Review of the Themes of the Movie Once Were Warriors by Alan Duff
... It is people, it is people” Once Were Warriors has some very poignant messages to say to society about society, but ultimately I believe we, as people, have the power and “greatness” to be able to solve problems as great the ones presented by the movie. These problematic themes are interwoven with each other, making them very complex. ... The movie opens addressing the issue of teenage crime. ... Here, Once Were Warriors uses Mark as a medium for presenting the problem that is crime in young teenagers today. ... Nig is just another mechanism for the movie to portray the idea that a person is a product of their environment. ... One could argue that this is just teenage experimentation, however when viewed in context to the rest of the movie, it can be proven otherwise. ... The collective attitude of people living in an environment such as this, once again presents a huge problem – people have to acknowledge they want change before change can in fact be brought about. ... The name of the movie itself is a metaphor for this idea, indicating that these people had something to be proud of once, when they were “warriors”. However if they only “Once Were Warriors”, what are they now if they are not “warriors”? ... Perhaps an ad campaign can help achieve this too, or more literature such as Once Were Warriors could be publicized. ... Once Were Warriors clearly demonstrates how this benefit has been abused.