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.

[–] tobygibson002 10 years ago

I have lived most of my adult life on the Big Island and the last seven years on Oahu. This film is about one family- a very wealthy family- who are made up of trust fund babies. Here on Oahu we have lots of these families, and this movie pretty well nailed it right on the head. This isn't a movie about middle class local culture, so there was no reason for it to include a ton of middle class local people. The canoe club is the Outrigger- a playground for the local uber rich.

A lot of people on here claim that on their vacation to Hawaii they didn't see any Hawaiians. We are a community made up of Hawaiian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Samoan, Tongan, Tahitian, Haole, Micronesian, etc.. I have a hard time believing that you didn't see any local people as the hotels are staffed with a lot of local people, as are the stores and bars- a lot of the buses are driven by local people, the Airports are staffed with local people- if you claim you came to Hawaii and didn't see any Hawaiians, I'd have to say you probably had no clue that you were seeing them all over the place.

[–] yoredm 9 years ago

( I am a little late to the party with this very old post but....)

There were plenty of local "Hawaiians" at the very beginning of the movie while GC is doing the voice over. You see them shopping, working, homeless on a beach. Then the visual rises up to a view out of his office. As if he, and his family is "above" the crowd. Only got that effect after watching again after reading this thread.
There were also plenty of locals interspersed thoughout the movie. Teachers, students, parents, the band in the bar on Kaua'i. They are there. If you don't see them, I congratulate you for not seeing them as something different. I have been to the islands a few times. The movie gives me the overall feeling of being there. I think it was well done.