The Legend of Eddie Aikau


In the film Hawaiin: The Legend of Eddie Aikau the perspective expressed on imperialism was the unjustice the native people had to live in and how it tranformed their entire lives and well beings entirely. Eddie Aikau's life served as the perfect example of the affect of imperialism. In the film it explained how the ocean was the only aspect of Hawaii that still belonged to them. Eddie was trying to save the culture of his ancestors through his love for the ocean.  The North shore was given to the Aikau family generations back and Eddie was reviving his ancestry by competing and becoming the first lifeguarding there. His constant competing in evens and his desire to travel aboard the Hokualea was to prove that Hawaiin culture was still good enough. There was more to the Hawaiian than just hola dancers, tans, and constant happiness. There was meaning in their culture that was being overlooked and rewritten for them. Clyde explained that they were an angry people. Imperialism had stripped away their identity and Eddie's life showed his fight to bring the Hawaiian identity back as something to be proud of. When the Australian was interviewed he explained how the Hawaiians  had everything taken away from them when the US arrived, and when the Australians surfers came in they took away the natives right to the ocean. It was the only thing left that was their own. No matter what the imperialist changed they could never take Hawaii out of the natives. It was a part of them. They contained a deeper connection that could not be understood. Hawaii lived inside of them and could not be taken out, they were Hawaii.


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