1 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Hey, this is Anny and Smitha and welcome to stuff 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: I've never told you a production of ByHeart Radio and 3 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:22,560 Speaker 1: we're back with another sub subsubs of sub segment of 4 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:26,639 Speaker 1: fictional women around the world. We're doing a lot of 5 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:32,839 Speaker 1: throwbacks lately with our movie choices, because today we are 6 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:37,920 Speaker 1: talking about Bikea Pie Apriana from the two thousand and 7 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:42,680 Speaker 1: two film whil Writer. She was played by Keisha Castle Hughes, 8 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:46,040 Speaker 1: who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. 9 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:49,960 Speaker 1: It is directed by Niki Karro and based on the 10 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:54,040 Speaker 1: novel of the same name by Wita Ihimira. It was 11 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 1: a coming of age story that had a sense of 12 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 1: place and resonated around the world, and it did win 13 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 1: multi awards. I haven't watched it in a long time, 14 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:05,520 Speaker 1: but I remember the first time I watched it. It 15 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:08,959 Speaker 1: was a very long time. Yeah, yeah, but it was. 16 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:12,119 Speaker 1: I remember being so popular and so many people were 17 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: talking about it at the time. The plot of the 18 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:18,640 Speaker 1: movie follows Maori, twelve year old girl Pie, who is 19 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:22,040 Speaker 1: the only surviving child of her family. She grows up 20 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:25,959 Speaker 1: with her uncle, grandmother, and grandfather who is the patriarch, 21 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: and refuses to acknowledge her as the heir, so she 22 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:33,680 Speaker 1: was born with a brother. A brother died and he's 23 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 1: not going to allow Pie to be the heir. Her 24 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 1: mother and brother died in childbirth, and her mother's last 25 00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:43,440 Speaker 1: words were pai Kia Pakia, and that's what her father 26 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: named her, against his own father's wishes. However, Pie's father 27 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 1: doesn't stick around, and her grandfather only takes her in 28 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:55,360 Speaker 1: with great reluctance, believing that she is going to be 29 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:58,400 Speaker 1: of no use. Even further, he blames her for what 30 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:03,200 Speaker 1: happens and for the child misfortunes. Her father goes on 31 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 1: to become an artist on the international scene, and after 32 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:09,240 Speaker 1: a brief return home, doesn't listen to his father and 33 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:12,760 Speaker 1: refuses to become the tribe's leader. At one point, Pie 34 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:16,280 Speaker 1: decides to accompany her father back to Europe, where he 35 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:19,120 Speaker 1: has a wife that is expecting a child there, but 36 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:23,799 Speaker 1: abruptly asks to be taken back home. Pie is confident 37 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:26,640 Speaker 1: that she has the skills to lead the tribe in 38 00:02:26,639 --> 00:02:29,480 Speaker 1: the face of all of this. When her grandfather pulls 39 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:33,720 Speaker 1: together a school for firstborn boys of her age, she 40 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:37,120 Speaker 1: attempts to join anyway, but it's rebuffed. She enlests the 41 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:40,079 Speaker 1: aid of her sympathetic uncle to learn the old ways 42 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:43,800 Speaker 1: and traditions, including the Maori fighting stick. One of the 43 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 1: boys challenges her to as far, and her grandfather catches them, 44 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:49,840 Speaker 1: telling her that she is making the boys look bad 45 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 1: and to apologize to them. Later, her grandfather tosses the 46 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:56,960 Speaker 1: tooth of a whale into the water and tasks the 47 00:02:57,000 --> 00:02:59,160 Speaker 1: boys with finding it as a test to see who 48 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,920 Speaker 1: will be the next. They all fail, and the grandfather 49 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:05,959 Speaker 1: becomes depressed, even more so when he attempts to call 50 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:10,880 Speaker 1: the ancient Ones for help but is ignored. Pi tries 51 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:14,680 Speaker 1: calling instead, unbeknownst to him, and is heard. She finds 52 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:17,600 Speaker 1: the tooth, but her grandmother informs her that her grandfather 53 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:22,400 Speaker 1: is not ready to face the truth about Pie. Pie 54 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:24,560 Speaker 1: goes on to make an emotional speech at her school 55 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: after learning she won the school competition and the regional contest. 56 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:31,079 Speaker 1: She had asked her grandfather to come, but he refused 57 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:35,480 Speaker 1: to speak to her. Here's a quote. But I was 58 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 1: not the leader my grandfather was expecting, and by being born, 59 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:41,120 Speaker 1: I broke the line back to the ancient ones. It 60 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: wasn't anybody's fault, It just happened but we can learn, 61 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 1: and if the knowledge is given to everyone, we can 62 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:50,680 Speaker 1: have lots of leaders and soon everyone will be strong, 63 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 1: not just the ones that have been chosen, because sometimes 64 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:55,880 Speaker 1: even if you're the leader and you need to be strong, 65 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: you can get tired. Like our ancestor pai Kea, when 66 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 1: he was lost at sea and he couldn't find the land, 67 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 1: and he probably wanted to die, but he knew the 68 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:07,920 Speaker 1: ancient ones were there for him, so he called out 69 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,280 Speaker 1: to them to lift him up and give him strength. 70 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 1: This is his chant. I dedicate it to my grandfather. 71 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:18,120 Speaker 1: And through this, she summons a whale pod to her 72 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:22,480 Speaker 1: location with her song, and the whales are stranded. Her 73 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:25,920 Speaker 1: grandfather's furious, believing this is a signal of the apocalypse, 74 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:28,599 Speaker 1: but she rides the largest whale out to the water 75 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:31,240 Speaker 1: and leads the rest of them back to safety. She 76 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:35,359 Speaker 1: nearly drowns in the process and is rescued. Her grandfather 77 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:38,120 Speaker 1: names her leader of the tribe after seeing all of 78 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 1: this and seeing that she found the tooth. And that's 79 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:46,440 Speaker 1: how it ends. Yeah, I mean, there's a lot a 80 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:50,520 Speaker 1: lot of themes we can talk about here. And as 81 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:54,440 Speaker 1: I said, it was very It was award winning and 82 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 1: a lot of people really loved it at the time. 83 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:02,360 Speaker 1: Clearly one of the big themes of this character is empowerment, 84 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:07,880 Speaker 1: especially through knowledge and through traditions. She does have this 85 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:12,279 Speaker 1: this family that is supporting her kind of in the 86 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:18,440 Speaker 1: background and seeing their conversations and interactions, it's really interesting 87 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:23,760 Speaker 1: and being determined, like she was determined. She just seems 88 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:26,280 Speaker 1: she knew, like, I know I can be good at this. 89 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:30,360 Speaker 1: I think we can with all of this shared knowledge, 90 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:36,160 Speaker 1: will be stronger. But having to face that that sexism, 91 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:40,320 Speaker 1: even when she clearly like knew her stuff and could 92 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,320 Speaker 1: fight and was the one that found the two like 93 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:46,520 Speaker 1: all of these things, but always being like, no, this 94 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:51,159 Speaker 1: is not this is not for you. But she was determined, 95 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:56,400 Speaker 1: and especially like her relationship with her grandfather, where at 96 00:05:56,440 --> 00:06:02,360 Speaker 1: the end of the speech, it's not it's very much 97 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:05,760 Speaker 1: a reaching out and not alli like throwing it under 98 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:09,559 Speaker 1: the bus. It's it's not like we were just talking 99 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:13,640 Speaker 1: about the difficulties of families and having these disagreements, but 100 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:18,080 Speaker 1: being willing to listen and open up and change and 101 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:22,880 Speaker 1: how that can look messy sometimes and it can take time. 102 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:25,479 Speaker 1: So because I think of like the grandmother being like, oh, 103 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:30,920 Speaker 1: he's not ready, but like that slow no, I'm not 104 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:35,240 Speaker 1: I'm not going away. I have this, I know, I 105 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:40,160 Speaker 1: know this about myself. And at the end he realized 106 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:43,600 Speaker 1: that all the stuff she'd been saying that was right 107 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:48,080 Speaker 1: in front of him all along, that he needed to 108 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:50,560 Speaker 1: make this change, like he needed to see her and 109 00:06:50,600 --> 00:07:04,440 Speaker 1: accept her for the good of everybody. A lot of 110 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:09,279 Speaker 1: movies that we talk about in this context. This started 111 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 1: a large conversation about representation and who was in it, 112 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:19,480 Speaker 1: because for a lot of people this was the first 113 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:25,480 Speaker 1: time they saw Maori culture in the mainstream. I believe 114 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:27,840 Speaker 1: I was watching a clip with the author and I 115 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:31,600 Speaker 1: think it was like the first mainstream Miori book to 116 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:36,320 Speaker 1: get published, So it was a big deal in a 117 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:40,720 Speaker 1: lot of ways in that sense. And they talked about 118 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:47,120 Speaker 1: like the making of it and having the people from 119 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:51,040 Speaker 1: Miori culture who were reactors or involved in the writing 120 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:53,880 Speaker 1: or whatever, being like, no, it should kind of guiding 121 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:58,680 Speaker 1: the story and how it should look. You can find 122 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:04,760 Speaker 1: a lot of interest seeing articles about that and about 123 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:11,640 Speaker 1: like because the director was not myor she, but she 124 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:13,520 Speaker 1: she had a lot of quotes about how she was 125 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 1: handling that, and you know, ideally I would say it 126 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:20,240 Speaker 1: should have been a Miori character. But there are a 127 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 1: lot of interesting conversations you can read about about that. 128 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:29,720 Speaker 1: There's also a lot of talk about through Pie's dad 129 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:37,000 Speaker 1: and who goes to Europe and is like he is 130 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:40,480 Speaker 1: exhibiting art there. There's a lot of kind of in 131 00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:46,640 Speaker 1: the background conversation about colonization and art and and kind 132 00:08:46,679 --> 00:08:51,200 Speaker 1: of him going away and doing this, and him and 133 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:54,079 Speaker 1: their grandfather getting a fight about like knowing you should 134 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:58,720 Speaker 1: be here is doing art or whatever it is that 135 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:04,440 Speaker 1: like you shouldn't be in Europe doing it, which is interesting, 136 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:06,319 Speaker 1: and you can find a lot of stuff written about 137 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:10,559 Speaker 1: that as well, because I think a lot of people 138 00:09:10,559 --> 00:09:14,520 Speaker 1: didn't pick up on that the first time, especially if 139 00:09:14,559 --> 00:09:19,440 Speaker 1: they're not from in any way like that culture. But 140 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:24,240 Speaker 1: it's definitely there. It's definitely something that is going on 141 00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:28,439 Speaker 1: when and when Pie almost goes with him to Europe 142 00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:31,679 Speaker 1: and then she's like, no, take me back home, like 143 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:36,760 Speaker 1: that's not gonna be my home. So yeah, there's a 144 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:40,719 Speaker 1: lot to talk about with this movie, and people are 145 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:45,800 Speaker 1: still writing about that, which I love. So I would 146 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:48,960 Speaker 1: love to hear listeners if you have any thoughts on 147 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:54,680 Speaker 1: this character or this movie. Or you have any suggestions 148 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:58,920 Speaker 1: for people we should talk about in the future. You 149 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:02,000 Speaker 1: can emails at stuf Media, mom Stuff at iHeartMedia dot com. 150 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 1: You can find us on Twitter at mom Still podcast, 151 00:10:03,679 --> 00:10:05,920 Speaker 1: or on Instagram and TikTok at Stuff One'll Never Told You. 152 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:08,680 Speaker 1: We're also on YouTube. We have a tea public store, 153 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:10,280 Speaker 1: and we have a book you could get wherever you 154 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:12,480 Speaker 1: get your books. Thanks. It's always to our super producer 155 00:10:12,559 --> 00:10:15,280 Speaker 1: Christina or expected producer Maya and our contributor Joey. Thank 156 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:17,640 Speaker 1: you and thanks to you for listening Stuff Whenever Told 157 00:10:17,679 --> 00:10:19,520 Speaker 1: You This production by Heart Radio. 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