Once we were Warriors takes us to Auckland, New Zealand. Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand. It is located on the North Island and has a population of about 1.4 million people. New Zealand is broken up into two islands, the North Island and the South Island. New Zealand is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean and is 1250 miles southwest of Australia. This movie shows us urban life of an indigenous Māori family in the City of Auckland, New Zealand. Māori is the word that refers to the indigenous people of New Zealand. This film is a graphic look into a Māori family dealing with issues such as alcoholism, domestic violence, and poverty.
There are many social economic issues we see present in this film. Māori’s are depicted as a struggling society. Many examples of poverty are noticeable. Also there are examples of Māori’s belonging to gangs and being involved in criminal mischief. This is actually a big issue in New Zealand. The majority of Māori are a struggling society. Māori account for 14% of the population and yet 50% of the prison population is Māori. Māori also suffer from more alcohol and drug problems than any other group in New Zealand. The Māori also suffer from racism in New Zealand. This film did a good job at bringing these problems to the surface. Along with Jake’s domestic violence issues and his alcoholism we see that he also has a gambling problem. In scenes we see him betting on horse races and he becomes very agitated when being interrupted when watching the race. Horse racing is actually major contributor of New Zealand’s economy. There are actually 59 horse racing locations in New Zealand and the industry alone provides 18,300 full-time jobs. New Zealand generates about 1.4 billion a year from its racing industry. The racing is not where New Zealand stops with its horses. New Zealand has many breeding company which breed top horses for exportation to such areas as Australia and Asia.
In the film we see that some Māori are more connected to their ancestry than others. The family of focus in the film really doesn’t get back to their roots till the end when everything falls apart. Their son Mark “Boogie”, becomes attracted to his ancestry when he is taken from his home and at his boarding school he is introduced to Māori customs. During the film we see many examples of Māori customs. We see many Māori adoring tattoos on their face and body. Tattoos or in Māori language “Moko” are very traditional to the Māori. Tattooing is started in adolescence, usually to celebrate life events. We also see traditional Māori weapons in the film. We see Boogie using a wooden stick to break out windows in his boarding school. This was no ordinary stick; it was what is called a Taiaha. A Taiaha is a traditional weapon of Māori from New Zealand and is about 5 to 6 feet long. The weapon was used in close combat situations. It is pointed on one end and widens out on the other in broaden blade. The Taiaha is not commonly used for combat for today’s generations, though it is still used in traditional dance rituals.
One thing I found interesting with the film was there were a few parts that had American influenced items. In the scene where Nig is being driven to the gang beat in initiation ceremony we here a reference to Michael Jackson. The gang leader lets Nig know that he will not have to pay for his face to get rearranged like Michael Jackson. I thought it was quite a funny line in a movie that had little humor. Also I noticed a few movie posters in Gracie’s room. They were movie posters of Lethal Weapon 3 and White Men Can’t Jump. Both movies came out in 1992 which just a couple years prior to Once Were Warriors debut.
There are many social economic issues we see present in this film. Māori’s are depicted as a struggling society. Many examples of poverty are noticeable. Also there are examples of Māori’s belonging to gangs and being involved in criminal mischief. This is actually a big issue in New Zealand. The majority of Māori are a struggling society. Māori account for 14% of the population and yet 50% of the prison population is Māori. Māori also suffer from more alcohol and drug problems than any other group in New Zealand. The Māori also suffer from racism in New Zealand. This film did a good job at bringing these problems to the surface. Along with Jake’s domestic violence issues and his alcoholism we see that he also has a gambling problem. In scenes we see him betting on horse races and he becomes very agitated when being interrupted when watching the race. Horse racing is actually major contributor of New Zealand’s economy. There are actually 59 horse racing locations in New Zealand and the industry alone provides 18,300 full-time jobs. New Zealand generates about 1.4 billion a year from its racing industry. The racing is not where New Zealand stops with its horses. New Zealand has many breeding company which breed top horses for exportation to such areas as Australia and Asia. 
In the film we see that some Māori are more connected to their ancestry than others. The family of focus in the film really doesn’t get back to their roots till the end when everything falls apart. Their son Mark “Boogie”, becomes attracted to his ancestry when he is taken from his home and at his boarding school he is introduced to Māori customs. During the film we see many examples of Māori customs. We see many Māori adoring tattoos on their face and body. Tattoos or in Māori language “Moko” are very traditional to the Māori. Tattooing is started in adolescence, usually to celebrate life events. We also see traditional Māori weapons in the film. We see Boogie using a wooden stick to break out windows in his boarding school. This was no ordinary stick; it was what is called a Taiaha. A Taiaha is a traditional weapon of Māori from New Zealand and is about 5 to 6 feet long. The weapon was used in close combat situations. It is pointed on one end and widens out on the other in broaden blade. The Taiaha is not commonly used for combat for today’s generations, though it is still used in traditional dance rituals. 
One thing I found interesting with the film was there were a few parts that had American influenced items. In the scene where Nig is being driven to the gang beat in initiation ceremony we here a reference to Michael Jackson. The gang leader lets Nig know that he will not have to pay for his face to get rearranged like Michael Jackson. I thought it was quite a funny line in a movie that had little humor. Also I noticed a few movie posters in Gracie’s room. They were movie posters of Lethal Weapon 3 and White Men Can’t Jump. Both movies came out in 1992 which just a couple years prior to Once Were Warriors debut. 
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