Film
The second Classic to come to the cinema in 2016 (after Zootopia) is Moana, which draws on Polynesian culture and myths to introduce audiences to the new Princess Vaiana of Moto Nui. Setting out in search of the demigod Maui so that he could help her return to Te Fiti the heart that the latter had stolen from her a thousand years before, Vaiana experiences the adventure on the open sea she had always dreamed of and thus manages to find herself and save her people from a terrible curse. Although it may seem like a step backwards in the development of the plot, what Oceania does do is reconfirm Disney's stylistic signature of light-hearted animated cinema with a decidedly humorous component, full of slapstick and iconic animals such as the piglet Pua, the cockerel Hei Hei and the giant crab Tamatoa. The latter is the protagonist of a narrative interlude that is independent from the rest of the film, but gives us a particularly exciting musical moment. Worthy of note is the music written by Lin Manuel Miranda, with whom Disney is establishing a collaboration that will see him return to work on Encanto (2021) and the live action of The Little Mermaid expected in 2023.
L'arte
In 1893 Paul Gauguin wrote in his diary: 'May the day come when I escape to the woods of some island in Oceania to live on ecstasy, calm and art'. After a few months, he left for the South Seas, far from the rules and preconceptions of a society he could no longer accept and which he felt was limiting. In Tahiti, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, he found his own earthly paradise, a landing place where he could find himself again and where he could resume his painting. This is why when one speaks of Polynesia, one can only think of Gauguin and the Disney artists have translated this link into the images of the film Oceania (Moana), which seems to immerse the viewer in the colours and textures of the French artist. The landscapes, Tahitian women and Gauguin's style echo throughout the film. However, the setting of this film is not Tahiti, the largest island in French Polynesia, but on the assonant Te Fiti and Motunui, whose inhabitants are inspired instead by the islands of Samoa, often referred to as the 'Islands of the Navigators'.
Previously, another film had also done the same with Gauguin's works, not so much with the more famous ones from his time in Tahiti as with some drawings and notes taken in his diary, later published under the title Noa Noa, and which are so reminiscent of those in Saludos Amigos. In 1942, the Studios' team of animators flew to South America to study the area, taking their characters (Donald Duck, Goofy, José Carioca) with them, and the result of this trip was an episodic film composed of four different segments. Each of these begins with various clips of Disney artists around the country drawing cartoons, whose style is strikingly reminiscent of those of the French artist.
Thinking about the history of Polynesian art, however, requires a contextualisation of the term 'art' in Polynesian cultures: it is the combination of all creative processes in tangible materials, performance (singing, acting, dancing, music) and scent. What is considered art in Polynesia is closely related to the concepts of skill, indirection (the gradual unravelling of layers of meaning through the growth of knowledge and cultural experience over time) and integration (of the senses). Polynesian art is a visual language that depicts the relationship between man and nature. Respect for the environment, fauna and flora, the sky, creatures great and small, their lives, their gods. Lines and geometric shapes that seem abstract, but have a precise meaning.
This is why Disney focuses on details and often shows us examples of Ngatu, decorated bark cloths made from the inside of the Hiapo (paper mulberry). This is a traditional cloth that is still part of the local traditions, a source of pride and prestige. You don't have to go very far to see them in person; some examples are preserved in the British Museum in London.
The Elema people of the Gulf of Papua, in south-eastern New Guinea, practised an elaborate cycle of masked rituals in the past. Some were sacred, while other masks like the ones you see in the photo were created for fun. They are Eharo masks, considered by the Elema to be 'maea morava eharu' ('things of joy') and represent supernatural beings and humorous figures, just like the Kakamora in the film.
Associated with a ceremony called Hevehe, the mask was worn at the end of a seven-year cycle, the purpose of which was to calm or drive away angry spirits of the sea and land. The jagged white edges of the head are thought to represent the mountains and the distant Mount Yule, linking the mask's design to the legend of Oa Malara (or Molala Hari), the morning star. Every night he came down from the mountain to visit the beautiful girls in the coastal villages, but had to return before dawn. One night he stayed too long in a village, forcing him to stay and build a family and a home. The men of the tribes who participated in the Heveh ritual then paraded with these masks, the women threw crushed coconuts at them to neutralise their seductive power. Now inoffensive, the Heveh would dance surrounded by large groups of women to the amusement of the assembled crowd, then burn the mask and begin the seven-year cycle again.
External Links
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