Page 40 - IB December 2024

Culture Culture

Promotional still from Moana 2. Courtesy of Disney

NAVIGATING REPRESENTATION

DISNEY’S MOANA AND THE PACIFIC

By Aisha Azeemah controversy. Disney has improved its reputation significantly
since the 1995 release of Pocahontas, and deserves some
As millions of children around the world rush to cinemas credit for making the effort for proper research and
to catch the much-awaited sequel to Disney’s Moana, some consultation before storyboarding Moana.
adults from islands represented in the film have paused to Prior to the release of Moana (2016), Disney creatives
question its impact. formed the Oceanic Trust, a collective of Pacific Islanders
Ethnic and cultural representation on screen has seen some with knowledge of the culture, traditions, tools, vessels,
young Pacific children find renewed interest and pride in their languages, and people Disney sought to depict in the
traditions, thanks to Moana. However, representation is not movie. Among these historians, anthropologists, linguists,
always positive and culturally sensitive. and cultural consultants of Pacific heritage was Rotuman
Disney has not always had the best track record for handling academic, playwright, and filmmaker Professor Vilsoni
the stories of Indigenous peoples from around the world. Its Hereniko.
creative liberties with the story of Pocahontas (or rightfully, “I was a cultural consultant for Disney’s original Moana. I
Amonute), another young Indigenous girl and her culture think the first one struck a satisfactory balance between the
prior to colonial influences, continues to be the topic of source material and the final story that ended up on screen,”

40 Islands Business, December 2024