Idiots complaining about Moana

[binary solo]

CaptainExplosion said:

binary solo said:

The Polynesian voice actor for Maui

The animated image of Maui

Why couldn't that have simply mo-capped The Rock?

If Polynesian characters of all shapes and sizes were present a lot on movie and TV screens this would be a non-issue. But the fact that Polynesian characters are so rarely represented and even more rarely the central heroes of movies and TV puts it in a different context.

Also, pre-colonial polynesians were not fat, obesity only became significant in polynesians after western diets were introduced. So any traditional image of Maui in polynesian culture would not be of a big fat dude. So it's not historically or mythologically accurate. Obesity in the Polynesian community is a major problem. The Polynesian community doesn't need a fat archetype of it created in popular culture. Outside of Australia, New Zealand and Polynesia itself, how many people have actually met or know any Polynesians? How many people even know Khaal Drogo and the Rock are Polynesian?

If anyone has a right to be offended at the fictional portyrayal of a culture in popular entertainment it's the people of that culture. They are the ones who are most interested and concerned about the health and development of their people.

It might be minor to you, but to some Polynesian people this stuff matters.

That hardly justifies the whining. It's not like the movie involves cannibalism or human sacrifice, which WOULD be racist.

Actually it wouldn't be. Because human sacrifice and cannibalism are historically accurate elements of many Polynesian cultures. However cannibalism wasn't a source of nutrition, it was a ritual thing, particularly the eating of a defeated enemy. So if you portrayed Polynesian's as dietary cannibals that would be racist.

Of course Disney would never put human sacrifice or cannibalism into one of it's animated movies, but that would not be for reasons of cultural sensitivity.

If you know of any hippies that have had placenta eating parties as part of the celebration of  the birth of a child, then you know someone who has engaged in ritual cannibalism.