Moana and Feminine Symbolism

As Moana’s grandmother retells: “In the beginning there was only ocean until the mother island emerged with the greatest power ever known–it could create life.” The mother island Te Fili is beautiful and serene — an all-powerful mother-creator. However, it is beset by monsters and Maui, the disruptive trickster, steals her heart amid menacing music and a glaring green light. “For generations this peaceful island has been home to our family, but beyond our reef a great danger is coming. Legend tells of a hero who will journey to find the Maui, and together the demigod Maui, and together they will save us all.”

Grandmother: The legends are true. Someone will have to go.
Chief Tui: There are no monsters. No reason to leave the island.

She is right and he hopes he can ignore what’s happening — a strategy that will only make the world worse. Likewise the mother’s defeatist talk — “Sometimes who we wish we were, what we wish we could do — it’s just not meant to be” — is a challenge the heroine must rise above.

Hikar, a demon of earth and fire, defeated Maui and he lost the heart in the ocean. Hikar represents the grief and vengeance of the goddess — the stronger side used to defend herself in times of loss and war. As she lashes out in fury, a spreading black cloud fills the world.

Moana, among the toddlers, is the only one responding to the story with bright-eyed curiosity and joy. She is the innocent but she’s already a savior. She begins as a baby, protecting a…