Both films explore the theme of a culture supplanted. The family in Once Were Warriors is a far cry from the traditional Maori family, at one with the land and traditional Maori values. Instead the family depicted in this film is eking out a bleak existence in the back streets of Auckland, corrupted by imported influences such as alcohol and drugs. However there is a harking back to the traditional ways that is shown throughout the film, with the family's trip into the countryside, the funeral at the Marae, and the youngest son's re-education of traditional Maori values.

The grandmother of the family in No. 2 has been supplanted from Fiji, and here we have an interesting mix of the grandmother born and raised in Fiji and her children and their children, now 1st and 2nd generation New Zealanders of Pacific Island descent. It is the grandmother who wants to experience the life she knew in Fiji one more time before she dies, but she struggles to get her views across to her family, who have only experienced life in New Zealand.

Both films also treat the topics of alcohol and fighting very differently. Once Were Warriors shows the bad side of both these subjects through the central character of "Jake," who hits out at everyone, including his wife, and usually when he's had more "booze" than he can cope with. In No. 2 drinking and fighting are seen as an acceptable part of Fijian culture, with the grandmother getting quite merry during the course of the day and being delighted when her grandchildren come to blows at the party.

For a film to be representative of Oceania it obviously needs to be set there, which Whale Rider obviously is. Although New Zealand is one of the larger islands in the Pacific, it is still classed as the southern most islands of Oceania. However if the film was set in inland New Zealand it would not work as a story (how many whales do you see in somewhere like Hamilton) and nor would overseas audiences see it as representative of Oceania, as most relate Oceania to Pacific islands, and most people's picture of an island setting is somewhere coastal, with or by a beach, and in Oceania's case, a view of the Pacific Ocean.

Throughout the movie there is constant reference given to the place from where Paikea's ancestors came from - Hawaii. Hawaii being the northern most island of Oceania, (as opposed to the southern most islands of New Zealand) gives the movie a true oceanic feel by including another island/country into the narrative rather than New Zealand being the only country mentioned. It also illustrates how we all came from somewhere and points out the migration of people from within the region classed as Oceania.

Lastly this movie represents a part of Oceania to global audiences in that it uses the indigenous people of New Zealand, the Maori, as its main characters. In fact there are no Pakeha or New Zealand Europeans in this movie. (the only exception could be Cliff Curtis' German girlfriend who only appears briefly at the end and does not have a speaking role) By showing only indigenous people Whale Rider could be said to be representing a part of the original Oceania before it was colonized by the white man.

Both films try to portray what life was like in New Zealand in the 19th century, without trying to "glam" it up, make out that life was easy and carefree. It seems as though these two films have been made at a time when New Zealanders are more comfortable exploring difficult issues, such as the reality of our past, than we may have been previously, when anything that took away from the idea of this being "God"s own country' was looked down upon with derision and embarrassment.

One recurring theme in the films is how the white settlers struggled to carve out a niche for themselves on an unfamiliar and often unforgiving landscape. Sure there are plenty of picturesque views that "take the breath away," but these views are interspersed with characters struggling against the elements (foul weather and the like), the landscape (being bogged down in mud, climbing up steep slopes, being scratched by native fauna), and each other (holding onto traditional British values in a land far removed).

Another theme explored in both films is that of the interaction between these new settlers and local Maori. Not only are many things "lost in translation" between the two groups, but we also see the theme of the settlers trying to impose their foreign values and customs onto a race that seem to have no need or want of them.

Although the family has escaped a war torn country, Ivan still has a strong attachment to Croatia. He receives newspapers and videos from relatives back in his home country that he pours over, and the majority of Ivan's associates that we see in the film are also mainly Croatian (there is one part in the film when the actors are sitting around and playing cards that Ivan looks disdainfully at a white kiwi male when he asks what something Ivan said in Croatian means in English - something the majority of those in the scene did not need help translating).

Ivan realizes that his family is better off living in New Zealand than in Croatia (he even pays for his Auntie to move over to be with them) yet at the same time claims indignantly that, “This is not my country!”

Ivan's refusal to assimilate his family fully into the New Zealand way of life is represented in his family's house and grounds. The house is sealed off from the outside world by big fences and gates, yet right next door they have a pacific island community, which Ivan does not mix with (only speaking to them out of necessity when conversation is instigated by the Polynesians) even though they can see their neighbors and hear them through the fence

The grounds are also barren of any plant life. There are no trees taking roots, just as Ivan seems defiant in planting his own roots in his new country. This is contrasted by his wife, who buys various ornaments to help beautify their home - something that Ivan detests, as if they represent the fact that his family is now there to stay and he will never again return to Croatia.