Historical Framework- The Whale Rider

The Whale Rider shows many different aspects of the Maori culture throughout the movie. The characters in this movie were very respectful of the environment that surrounded them, which is a custom of the Maori people. They spent a lot of time outdoors during the majority of the movie. I also noticed that there was a lot of story telling being passed down. One of the customs this culture carries is the exchange of stories, which this movie did a good job portraying. In the presentation we learned that it is common for people to follow in their ancestors' footsteps. This was especially prevalent when Koro was teaching the boys about culture in hopes that they would carry these traditions with them and keep them alive.

In past times, the Maori people didn't see women as leaders, which is why Koro did not want Paikea to be apart of these lessons.

Another strong historical connection in this movie is that the Maori people believed that they came from the 'whale rider.' This was carried on throughout the movie and the Maori people were very concerned for the whales. The entire community attempted to help the whales when they were on land, and were all devastated when they could not succeed.

The Road Home- Symbolism

The Road Home used many different symbolic objects throughout the movie. One in specific that I paid special attention to was the bowl the main character, Di, carried throughout different scenes in this movie. The bowl was designed with intricate detail so it was easy to identify it. She used the bowl to serve Mr. Luo and the other workers food, with hopes that Mr. Luo would notice her and her food. When Mr. Luo came to her house, she served him using this bowl. When he left the village, she chased after him holding the same bowl. To me, this bowl symbolizes the strength of their love. When the bowl broke, Mr. Luo had left and him leaving was a test to see the strength of their love. When Di's mother got the bowl repaired, it seemed like Zhang had more hope in her love for Mr. Luo. Soon after, he returned. Also, the bowl's detail was painted in blue. In the Chinese culture, blue symbolizes immortality. This could be to symbolize that Di and Mr. Luo's love will live on forever.  

Camera Movement

I chose a scene from Grey's Anatomy to show the power camera movement has on gaining the audience's sympathy. In this scene, Derek is laying on a hospital bed and looking up at a little girl. The scene starts out with a close up on Derek's face, full of cuts, and you can hear doctors discussing his case. This close up tells the audience that Derek is listening in on what the doctor are saying. The camera then switches to the little girl, in a lower angle, so the camera is looking up at the girl but the audience can still see the top of Derek's head so it's more of a fuller view of the whole scene. The camera then zooms in again at Derek's face as if the camera is on the ceiling looking down, and then quickly the camera angle changes to looking up at the girl. However, this time it's as if the camera is on the floor looking up at the ceiling, which is the angle Derek is looking up at the girl at.

The movement of the camera shows the audience how Derek is viewing the girl in this scene, as if the audience is looking through Derek's eyes, which helps the audience empathize with Derek. The camera also shows how the girl views Derek, helping the audience empathize with the girl.

400 Blows- Visual Style

This movie did a great job depicting the setting of France through multiple extra long shots. These shots showed the town and were especially evident when capturing the outdoors. There were a few close up shots, which were used when two characters were in deep conversation. One scene in specific that included a close up shot was when the main character was having a conversation with his mom about secrets. The director wanted the audience to stay focused on what the characters were saying in this scene, and not be distracted by the background. 400 blows captured mainly long shots from what i noticed. There were multiple scenes in the classroom and the main character's home.

 

This screenshot shows a long shot of the main character working on his essay. This is an interesting shot because it shows one of the many long shots this movie had inside of the boy's home. In this shot, you can see the character's body language as he writes his essay which gives you a sense of his feelings about the essay without him having to necessarily say them.