine, 2002
Woman in Film : Course Package Readings