Moana, more than a children's film that undoubtedly deserved an Oscar

Cinematography is not only an ephemeral exercise in the production of images, but it is meticulously elaborated in order to be able to transmit a message to the viewer.
This work of art has a representative capacity used by man with the aim of expressing truths, models, values, experiences and knowledge.

Cinema is then a creative activity that requires creative will skills to be able to establish a material or immaterial artistic object for aesthetic purposes and thus sensitize and overexcite the viewer; without overlooking that it is also capable of bringing together arts such as photography, architecture, literature, poetry, painting, music, among many others.

Like all complex art, it came over time to catalog its different categories in the industry, in order to be able to give both the viewer and to the artist a more selective and focused way of observing, creating and enjoyment. As well as the need to generate an event that had as a purpose to reward the great effort not only of the great actors who are in this complex race, but also to the directive that they took part in the creation of the films that these artists performed.
This event was successful and was established in mid-1929, taking the name "Academy Award of Merit" also called today "Oscar Award" or "Academy Award".

In 1938 a special prize was awarded to Walt Disney for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and in 1995 John Lasseter for Toy Story, but it was not until In 2001, the category of "Best Animated Film" was created.

In 2016, "Moana" directed by Ron Clements and John Musker was nominated for best animated film, which did not meet the requirements that the academy establishes to succeed in that category. Now, taking the above as a reference, I therefore question the elaboration and critical capacity that these awards take into consideration to generate the indicators implemented in the evaluation carried out that must be carried out in order to categorize a film as worthy of this award.

Therefore, a categorical analysis of this film will be carried out with the aim of understanding why, from my perspective, this film has the necessary skills to have obtained an Oscar.

Categorical analysis from Ideology:

In the film, the category of ideology is raised very briefly but in the same way it can be rescued. While it is true that in the village of Motonui there is a hierarchy, there is no discrimination based on it, so the production goods are divided equally, simulating a socialist system within the village.

On the other hand, it is important to highlight the idealistic thinking that Moana's father has, when he tells her that her education and beliefs have been framed in developing a sustainable production system on the island and that this doctrine has transcended for several generations, therefore she must behave in the same way. Trying to indoctrinate her and instill in her a thought that he already possesses, this process is transformed because of the criticality of her grandmother, who provides Moana with the necessary tools to unveil the false consciousness of her father and her previous generations, who catalog the town as a sedentary society only because their mode of production made them unconsciously create an inverted and reformed idea of reality. but really, it is not like that, the people of Motonui were a nomadic people who had a totally different system from the one presented today in which the story takes place.

Seen from the perspective of Moana's grandmother, it is necessary to understand how ideology serves in education so that we consciously assume an educational praxis, to resist and unveil social reality. A fact that is presented in the film when the grandmother explains the history of her ancestors and educates her to understand the social reality from which they come and the social reality in which they find themselves.

It is interesting the representation of capitalism that we can see in the story, in a character called Tamatoa, who is a crab that Moana seeks to deceive to get what she needs. Moana makes a satire telling him that the man venerates him to the point of fearing him. Looking after her interests and to satisfy her hunger, Tamatoa lies to her and pretends to agree to talk to Moana, but she does so boastingly, where she reflects with her song a capitalist system cloistered in the underworld, where everything that shines and has value must be taken under her power and domination; In fact, in the film he is presented as a villain, a system that only looks after its riches ignoring the needs of humans, to the point that it seeks to eat human beings in order to get much richer. Another aspect that we can highlight in this scene is the language in which the crab speaks, why French and not another language? Is it intended to make a critique of where the capitalist system comes from?

Categorical analysis from Feminism:

In the village of Motonui, an apparently patriarchal system is proposed at first, when Moana's father explains that her predecessors to the position as leader of the village were only men, but then he dismantles that theory by indicating that she will be the new leader of the village and that she must prepare herself to be able to establish the necessary competencies to be able to adequately perform her role within the village. From what is implied in the teaching of her, that the villagers assume her in her entirety as an important figure for the decision-making of the village; With this progression, it does not seek to supplant a patriarchal system with a matriarchal one, but on the contrary, it seeks to create equity in the social system in which they are taking as leader the person who is in succession for the position, indisputably their gender, so that equality within said system can be noticed.

As well as the equality and equity in the tasks of the island, both men and women work in common environments regardless of the task assigned to them, whether it is planting, weaving or doing some other jobs such as cooking or carpentry.

Of great interest is also the breaking of social stereotypes that establish women as weak and that must be rescued, the typical label of "the damsel in distress". For some years now, these stereotypes have been approached from another perspective, which although criticizing them very subtly, have been fractured to the point of being almost obsolete. This is clearly observed in the case of Moana, where the character is conceived as a heroine, a 16-year-old girl who worthily makes the decision to save her people from the tragedy that is approaching her and sets off with verve to fulfill the task that her grandmother entrusts to her, to find the demigod who has damaged the entire ecosystem because of her self-centeredness and selfishness. to take him to the goddess Te Fiti and return to her the heart that was taken from him.

It is evident then that Moana establishes as a matrix a plot where women have the same importance as men both on a natural level and on a spiritual and mythical level, taking as a reference what has been said above and adding that their ancestors venerated mother nature as a goddess to whom they paid tribute and took care of her. What it seeks then is to create an awareness of equality and equity, of valuing and accepting genders in the social system.

Categorical analysis from Ecology:

The film from the first instance is presented as a story that seeks to raise awareness about the harmful effects that he is causing in his environment, this can be clearly observed when at the beginning of the film Maui steals the heart of Te Fiti (the goddess of nature), which can be analyzed from that metaphor as man directly damaging the ecosystem regardless of the collateral effects it causes, for their vanity and selfishness, for power and wealth, forgetting that it is nature that has provided them with the necessary resources for their existence.

Maui is represented as the individualistic thought of the human being, where his ego is so high and vain that despite having damaged the entire ecosystem he boasts in a song blurting out that all the discoveries that have happened in history were thanks to him and only because of him, so the only thing left for him is to say "you're welcome" to humanity

Moana in turn is represented as the reflective consciousness of the human being, who begins to notice the mistakes they have made both by their generation and by their past generations, by not knowing what is happening with the ecosystem that is around them. This event is glimpsed in the film when the people of the village arrive there with problems related to the production of food on the island, where coconuts are rotting and fish can no longer be a source of food because they have become scarce. This is very important an event in the film that, although it may tend to be underestimated and therefore overlooked, calls for a warning and reflection on the damage we are causing to the sea with the toxic waste that we empty into it and how the flora and fauna are being affected by our unawareness or lack of concern for such a problem.

Then, there comes the point in the film where both consciences meet and enter into diatribe, since Moana (the reflective consciousness of the human being) tries to make Maui (the individualistic thought of the human being) understand his mistake in stealing Te Fiti's heart, so he fervently asks him to return the heart and face his mistake, that although it may seem late, it can still be solved. Maui's consequent action in trying to get rid of Moana and failing in the attempt, is to understand that he has reality before his eyes, but still instinctively flees out of fear, as he finally understands that no matter how hard he has tried to escape from
the problems it has generated, they have pursued it until it basically leads to its own perdition. So Moana, after a long and difficult dialogic process, manages to reach an agreement with him and they set out to solve the problem and improve the ecosystem.

Categorical analysis from Historicity:

Moana's grandmother, coming from a tribe of sailors in the South Pacific, has a great passion for exploring the sea. She claims to be the "guardian of the ancient stories" since she knows deeply the culture and heritage of the tribe from which she comes.

Worried about the ignorance of her roots, she decides to tell the children the story of Te Fiti, goddess who created all the islands of the Pacific Ocean and with them their inhabitants, flora and fauna. When his heart is stolen, all the islands begin to be in danger, due to the risk in which the planet is and seeing in Moana someone who can save the world, he decides to tell her the history of his people, show her the place where the ships of the ancient navigators were hidden and give her the heart of Te Fiti to be returned to him.

The knowledge of all history awakens in Moana a feeling of belonging, of seeking to rescue what was really her people, of instilling their customs again in her tribe, for which she will use the techniques implemented in ancient times by her ancestors and thus be able to return the heart to Te Fiti.

In a moment of distrust in herself and believing that she could not achieve it, the spirit of her grandmother appears on the boat and makes her reflect on how different she is and how despite having many aspects against her, her love to save her land and that her people return to their traditions drives her to continue and fulfill the task of giving her heart to Te Fiti, in order to preserve both his island and the rest of them.

Categorical analysis from Complexity:

During the development of the film we can find that they are present two of the principles of complexity:

- Dialogic Principle: It is presented at the moment in which Moana seeks to
Maui understand how serious it was to have stolen Te Fiti's heart and that he must to take the trip with her to give it back to her. Maui seeks to get rid of Moana to avoid facing the serious mistake she made, but when she saw that she could not achieves it, assumes its responsibility and reaches an agreement with Moana to go to together to return the heart.

- Hologrammatic Principle: This principle is presented in the film by to show us that the conformation of each of the islands is part of a whole and that in turn the whole is part of the islands. Seeing in this way the ecosystem as a whole and the islands as part of that whole. We can see the heart of Te Fiti as the representation of mother nature (the whole) and the this being stolen all the islands begin to be affected, because they form
part of that whole.

Categorical analysis from Power:

To begin with, we can see the power of Te Fiti, who as a goddess uses her heart to create all the islands of the Pacific Ocean and with them their inhabitants, flora and fauna. We can also see a monarchical political power that is passed from generation to generation in the family of Moana, who must learn what her functions are, since she is the future heir to the position of leader of Motonui Island.

At the same time, when seeing it as the ability to influence, the great power that Moana's grandmother possesses is visualized and how the telling of the stories of her people, her knowledge and the way in which she makes Moana see her true reason for being, make Moana awaken the desire to go outside to fulfill her mission.ç

The power that Moana has is relevant, she decides to go further by listening to her grandmother, despite the fact that this goes against her father. Moana becomes aware of her belonging to the island and embarks on an adventure which will turn the story, which will bring changes that she sees necessary in order to save and protect the island and herself.

Maui is another character that highlights the category. Because he has a hook with which he creates things that are really valuable to human beings, he feels able to decide and do what he thinks is best, saying at the same time that he should be venerated by all humans, for his character as a "hero".

The film evokes in us the feeling of appropriating our culture and producing from it. We must stop having a Eurocentric thinking, go from being a multicultural society to an intercultural society that works together for a common good.

After a detailed analysis of the film, we cLibraryan see that Moana has great reasons to be an Oscar winner, but it is the level of criticality of the academy, which is totally Eurocentric, that prevents it from taking the recognition, cataloging the film as uninteresting for developing a story that comes from Caribbean roots.

In the same way, it should be noted that the film is seen in a bad way since in various islands of the Pacific they do not share the representation and commercial exploitation that the animation studio makes of a mythological figure that some cultures consider to be an "ancestor".