MovieChat Forums > The Descendants (2011) Discussion > Where are the Hawaiian people?

Where are the Hawaiian people?

posted 12 years ago by jorgenson-s
37 replies | jump to latest

Okay....so I just returned from vacationing in Hawaii and heard "The Descendants" takes place in Hawaii so I decided to watch it. I thought the movie made alot of great references to the Hawaiian culture and such. From the Hawaiian casual attire, relaxed lifestyle, to the use of Mahalo and even speaking Pigeon. I just felt there was a disconnect between the references about the culture/roots and the ethnicity of the characters themselves. George Clooney and all of his family are suppose to be descendants from King Kamehameha but every single person in George Clooney's family and extended family were all white. In fact George Clooney looked the most Hawaiian of all the many family members. I just thought with that big huge family there would be a little more diversity. Maybe some actual Hawaiian people or even some Japanese in the family. It just didn't seem very realistic.

[–] johnston.scot 12 years ago

There are other threads on this.

It's not accidental. Matt refers to it explicitly ("we're haole as xxxx").

I don't find it at all unbelievable to imagine a wealthy family in which (save for the one royal ancestor from whom all the wealth actually derived) everyone married only white people.

Minor aside: "pidgin," not "pigeon." And - unless I missed something - nobody spoke pidgin in the movie.

[–] nutsberryfarm 12 years ago

practicing their hula dance moves.

Season's Greetings

[–] DorsiaRes 12 years ago

you're right, nobody spoke pidgin. there was only one reference to it, and that was when matt said he and his family can't speak it :)

"mahalo" and "yeah?" were the only references to anything i'd actually hear while in hawaii. that was definitely weird, especially for a family who has been there for so long. i have had family live there for less time who speak more like locals than they did.

[–] Yorick_Brown 11 years ago

I don't find it at all unbelievable to imagine a wealthy family in which (save for the one royal ancestor from whom all the wealth actually derived) everyone married only white people.

Yes. Exactly. The thread maker even acknowledges that the film makes many references to Hawaiian culture.

He's just race baiting.

Passenger side, lighting the sky
Always the first star that I find
You're my satellite...

[–] EJF 9 years ago

In fact, Matt explicitly says (when addressing the cousins' meeting), "We can't speak Hawaiian or even pidgin."

[–] antiguanlove 12 years ago

As someone who is a "local" or "native" of a Caribbean island I just wanted to tell you that I actually liked that aspect of this movie. It really captures the environment of so-called Paradise and exposed an ugly truth that while many people flock to live here they dwell here more than they actually live amongst us and seldom involve themselves in the community. I think if you dig deep you might find that this segregation exists in most tourist destinations. It's not just the expatriate whites though. It's pretty common for even the "local" whites to stick together.
All in all a very realistic portrayal to me, and a refreshing one.

[–] madmarsha 12 years ago

Very interesting perspective and great point about "dwelling" versus "living". I came here to post something flippant about it being a myth that Hawaiian people actually live in Hawai'i. And I think you're right that in most tourist destinations there exists that segregation.

[–] nxgn_not_not 12 years ago

so if u live in an area
for like 4 or 5 gene-ra-tions
but your sskkkkkkiiiiiiiiiiiin
is the wrong color
u not one of us
South Africa
'Merika
just about every where the locals were displaced @ some point
some say humans / DNA is not of this
& came from else where

o & as 2 dwell v live
yah
is there a place
with money & tech & food stash
that peeps all com-mum-un-icate
& such?

so
OP
they were

What it is, is, what is, is. Is what it is.

[–] dar829 12 years ago

What?

[–] Prismark10 12 years ago

It was interesting to note that that they were all white and no one even inter married!

Its that man again!!

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] bluesman-20 12 years ago

It states in the film very strongly. His mother was hawaiian royality and was the descendant of A king. The LAnd in which Matt was left is his mothers from a long line of her family. His father one assumes was white. But the land belonged to his mother. It was her inheritence. So it's not too hard to believe there was some mixed blood in that family.

I Hate Rude behavior in a man. I Won't tolerate it.-Captain Woodrow F. Call.

[–] johnston.scot 12 years ago

Not quite.

It was his great-great-grandmother who was a native Hawaiian princess. She married her white banker. This would make Matt King 1/16th Hawaiian, if she is his only lineal ancestor who was native - which seems likely.

There is "mixed blood" in Matt King's line to that limited extent. From the looks of things (plus Matt's comment about being "haole as xxxx") that's all there is.

Somewhat beside the point: the land came to Matt from his father's side of the family, not his mother's. As I recall, he mentions at one point in the voiceover that he became the sole trustee after his father's death. Also, the family (including that banker) are, like him, named "King."

In other words: his father's father's father's father married a Hawaiian princess.

[–] antiguanlove 12 years ago

Again, another note that didn't surprise me and which rang true. The expats seldom inter-marry and the local whites or "creole" whites are not much into inter-mixing either. it's funny, people buy property in the Caribbean because they want a slice of paradise but then find it difficult to live in a country that is majority black or non-white and so they really stick together and they make sure their children who are born here also stick together. It's kind of sad actually. Just the other day my friends and I were joking about the fact that anytime a young, handsome white man comes down to the island even to visit one of the local whites or expat whites will always get to him first hehe. I guess people tend to stick to what makes them comfortable?

[–] nxgn_not_not 12 years ago

aoluv
so
peeps is everywhere
& every where they is
sum r like sad
& sum r like nastee
& sum r like mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
K?

so
there's that
o &
there's others
what don't get any voice
in what happens 2 this little rock

Bill with a dubb-lll bitted axe in that moonlite kingdom
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

the vartu of GBE - wait, what?

[–] adriaticHR 12 years ago

why
are you
writing
like this

[–] nxgn_not_not 12 years ago

y r u different?
why wood andy buddy ever ever do anything any different
don what me teech
in primary
sagt

sie werden nachkommen!

we must
whee
must

wait
y r u so so in2 the basket instead of the fish

everything must b just so
or I will

ignor

I will
not speechify

nicht
denken sie an

as 2 the thread
so so so seen this
all over this little rock

Ja, ja, ja, so, no rilly - wait, what?

[–] !!!deleted!!! (19664510) 12 years ago

nxgn_not_not, please finish high school. Illiteracy is fixable. Thanks.

[–] Stirchley 11 years ago

so if u live in an area
for like 4 or 5 gene-ra-tions
but your sskkkkkkiiiiiiiiiiiin
is the wrong color
u not one of us
South Africa
'Merika
just about every where the locals were displaced @ some point
some say humans / DNA is not of this
& came from else where

o & as 2 dwell v live
yah
is there a place
with money & tech & food stash
that peeps all com-mum-un-icate
& such?

so
OP
they were

Well, thanks for clearing that up.

[–] Chocolegz 12 years ago

That was one of the only aspect of the movie I could tolerate.

BTW, if you must use the f word, I should tell you that I'm a woman.

[–] dshirley-25770 10 years ago

Having lived as a haole in Hawaii, I've learned one thing; while the Hawaiian people can be very gracious, there is a great amount of animus towards white people there, arguably justified by past history. You can be Asian, or Filipino, or any other race to be considered kama'aina (local), but not Caucasian. Right or wrong, this could be the reason white people are subject to de facto segregation in the islands.

[–] cakenoodle 12 years ago

This was the most realistic movie about life in Hawaii that I have ever seen. The details, down to filming the actual places and streets that were mentioned in the movie. The Haole ruling class that were descendents from the missionary families are exactly as portrayed. They are an integral part of the islands. The scene towards the end of the film when Mr. King was wrestling with selling the land to cash in or to perpetuate the trust showed his Hawaiian blood. I hope that more movies like this are made to showcase what it is actually like living here in Hawaii.

[–] nxgn_not_not 12 years ago

not just there
though it is so so there
but manny manny places
peeps make decisions
with massive long lasting effect

very moving

Ja, ja, ja, so, no rilly - wait, what?

[–] scoochie9 12 years ago

I agree that this is a very realistic movie about rich-haole life in Hawaii. I was born there, but left when I was 3, then returned in college (paid for by financial aid and a scholarship--I'm a hoale, but not rich), and stayed for a long time. I really miss it.
At one point I nannied for the daughter of a wealthy haole family, and got to live on Round Top for a year. The view was not to be believed! But the point is, one time I was down in the city with the girl and her mother, and the car's battery died, so we needed a jump to get home. I was looking around thinking we should flag somebody down (we were at a busy intersection), but the mother called her Dad to come all the way down from the mountain and take care of it.
I think it's like what antigualove said about people sticking to what they're comfortable with. Maybe they're not snooty, maybe they've just been raised in such a sheltered environment, that they emotionally need to stick with what they know...?
I know nxgn not not would be able to put it much more artistically and briefly--I like your style, dude!

[–] jviala 11 years ago

The scene towards the end of the film when Mr. King was wrestling with selling the land to cash in or to perpetuate the trust showed his Hawaiian blood.

While perhaps that was part of it, I also thought a large part of why King didn't want to sell the land was that he didn't want to sell it to the one guy whose brother in law was the real estate agent who had the affair with his wife, and would make a fortune in commissions.

Yes, King wanted to keep the money in Hawaii, so since that guy was the only option to do that, King decided it would be better to keep the land and try to work out something to preserve it (or perhaps find a better buyer) over the next seven years.

[–] pamelann 12 years ago

Hello, I was interested in your post because your use of “Hawaiian People” in the topic threw me off. I thought indigenous natives of the Hawaiian Islands were Pacific Islanders and they are considered to be one of the 6 minorities recognized in the United States. As it happens we are both correct, so thanks for getting me interested enough to look it up!

The other people arguing about the natives of Hawaii’s skin color and WHAT WAS and WASN'T POSSIBLE as far as being bi-racial or multi cultural got on my nerves. Now I know I’m OBVIOUSLY dealing with mental giants/midgets on the Internet but while I did my research, I came across a great link about the parentage of the last Princess of Hawaii before the islands were annexed by the United States. Her Father was a Scotsman and her mother, Princess Miriam Likelike was Hawaiian royalty. This link is a picture of Princess Ka'iulani, if you look at her, you’ll be very surprised! I know I was!!!

Thank you to all of the posters for annoying me enough to look this up! It’s better than ‘BIG ANG’ on “Mob Wives”! Ha Ha

http://www.electricscotland.com/history/women/Princess%20Ka'iulani%20in%20England%20by%20Eric%20Caldwell.JPG

ps-copy and paste link for success!

Pamela

[–] nxgn_not_not 12 years ago

peeps r peeps
Ja?

ya got yer nutters every where

so few live with
as u do
& think
comes back 2 U
multi
ja?
mange ganger avkastning

O & as 2 the thread
pretty ack-u-rate
of that island
& so manny manny other

rocks

Ja, ja, ja, so, no rilly - wait, what?

[–] mylesag 12 years ago

and one in the plane. But otherwise, they were mostly invisible. Obviously, it's a VERY HOLLYWOOD movie, even tho Clooney did well.

[–] aliensatemybuick 12 years ago

Just came back from Hawaii...spent time on the big island, Kauai and Oahu. I can't say I saw many "native Hawaiians" fact is, it is hard on those three islands to even FIND people who are more than 1/4 native.

BTW, I did see a lot of Japanese people on Oahu. :)

[–] psdhart 11 years ago

Just came back from Hawaii...spent time on the big island, Kauai and Oahu. I can't say I saw many "native Hawaiians" fact is, it is hard on those three islands to even FIND people who are more than 1/4 native.

BTW, I did see a lot of Japanese people on Oahu. :)

Me too, went to Oahu and Kauai (this was filmed in Kauai too)
It seems to be a popular destination for Japanese for honeymoon and wedding - I saw a couple in full wedding attire crooding the main street

[–] CaZSuede 12 years ago

Just as a reference, it's pidgin, not pigeon, which I recall is a bird commonly known as a skyrat.

[–] JapanGaijin 12 years ago

100% pure Hawaiian people make up less than 10% of the population. If you are basing what people in Hawaii look like based on a trip, you should be asking where are the Asians, mixed race or white preppy people?

[–] spookyrat1 11 years ago

100% pure Hawaiian people make up less than 10% of the population.

Thanks for stating the obvious in a film about modern descendants of Hawaiian royalty. I hope the OP was paying attention.

[–] walkerus 11 years ago

Where are the Hawaiian people?

They are all in the 'Whitehouse' with the President!

[–] shap0352 10 years ago

They're all smoking meth. Dog the Bounty Hunter is busting all of them.