WHALE RIDER
Set in lush New Zealand, the groundbreaking film Whale Rider is a metaphor for transformation of this lifetime we have chosen.
It revolves around conflicts in a Maori tribe when the male heir of the tribe's leader disappears following his wife's death in childbirth of twins. The boy dies, breaking the traditional line of succession. The daughter was raised by her grandparents. Prior to leaving, her father gave her the name of one of the ancient founders of the tribe.
The grandfather and Tribal leader, Pako, loves little Pai but harbors a deep sadness and sense of loss because of the absence of both his son and deceased grandson.
Pai, the thirteen-year old heroine, hears the call of ancient whales that draw her into this prophetic film. Pako can't consider that perhaps she is the one destined to lead the tribe. She is, after all, "just a girl," and the culture of the tribe very clearly requires a first-born, male heir.
Undaunted, Pai lives in that magnificent loneliness of vision that enfolds those who have chosen to be mapmakers and have only their inner guidance to comfort them as they move inexorably toward their destiny. Pai loves and deeply respects her grandfather but she also knows that she is called by the whales who brought her ancestors to her tribal village to challenge the very core of the belief systems of her tribe. With no sense of anger or true "rebellion," she nonetheless follows her heart as it leads her to learn both the physical and metaphysical traditions of her tribe, bringing her into a confrontation with her grandfather that she does not seek but cannot escape. Ultimately, Pai's moment of grace and opportunity arrives in a moment of crisis and she is challenged by her own heart and destiny to transcend and transform her world.
Old traditions are changing and outdated belief systems are being challenged and dismantled. Indoctrination's ways of thinking and responding to each other and the world around us are being confronted by courageous souls such as Pai and, as a result, our world is evolving and reaching up its arms to the approaching dawn of that new paradigm whose light bathes our faces in the reflection of the wisdom of such films as Whale Rider.
