‘The Piano’

       The racist and limited stereotyping in cinematic representations is a primary site in the exercise of violence and power. The film ‘The Piano’ narrates a female protagonist Ada progressing from Scottish to New Zealand, Ada as a 19-century European woman. She was forced to arrive in New Zealand to marry a colonist. It is noticeable that the media play an irreplaceable role in shaping and depicting racial identity. There is no denying that the screen provides opportunities to make marginalized groups Maori visible. Nevertheless, the representation of marginalized Maori people has perpetuated stereotypical constructions The Piano potentially convey 

Speaking of the whiteness, and media representations of the ‘Other’. In The Piano, In this film, Maori characters played ‘nature’ to European characters’ dominant culture. Nevertheless, the Maori culture was ignored in the shadows, and far removed from their own Māori identity and culture. For the reason that Maori people were represented as natives, they merely acted as the decorative backdrop for the Pākehā cultural paradigm, the development of the storytelling and the emotional drama of white protagonists. It is noticeable that the colonial gaze somehow perpetuated stereotyped constructions of Maori people and stories. The representation of Maori people conveys a negative image of Maori, which is problematic because the reproduction of stereotyped depictions of Maori people are dangerous.

We all know that Maori groups were desiring an equal power and voice in the mass media field. As any marginalized group, they need justice to express their voice and accurate images. All in all, the representation of Maori groups in The piano potentially contribute to the ongoing maintenance of problematized power relations, the marginalization of Māori stories. Maori voices in the media imply lack of power, weakness and dysfunction. The representations of Māori in the film supposedly achieve more equitable status.