It is normal for people to feel in need of companionship and a positive role-model to lead them. I have chosen to study the theme, “Everyone seeks companionship and a positive role-model at some point in their lives.” This theme is very common in the films, Boy, by Taika Waititi and The Dark Horse, by James Napier Robertson as well as the books/short stories, ka Kite, Bro, by Willie Davis and Wild pork and Watercress, by Barry Crump.

In the film Boy, Boy who is a typical Maori kid with no parents around is standing at the end of their driveway with a ‘welcome home dad’ sign. he is waiting there for a while before he goes back inside with his head facing the ground. This shows how disappointed he is and how he needs a leader and a close companion to make him happy. Later on in the movie, he Is sitting in an old car talking to his goat about life. He then hears a car coming down the road. He walks over to the car with a hopeful look on his face and looks inside the car. The man in the car says, “who are you?” Boy replies, “Boy alumin.” The man then replies, “I’m your dad.” Boys face changes to a big smile and says, “Wow, hey dad!!”. This clearly shows that Boy was seeking companionship and a role-model and has now finally found some hope for finding them because of his mood changes completely. But then later on in the book, his dad leaves him again. This shows that his dad was not really a good role model in the end.

In the book Wild Pork and Watercress, Ricky Baker is a Maori boy who was rejected by his parents. Because he is constantly being moved around to different foster homes he is always getting in trouble. Ricky says, ” They don’t know what to do with fat brown boys like me”. This shows that Ricky Baker is seeking a friend, a companion and a role-model because he feels unloved and worthless and is not going anywhere with his life. Later on in the book, Ricky is moved to a farm with some loving parents. Ricky’s new mum(Aunty Bella). Aunty Bella says, “I’m so glad we found you Ricky”. This shows that he has finally found a companion and a responsible, positive role-model to love and lead Ricky to show Ricky that he is really worth something.

In the film The Dark Horse, Mana is a Maori boy who has grown up in a house along with his father’s gang. Mana is always around heavy smokers and drinkers who are a bad influence on him. Since he has grown up around all of this, This is what he thinks is normal and ok to do. One of the gang members says, “Oh come on bro, have one with the boys”. This shows he is in the wrong environment because he is getting taught that it is ok to drink and smoke. This also is a major giveaway that he is seeking a companion and a positive role model as he is in a bad environment and there is no way out for mana. Later on in the movie, mana gets into a chess club run by Genesis who is very encouraging and brave. This chess club and genesis help strengthen mana a lot which helps him to realize he is actually good at something and then he ends up moving away from his dad’s gang and stays with genesis who helps and guides mana to become a better person and shows mana what he is really capable of. 

In the Short story Ka Kite, Bro, Tama is a Maori teenager who loses his best and only friend. He is going to a white school that is very proper and posh. Tama wants to say a traditional Maori ‘good by’ but is not allowed to as it is not the ‘white peoples way’. later on, in the short story, Tama is at his friends funeral and goes up to speak about his friend. He says “I just wanted to say goodbye”. Tama then goes up the coffin and bends over and says a Maori good by. This shows that time is so upset when he loses his only companion and that he does not have a very good role model to help him through his tough times because they are all posh and not wanting to have any different. He needs a positive role model to help and lead him through his tough times because he is having trouble fitting in and now things have just got harder as he lost his only friend.

I believe that we can all need a positive role-model and a companion. The films, Boy, by Taika Waititi, The Dark Horse, by James Napier Robertson and the books/short stories, ka Kite, Bro, by Willie Davis and Wild pork and Watercress, by Barry Crump all showed me that there is a lot of sadness caused by no positive role-model and lack of companionship. We cannot wipe out this problem but we can help reduce it. We can do this by starting to run youth events and encouraging kids to come and find their true selves. 

Join the conversation! 3 Comments

  1. seeks companionship – can you elaborate on this? These boys need companionship, but from someone who can be a positive influence in their lives

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  2. You’ve repeated . some material in you Boy paragraph. Make sure you aren’t just retelling the story – focus on ‘it is normal for people to feel in need of companionship and an positive role-model to lead them.’

    Go in to more detail about how/why Ricky’s life changes when he moves to Aunt Bella’s.

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  3. I would recommend you focus on the positive role model, not just companionship

    Reply

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About Jaydon

I am a year 11 at Mount Aspiring College

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