Gender Roles In The Whale Rider

The first two in-class movies we watched each depicted a struggle concerning gender and the appropriateness of behavior for each sex. The two movies’ main characters were of similar age but different sexes and lived in very different environments. The first movie tells the story of its title-named main character, “Billy Elliott”. Billy, an eleven-year-old boy is characterized as energetic, caring, and loyal. In the film’s opening, we are shown his love for dancing as a foreshadowing of events to come. This scene quickly changes to show his protective and loving nature toward his senile grandmother. Billy is clearly a gentle soul. He seems uninterested and unequipped in his boxing lessons, but shows great interest in learning ballet. Upon the discovery of Billy’s involvement in dance, his miner father, the antagonist in the film, expresses great disdain for his son’s choice. In his mind, boys should be tough and they definitely do not perform ballet. He seems concerned that his son will become a “poof” if he continues dancing. As the story unfolds, Billy’s father re-evaluates his disapproval and ends up being Billy’s ultimate hero by supporting him to continue his passion for ballet. …show more content…
From birth she was discarded as useless. Her own father leaves her to be raised by her Grandparents. Her Grandfather was crushed by the loss of his grandson, who he hoped would become a desperately needed new chief to save their tribe from sure demise. He dismisses Pai from any chance of becoming chief because after all, she was just a girl. Even through his disdain, he loves her and unintentionally teaches her to be a leader. It is not until the very end of the film that Pai is realized and accepted by her Grandfather to be the true leader of the