How Jason Mamoa's Chief of War is stepping-stone towards indigenous storytelling
'Chief of War' is a testament to how far cinema has reached and the way audience content consumption patterns are disrupting filmmaking style as well as theatrical and OTT releases. Contrary to larger-than-life action and horror-comedies in theatres or mostly crime, horror and espionage shows in the OTT space, the Hawaiian-themed series brings creative disruption.What really makes 'Chief of War' distinctive? From Hans Zimmer's background score to the realistic costumes, set design and dialect staying true to Hawaiian culture, the show keeps the viewers immersed in the story.The music score in sequences of prayers, invoking holy spirits, and battle scenes, are the perfect representation of the indigenous lifestyle. Zimmer's musical genius is well-crafted in the introduction shot of Mamoa's Ka'iana, bringing a blend of mystery as well as fear of epic warriors.But how can a show cater to universal audiences interested in stories about emotional and cultural conflict? In the fast-growing digital age and the advancements in VFX, and AI technology, audiences are more interested in diverse narratives. If a show about an 18th-century Hawaiian warrior can keep the viewers in India and the US equally invested in the story, then the vision has been achieved.Be it OTT or theatrical releases, viewership preferences are defined by engagement quotient, irrespective of cultural or geographic differences.Does the depiction of the 18th-century Hawaiian Islands indicate a new cinematic wave? Will the global audiences be appreciative of stories about indigenous, regional cultures? Can filming an entire series in a native language be a new trend in storytelling? Can this be a new opportunity that could be explored by Indian filmmakers, attempting stories in regional languages like Odia, Asaamese, Bhojpuri, Manipuri and others?Here's a glimpse into the new possibilities for films and shows with universal themes based on indigenous, local cultures and history.advertisementWhile it's a progressive stance to encourage cinema that promotes diversity, how can we address the cinematic vacuum with respect to diversity? The soul of any culture is the respect given to the dialect and customs. To risk an entire mainstream show by using an indigenous language is a remarkable move that goes beyond the cultural landscape.There has hardly been a show or film, be it theatrical of OTT, which dared to narrate the story in the native language. 'Avatar' film series being an exception, cinema hasn't made any remarkable attempts as far as native representation is concerned.Recreating epics as cinematic spectacleIn the Indian film industry, are we taking any cues about representation? It may not be an overnight cinematic revolution, but it seems Indian storytellers are already on the right track. Zimmer, who has composed the BGM for 'Chief of War' has also partnered with music director AR Rahman to compose music for 'Ramayana'.The Nitesh Tiwari directorial featuring actors Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi in lead roles will be songless. However, the epic-drama will have Bhajans (Devotional songs from 'Ramayana' and other epic texts) as well as Shlokas (Spiritual and philosophical verses derived from ancient Sanskrit texts). The unique aspect in both these projects is the conviction of the filmmakers to break away from the mainstream storytelling format and tell stories as they are.advertisementHowever, are indigenous, epic stories only limited to 'Ramayana', 'Mahabharata' or stories about invasions and colonialism? Is there more to our legends and folklore beyond wars and conflicts? Indian history, literature and ancient philosophy are a treasure trove of epics which are no less than a cinematic spectacle.The stories of Satyayuga, Vedas and Upanishads are interpretations of faith, duality, monotheism, atheism and various schools of human consciousness. Creating these stories for the silver-screen is far easier at times when films with complex themes like 'Avatar' and 'Oppenheimer' are well-received globally.Promoting diversity in storytellingThere are many indigenous, native cultures which are losing their identity due to the lack of mainstream attention or preference given to their languages. A recent discussion with regard to Indian cinema has been about Bhojpuri film industry going downhill in terms of quality content. What could be the reason behind it?One of the primary arguments is the lack of educated audiences for these films. Can Bhojpuri cinema, often accused of objectification and double-meaningful dialogues and songs, be devoid of these tropes? With the rise of streaming services, hinterland culture, helmed by sensible filmmakers, can introduce content-driven, grounded stories. Every language can have a mainstream audience, if backed by a supportive studio, talented technicians and visionary filmmaking.advertisementOther regional languages, like Odia, Assamese, Manipuri and Nepali, their history, folklore, traditions and socio-economic struggles can be made into mini-series as well as feature films. In the ancient, medieval or modern time periods, ethnicity, faith, culture or nationality need not be hindrances to innovation and creativity.Sci-fi themes about aliens, Dinosuars, the multiverse and metaverse are far more complex to understand in foreign or indigenous languages. With the changing landscape post-pandemic, society is more inclined towards human stories and is inquisitive about finding out about other cultures.But how does it make a difference when narrating stories in the native language for the silver-screen? The new-age storytelling and content preferences of audiences are all about human connection and relatable stories. Unlike other genres and themes that could perish easily, indigenous cultures rooted in tradition and society mostly connect with audiences. Superhero spin-offs, sequels and reboots may not always pay-off, but real-life stories celebrating diversity always have a dedicated audience base.However, only the execution of future films and shows can guarantee such cinema is in the right direction. Yet 'Chief of War', much like 'Kantara' in India, is a noteworthy attempt at culturally-sensitive, grounded storytelling.- Ends
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Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Jason Momoa feels Hollywood has always depicted Hawaii as a ‘postcard', says Chief of War is an attempt to fix this ‘false advertising'
Hawaii keeps calling Jason Momoa back. Shortly after his birth in Honolulu, the actor's parents divorced. He mother, of European ancestry, relocated to Iowa along with him, where Momoa did his schooling. However, he returned to his birthland to study at the University of Hawaii. He auditioned and landed a key role in Baywatch Hawaii in 1999, which birthed his Hollywood career. Now, over 25 years after his big break, Momoa has returned to his ancestral land to tell the story of the unification of Hawaii in 1782-1810. With the nine-episode series Chief of War on Apple TV, Momoa hopes to reconnect with his roots and do justice to the land that's often been exoticized by his industry, ever since the Baywatch days. 'Hollywood has always portrayed Hawaii like a postcard. It's a bit different from what I know. We're obviously talking about the past, which a lot of people don't know. Even speaking of the modern times, when I was growing up, I don't identify with anything about Hawaii that's been put out there. It's a bit of false advertising. Sure, the image is manicured and built a certain way. But there's a depth and beauty here that hasn't been seen in a certain way,' Momoa tells SCREEN in an interview. The Aquaman star is at home, in more ways than one, talking from Hawaii over Zoom. The postcard picture of Hawaii, that he aptly blames Hollywood for glorifying, screams silently in his backdrop. But Momoa doesn't turn around and take a holy dip into the Hawaiian waters like Aquaman would. This isn't that Jason Momoa. This one's seen Hawaii inside out over the years. 'I'm excited to put it into more movies. It took us a while to pull the clout to be able to tell a story of this magnitude. I hope people like it so we can keep telling stories from what we know,' he says. Momoa is not only an actor on Chief of War, but also a co-creator with Thomas Pa'a Sibbett, as well as the director on the finale. It's not his first directorial adventure, but certainly a far cerebral departure from his image of playing the tough guy on screen. He believes he holds within himself as much diversity as his homeland does. 'There are moments — when the sun is down in a way that it's not sunset, to the deepest violets, and the way the ocean turns into smells, and the deepest greens in the jungle. Then there's the place I was raised in, which is very dry. It almost looks ugly to everyone. To me, that's ultimate beauty. There's red clay, dust, and sand,' he says, painting two pictures on a single canvas. Momoa, who's previously helmed the 2014 thriller Road to Paloma, drops a revelation: he prefers direction to acting. 'I dive into directing,' he says in true-blue Aquaman style. 'I love being behind the camera more than being in front of it. This time around, being in front of the camera was even more challenging because there were so many things going on behind the camera. Directing the finale, I felt so much at home because I thrive on chaos. I go insane waiting in the trailer for my scene. I need to be doing a lot of things at once, that's just the way I operate,' he adds. But helming such a massively mounted show came with its own share of vulnerabilities, Momoa admits. 'Oh yeah, I'm human. I go through that all the time. But gratitude is a huge one. If I found myself out of place or out of sorts, there's gratitude that I've to constantly remember and hopefully, that pulls me out of it. When I'm in a weird headspace and I can't get out of it, I think of my children, a beautiful thing. I call up my loved ones, stay grounded, and get back to the course,' he says, adding that he welcomes the 'intense responsibility' of representing his people. 'The responsibility of being able to tell this story is the most important thing I'll do in my career,' he declares. Momoa has pushed his physicality to limits throughout his career, in films like Conan the Barbarian (2011), as an underwater superhero in the Aquaman franchise, as a cannibal in The Bad Batch (2016), as the chief antagonist in Fast X (2023), and as Khal Drogo in HBO's seminal fantasy show Game of Thrones. Chief of War is special, as he had to train in the Hawaiian martial arts form of Kapu Kuʻialua. 'Physicality in any role is no stranger to me. It's fun to learn, adapt, and try all different kinds of martial arts. The Hawaiian martial arts is called Lua. I never had the opportunity to learn it. But we had great masters who trained us actors, and not just the stuntmen. That's one of the best things of taking on a role — generally, you get an expert who's spent their entire life to learn a skill and you get to learn the basics of that very quickly,' says Momoa. Also Read — Chief of War review: Breathtakingly beautiful, Jason Momoa's Apple show is like a political alliance between Avatar and Black Panther Besides the story, setting, and action, another aspect that aided Momoa's homecoming was speaking in his native tongue. 'I've had to learn a couple of other languages before, but those were extremely easier than my own native language. I had a very challenging time. I thought my ancestors would just come down and tell me, 'You've got this.' But it was extremely hard for me,' confesses Momoa, who claims he's still learning the language, along with his children. 'I took it very seriously. My teacher lived with me so I learnt on the side wherever I went. Our linguists were given the liberty to ask us to go again if our language or diction wasn't right, no matter who the actor is. Even though it was a challenge, when they felt proud, you knew that you had that stamp of approval,' says Momoa, before bidding his Aloha.
Time of India
10 hours ago
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'Ghosts of Hiroshima': James Cameron announces new project - Everything you need to know
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India Today
13 hours ago
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How Jason Mamoa's Chief of War is stepping-stone towards indigenous storytelling
Actor Jason Mamoa's portrayal of the Hawaiian warrior Ka'iana in 'Chief of War' is receiving praise for his grounded performance. The 18th century historical drama streaming on Apple TV + has introduced a unique storytelling approach as the entire show is shot in the Maori language. Apart from director James Cameron's 'Avatar' film series, 'Chief of War' has once again shown the potential of cinema beyond language or ethnic show featuring Mamoa in the lead role not just captures the medieval time period through breathtaking visuals and powerful background music, but also has an authentic and fresh narrative. The story, based on the legendary native Hawaiian warrior and his 1795 conquest of Oahu, remains true to the customs, costumes, rituals and beliefs of the Maori disruption through native stories 'Chief of War' is a testament to how far cinema has reached and the way audience content consumption patterns are disrupting filmmaking style as well as theatrical and OTT releases. Contrary to larger-than-life action and horror-comedies in theatres or mostly crime, horror and espionage shows in the OTT space, the Hawaiian-themed series brings creative really makes 'Chief of War' distinctive? From Hans Zimmer's background score to the realistic costumes, set design and dialect staying true to Hawaiian culture, the show keeps the viewers immersed in the music score in sequences of prayers, invoking holy spirits, and battle scenes, are the perfect representation of the indigenous lifestyle. Zimmer's musical genius is well-crafted in the introduction shot of Mamoa's Ka'iana, bringing a blend of mystery as well as fear of epic how can a show cater to universal audiences interested in stories about emotional and cultural conflict? In the fast-growing digital age and the advancements in VFX, and AI technology, audiences are more interested in diverse narratives. If a show about an 18th-century Hawaiian warrior can keep the viewers in India and the US equally invested in the story, then the vision has been it OTT or theatrical releases, viewership preferences are defined by engagement quotient, irrespective of cultural or geographic the depiction of the 18th-century Hawaiian Islands indicate a new cinematic wave? Will the global audiences be appreciative of stories about indigenous, regional cultures? Can filming an entire series in a native language be a new trend in storytelling? Can this be a new opportunity that could be explored by Indian filmmakers, attempting stories in regional languages like Odia, Asaamese, Bhojpuri, Manipuri and others?Here's a glimpse into the new possibilities for films and shows with universal themes based on indigenous, local cultures and it's a progressive stance to encourage cinema that promotes diversity, how can we address the cinematic vacuum with respect to diversity? The soul of any culture is the respect given to the dialect and customs. To risk an entire mainstream show by using an indigenous language is a remarkable move that goes beyond the cultural has hardly been a show or film, be it theatrical of OTT, which dared to narrate the story in the native language. 'Avatar' film series being an exception, cinema hasn't made any remarkable attempts as far as native representation is epics as cinematic spectacleIn the Indian film industry, are we taking any cues about representation? It may not be an overnight cinematic revolution, but it seems Indian storytellers are already on the right track. Zimmer, who has composed the BGM for 'Chief of War' has also partnered with music director AR Rahman to compose music for 'Ramayana'.The Nitesh Tiwari directorial featuring actors Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi in lead roles will be songless. However, the epic-drama will have Bhajans (Devotional songs from 'Ramayana' and other epic texts) as well as Shlokas (Spiritual and philosophical verses derived from ancient Sanskrit texts). The unique aspect in both these projects is the conviction of the filmmakers to break away from the mainstream storytelling format and tell stories as they are indigenous, epic stories only limited to 'Ramayana', 'Mahabharata' or stories about invasions and colonialism? Is there more to our legends and folklore beyond wars and conflicts? Indian history, literature and ancient philosophy are a treasure trove of epics which are no less than a cinematic stories of Satyayuga, Vedas and Upanishads are interpretations of faith, duality, monotheism, atheism and various schools of human consciousness. Creating these stories for the silver-screen is far easier at times when films with complex themes like 'Avatar' and 'Oppenheimer' are well-received diversity in storytellingThere are many indigenous, native cultures which are losing their identity due to the lack of mainstream attention or preference given to their languages. A recent discussion with regard to Indian cinema has been about Bhojpuri film industry going downhill in terms of quality content. What could be the reason behind it?One of the primary arguments is the lack of educated audiences for these films. Can Bhojpuri cinema, often accused of objectification and double-meaningful dialogues and songs, be devoid of these tropes? With the rise of streaming services, hinterland culture, helmed by sensible filmmakers, can introduce content-driven, grounded stories. Every language can have a mainstream audience, if backed by a supportive studio, talented technicians and visionary regional languages, like Odia, Assamese, Manipuri and Nepali, their history, folklore, traditions and socio-economic struggles can be made into mini-series as well as feature films. In the ancient, medieval or modern time periods, ethnicity, faith, culture or nationality need not be hindrances to innovation and themes about aliens, Dinosuars, the multiverse and metaverse are far more complex to understand in foreign or indigenous languages. With the changing landscape post-pandemic, society is more inclined towards human stories and is inquisitive about finding out about other how does it make a difference when narrating stories in the native language for the silver-screen? The new-age storytelling and content preferences of audiences are all about human connection and relatable stories. Unlike other genres and themes that could perish easily, indigenous cultures rooted in tradition and society mostly connect with audiences. Superhero spin-offs, sequels and reboots may not always pay-off, but real-life stories celebrating diversity always have a dedicated audience only the execution of future films and shows can guarantee such cinema is in the right direction. Yet 'Chief of War', much like 'Kantara' in India, is a noteworthy attempt at culturally-sensitive, grounded storytelling.- Ends
