Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau

Eddie Aikau

      Even though the film Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau focuses on the life and surfing career of Eddie Aikau, it allows the viewer to gain a deeper understanding of imperialism in the 19th century. Several people are interviewed in the film; during his interview, one of Eddie's siblings talks about the arrival of the Australians. He said that they came in, took over, and offended the native Hawaiians in the process. The Australians who had come to Hawaii to surf (which is a sport that was created by Hawaiians) were rude to the natives that had grown up there. Just like the United States did with the smaller nations of whom they had taken control. They came in, took over, and used the resources they found to their advantage - all while completely disregarding the native peoples and their cultures. The filmmakers interviewed one of the Australian surfers, and he told the audience that he hadn't even aware that he was offending the Hawaiians until Eddie Aikau sat him down and told him about the history of the Hawaiians. Likewise, the US was probably unaware - or just didn't care - that they were changing everything for the native peoples without taking a minute to ask them about their history or what they wanted.