Class Assignment # 10 (Whale Rider)

1) Pay attention to the scenes involving Koro’s staff (carved stick).  Does the staff somehow represent something special? Look closely at the scene of the staff drifting in the sea by the whale. Is there some symbolic significance here?

2) What are Koro’s expectations for his son Porourangi?  Why isn’t he proud of his son’s achievements as an international artist?

3) Look closely at the scene when Paikea fixes the rope for the engine. Is there a lesson to be learned?  

4) Pay attention to the scenes involving the waka (canoe). Do these scenes come to represent something special? How do they help us to understand the final scene in the movie?

5) What does Paikea do that makes Koro realize she is the leader he has been looking for?