Popular Culture Review 30.2
the legend of the goddess of nature : Te Fiti ’ s , heart is stolen , blight has overcome the islands , devastating the vegetation and fish supply and endangering the livelihood of the people . Moana is called by the ocean to return Te Fiti ’ s heart and restore balance to the islands . As her journey proceeds , she encounters many who want Te Fiti ’ s heart for their own personal gain .
Though past literature pertaining to Pacific Islander media representations has focused on the many negative stereotypes perpetuated in mainstream media , such as the idea that Oceanic people are lazy and apathetic , few commentators explore the positive messages that can be garnered from these films and television shows ( Konzett 5 ). Also , although an abundance of research has looked into the over-sexualization and hyper-gendered portrayals of Disney princes and princesses , fewer have looked at portrayals of race and ethnicity , with exception to Pocahontas , Mulan , the Princess and the Frog , and a few others ( Cheu 7 ). Nonetheless , when race and ethnicity is focused on , mostly negative portrayals and stereotypes are highlighted , with disregard for the potential of depictions . Furthermore , though a sparse amount of recent literature has evaluated the portrayal of Moana ’ s tough-girl femininity , few have analyzed representations of Pacific culture ( Cheu 8 ). Those that have focused on how Pacific Islander culture is misrepresented , such as nitpicking the use of particular language in song lyrics , or pointing out the minute inaccuracies in the depiction of Maui the demigod ( Leslie 18 ). However , when evaluating cultural values that are interconnected between Oceanic cultures on a “ big picture ” level within the movie , Moana encapsulates a culture – nature dualism that many Pacific Islanders ( i . e ., Hawaiian , Samoan , Tahitian ) have adopted as their way of life . For many years , these islands have been favored destinations for vacationers
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