MovieChat Forums > Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) Discussion > IS NZ REALLY SO UNDERDEVELOPED?

IS NZ REALLY SO UNDERDEVELOPED?

posted 8 years ago by MoonPreacher
7 replies | jump to latest

Or just a personal option in Waititi movies? I know that due to geographic isolation ( and so happens in Australia ) technological goods must be more expensive than in, lets say, North America and Europe and people tend it to use it till they went off insteated of replacing for new ones. And the movie happens mostly in rural areas where people lives with the needed. I do know that NZ have one of the best economies in the world. But in his movies ( like Eagle vs Shark ) people seems to be stuck in the late 80´s, maybe some quirkyness like in Napolen Dynamite? TVs are still CRTs. The kid phone is a Nokia 3310 but I guess that poor kid couldn´t afford the most basic Android phone, allthough we see him ( like any kid nowadays) texting in the begging, but to who? He didn´t seem to have any friends, so we can presume he was just playing...but what? Snake?
In contrast the military had pretty sophisticated weapons.

Don´t get me wrong, I do love NZ and move there if I had a chance.

[–] jokiwi 8 years ago

No we are not stuck in the 80's we do have iphones/ android phones, cars, tvs, stereos, drones, etc and everything that the states, plus the rest of the developed world has. This is just a movie and props used.

[–] MoonPreacher 8 years ago

I do love a lot the "kiwiana".Reminds me of Crowded House (one of my favorite bands) album covers and videoclips :)

[–] smoogster 8 years ago

What is this android of which you speak? And CRT TV? What is that?
I'll have you know that we in NZ have the latest developments in vacuum tube technology. Indeed just last month one of the neighbours in my mothers street got government permission to purhase a 14" colour tv. He's promised us when he gets delivery (3 months at the latest), we will be allowed to come over to watch Country Calendar.

[–] jokiwi 8 years ago

3 months, I have to wait for 5 months!!!

[–] Badge 8 years ago

I think you're getting "underdeveloped" mixed up with "nostalgia", or even "Kiwiana" as it's referred as in NZ. Lots of nods to the director's childhood/adolescence (in this case the 80s), just as many directors do with films in their native countries. Hell, look at Joe Dante's stuff!

[–] foxfall 8 years ago

A lot of rural areas in New Zealand are exactly as depicted in Waititi's film. I think he does a great job of not only acknowledging but celebrating areas of New Zealand that other film-makers would perhaps overlook or even try to disguise.

But we also have cities that are just like any other western country.

People give their kids a basic phone or brick phone so they can call people in an emergency. Kids don't need a smart phone.

[–] Lava-Rocks 8 years ago

Please leave New Zealand exactly a it is. I live in Canada and we need to have undeveloped countryside. God forbid we pave the entire planet.