The Rock's Kamehameha role

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson talks about his planned role in the movie 'Kamehameha' for which he anticipates a budget of $100 million and a production start in 2005 in the Islands. He defends the fact that he is not Hawaiian, and says he wants to take his time and get some more acting experience to make sure he can do a good job with the role, which he feels is very important and wants to approach respectfully. Some Hawaiians have been critical of the decision to cast a non-Hawaiian in the role of Kamehameha, and it is understandable that they are quite wary of Hollywood's continuing exploitation of their culture and history. At the same time, some Hawaiians do feel that Johnson will make a good Kamehameha, being Polynesian and from Hawaii, and that having a star of his fame play the role will bring widespread attention to Hawaiian history and issues, perhaps in the same way that 'Braveheart' did for the Scots. Hopefully, though, 'Kamehameha' will be more historically accurate than 'Braveheart' was. (Being Scottish myself, I know that the movie did stir a pride in my heritage and a desire to learn more about the history of my ancestors' resistance against foreign occupation, and the current political situation, and I hope that 'Kamehameha' will do the same for Hawaiians, but without having to take such license with the real story to make a compelling movie.)

Kamehameha Schools filed two motions for summary judgment in federal court Monday in response to separate lawsuits challenging the school's admissions policy that gives preference to Native Hawaiian applicants.

A native Hawaiian preschool program on Oahu received a $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

The 12th Annual World Invitational Hula Festival will be held in Waikiki next month, and hundreds of participants and attendees are expected to fly in from Japan, where the growth of hula's popularity is quite remarkable.

In yesterday's Star-Bulletin, a courtroom defendant claimed that the court doesn't have jurisdiction over her because she is a citizen of the Hawaiian Kingdom. While this can be a valid claim, it seems inappropriate to me for people to try to gain some protection from the kingdom only when it is convenient for them. I don't know if that is the case here, but I have seen it before. And she could probably be prosecuted for the same allegations under the Hawaiian Kingdom penal codes, if the legal order was effective and not under illegal occupation.

H. William Burgess, one of the outspoken anti-Hawaiian activists, has a letter in the Advertiser. My response to him: the issue should be one of nationality, not race; although his arguments can be countered in the context in which he writes them, with independence his arguments are moot.

Posted: Thu - October 2, 2003 at 08:35 AM

getBlogName(); > getCategoryName("C1126750129"); >

The Rock's Kamehameha role

> >