Who's the Outsider? (Original)

Personally, non-conformity has meant that a person is different from the majority. A person can make themselves an outsider by nature or by choice. Sometimes people are made to be outsiders by others based upon petty characteristics such as ethnicity or gender. The disscussion focused mainly upon Pai's desire to gain her grandfather's acceptance, but failing to do so because of her own inate character that 'bucked the system' so to speak. Conformity is measured by how well you identify with the cultural bounderies of your community. Our discussion about Pai's non-conformity to her tribe's cultural traditions held that she did it in an effort to gain the acceptance of her grandfather.

One view that was discussed was that Pai's intention in making herself an outsider was that she was trying to assume leadership and change the role of a woman as defined by the tribe. This was view was not shared by many because Pai's behavior and stubborn personality was thought to be the primary reason she was an outsider, not because of any active plan to assume leadership.
The deep-rooted traditions that had been held by the Maori people so long seemed to be breaking and unraveling like the rope that Koro used to describe the tribal line to Pai. Pai's destiny and will for the tribe was that they be a team and work together. She didn't want the leader of the tribe to be alone and carry the weight all on their own as she had seen Koro do. This belief in teamwork set her apart from her people, who were used to having one supreme leader who was male and did not approve of female leaders.

The traditions of a culture or community determine whether or not people will fit in. If they do not assume the traditions of the community they will be outcasts, unless by some miracle the community changes to accomodate new traditions and beliefs, which is not very likely. The film depicts non-conformity winning out in the end with the tribe accepting Pai for who she is, this doesn't occur very often in real life. Initially Pai is made an outsider because of her gender and as she gets older her non-conformity increases as her stubborn nature makes her an outsider to the tribe.