Whale Rider focuses mainly on the
topic of gender discrimination by linking it to the Maori’s tribe. It depicted the
experience of Koro, the tribe chief’s struggle in seeking for the next leader.
Koro’s granddaughter, Paikea who was name after the great ancestor of Maori
demonstrated a strong interest toward the tribe’s tradition. However her enthusiasm
was not appreciated by Koro because he insisted that only a male can take the
leader position and guide the tribe. Female is perceived to be less valuable as
compared to guy and this is similar in the real life.
Even though the issues of gender
stereotype and gender discrimination has receive enormous amount of attention
in recent years, is has not been resolve well. There are certain forms of
discrimination that are still existed in our daily practice, unfortunately. Despite the constant attempts in today’s
society in demanding for gender equality, there are discriminations that we
deem to be ‘normal’ that exist which we should address. One of the examples of
that would be the phenomenon of ‘glass ceiling effect’ that exists in the
working world. Many female in my family side has sort of accepted the fact that
being a female will never get promoted. Instead of viewing this as a form of discrimination,
they perceive this phenomenon as something ‘normal’. Unlike them, Paikea does
not give in to what she was told. Even though she was scolded and warned by her
grandfather to not mess with the traditions, she silently followed Koro’s class
and acquired the knowledge that she desire.
I cherish Paikea’s courage in
holding onto her own belief. This is something precious that we should learn in
our life. Instead of obeying the rules that were set upon us, we need to
constantly question ourselves on the rules to make sure that it is worthwhile
to follow.
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