The Eyes of a Child: Coming of Age in Whale Rider, Boy and Shopping

It is often said that innocence equips children with the abilities to see beneath the superficial and to speak truths more profound than expected. In this essay, Jasmine Crittenden expounds on how the young protagonists in three recent films capture the fears and dreams of New Zealand's Maori and Pacific Islander peoples.

Additional keywords: Niki Caro, Taika Waititi, Mark Albiston, Louis Sutherland, growth, convention, feminism, role model, generation, postcolonialism, Polynesian, interracial, biracial, multiculturalism.