Once Were Warriors is a very emotionally powerful movie. While watching this film your emotions will surface. You will feel for the characters and their terrible situation. As a viewer you will get to see what happens when one character tries to strip another of their spirit.
The film is centered on a "holy child" that left her tribe to marry a man that they did not approve of. This man turns out to be a very shady and selfish character. He (Jake) and his wife (Rena) have four children together and he does not appear to care about anyone but himself throughout this film until the very end. The family lives in a very beaten up house, that no one takes care of and they are also extremely poor. The "holy child" is very depressed throughout the film, but in the end she takes a stand and brings herself back to life.
The main issue in this movie deals with the growing issue of the treatment of women in relationships in general. Especially in America, there is a very high divorce rate. A lot of the problems in relationships that lead to divorce are that women feel as if they are being taken advantage of. The fact that women are treated less equally and without any type of respect in Once Were Warriors proves that this is not only a problem in America. Others films that our class has view have also shown the lack of respect that men give women. Nine Queens is an example; Marcus talks his sister into having sex with a man that she does not know so that he can get a deal made.
The treatment of women has definitely turned into a global issue and is brought up in a lot of films in today's world. If enough of these films are made, and people start to understand that this treatment of women is not okay, then hopefully things will change.
I like how your synopsis does not give away the movie. One point I would like to mention is that Rena put herself in that situation and was part of the problem with her drinking as well; however, I do agree that this film deals with the abuse of women, but overall an abuse of the family. The whole family has problems, and they all seem to stem from the father and to some extent the mother. This movie does show a global theme of domestic violence.
ReplyDeleteThis film definitely deals with the expectations placed upon women in society. Because the film portrays women as their own people and not as possessions, the film is clearly taking a feminist position. The feminist movement has reached films more and more in the past few decades, and the fact that Once Were Warriors also adheres to it shows the global influences on the film.
ReplyDeletei am slightly confused about this "holy child" idea of the mother. I also think this movie has more to do with national identity and historical backgrounds of the Maori people than more specifically just about the treatment of women. It has a lot to do with how Jake is ashamed of the culture because his family were raised as slaves and now he is turning his anger through violence, sex, and alcohol.
ReplyDeleteGood commentary on Once Were Warriors. I think that the highlight is how you pointed out that the treatment of women is becoming an increasingly global issue, and that audience exposure to it may hopefully have a positive effect in moving some people to action against such injustice.
ReplyDeleteYou could have talked more about the cinematography that helped to surface the emotions you spoke of in the beginning.