Kayson Carlin
November 14, 2017
Auteur Analysis – Taika Waititi
Born to a Jewish mother and Maori father, Taika Waititi graced the world in August 1975 in Wellington, New Zealand (Defender Films). Originally an actor, he moved on to writing and directing in the mid to early 2000s. His first short, professional film Two Cars, One Night (2003) was nominated for an Academy Award, and has since developed into an innovative and creative up-and-coming filmmaker. Despite only having a small repertoire of professional films, Waititi has shown to have a unique style which includes male-centric characters, a charming sense of humor, and nods to his own Maori heritage.
As of the time of this writing, Waititi’s films tend to focus on slice of life situations from a male perspective. The main characters in each of his films have a range of ages, but are always men; Ricky (Julian Dennison) and Hector (Sam Neill) from Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), Boy (James Rolleston) from Boy (2010), and nearly the entire cast of What We Do in the Shadows (2014). Whether this is on purpose or done subconsciously has yet to be seen, but it still shows a trend Waititi has followed so far. The situation on hand has always been explored from a male view. In Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Bella (Rima Te Wiata) plays a big role in Ricky’s character development even though she is not physically present for the majority of the film. The viewer does not see events from her point of view; likewise, her experiences, thoughts, and emotions are not directly explored. The only references to this are secondhand from Hec, her husband. On the other hand, the complexity of Hector and Ricky are explicitly shown through their actions and dialogue. To go a bit further, Waititi’s works mostly address masculine relationships; man and foster son, boy and his estranged father, and a group of male friends. These dynamics are at play in all of his films, and give insight into atypical male bonding.
One major signature of Waititi’s work is the use of humor within the narrative. “Waititi’s films have been regional slices of life, a fascinating blend of sentimentality, zaniness, angst, and a unique type of awkwardness that exists somewhere between Wes Anderson and Jared Hess” (Perkins). Every single film he has directed plays on the same type of comedy. His films tend to incorporate absurdity, often delivered in a deadpan way (Carew, p.22) In What We Do in the Shadows, the entire concept of vampires living as flatmates in modern-day Wellington is absurd, yet it is grounded in somewhat relatable situations; dealing with messy roommates, meeting new people, and adjusting to change. “Waititi doesn’t force these moments, nor lean on the sentiment behind them, preferring to let a comedic tone and naturalistic emotions shine through” (Ward, p.11). The same is true in Hunt for the Wilderpeople. It’s absurd and comical to find a grumpy old man and a boy who believes he is a gangster, together in the New Zealand wilderness, fleeing from child welfare services. Waititi adds to this zaniness by inserting moments of dark humor into situations, such as Ricky unknowingly describing Hector as a pedophilic molester, or Petyr’s “freak sunlight accident” in What we do in the Shadows, resulting in his death. With previous experience in comedy, it’s no wonder that off-beat humor finds its way to the front of Waititi’s films.
A unique part of Waititi’s films is his inclusion of Maori culture. “His domestic work is primarily characterized by a veneration of nature and indigenous culture” (Perkins). Coming from a Maori background himself, Waititi adds either a sprinkling of his heritage, or fully embraces it. Characters such as Ricky from Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and the boys in Two Cars, One Night, are clearly from Maori decent. Yet in each film, they are presented as “normal” modern day people, demystifying any assumed exoticism. It’s clear that a statement is being made about the romanticism of native culture that is seen in other cinema. To an American audience, it may be difficult to understand the implications of such representations. “Ways of seeing the world and ways of portraying the world in the movies differ for each country and culture, and it is necessary to understand the cultural conditions that surround a movie if we are to understand what it is about” (Corrigan, p.90). This rings true, especially for Waititi when he incorporates native cultures of New Zealand into his films. “Wilderpeople taps into the growing pride in national cinema that has emerged in the wake of Waititi’s gradual reshaping of New Zealand film on the world stage” (Flux, p.17) Even in What we do in the Shadows, the setting takes place in Wellington, New Zealand. The meaning behind those representations resonate differently with New Zealanders than they do with other parts of the world, but is still recognizable and comparable to other native cultures that have been oppressed such as the Native Americans in the United States. Given the underrepresentation of minorities in cinema, this makes Waititi unique as he not only includes minority cultures in his work, but is one as well.
Taika Waititi has proven himself as having an exceptional vision when it comes to filmmaking. The quirkiness embedded in his work signify them as one of a kind, just like the explosions in Michael Bay’s movies, lens flares in J.J. Abram’s Star Trek films, or unreal plot twists in an M. Night. Shyamalan storyline. It is yet to be seen if his future films make an attempt to address situations from a female perspective, or include central female characters. But his inclusion of indigenous minority cultures and actors certainly make him noteworthy. It feels like Waititi is just at the beginning of a, hopefully, long career in filmmaking.
Works Cited
Carew, Anthony. “Bloody Good Comedy: What we do in the Shadows.” Metro 183 (2015): 18-23.
Corrigan, Timothy. “Six Approaches to Writing About Film.” Corrigan, Timothy. n.d. 87-113. 2017.
Defender Films. Taika Waititi Biography. 2005. <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0169806/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm>.
Flux, Elizabeth. “On the right trek: Taika Waititi’s ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’ and New Zealand film.” Metro 190 (2016): 14-19.
Perkins, David. Regional Storytelling of Taika Waititi. 25 August 2016. <http://screenprism.com/insights/article/what-are-the-techniques-and-characteristics-of-taika-waititis-filmmaking>.
Ward, Sarah. “There’s no place like home: Finding family in Hunt for the Wilderpeople.” Screen Education 85 (2017): 8-15.
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