We Can Take Big Risks When "We Know The Way"
The Plot and Background of Moana
Moana is a teenage girl living on the fictional island of Motunui. She has an independent spirit and a mind of her own but she feels bound by the expectations of her parents and her people. Her father, Chief Tui, is the leader of her village and it is understood that she will one day take his place as leader.Moana longs to venture beyond the breakwaters of Motunui but for some reason, no one has left the island in years. They have created a safe and comfortable existence on land and according to Chief Tui, there is no reason for them to leave and place themselves in unnecessary danger.
But soon a terrible plague arrives on their shores, threatening to destroy the beautiful life they’ve created. Crops start dying and fish can no longer be found in the waters surrounding the island. No one seems to know what to do but Moana knows that the answer lies beyond the island, across the ocean, where things are unknown and certainly unsafe. In “How Far I’ll Go” (Miranda, American 2016), she sings:
See the line where the sky meets the sea?
It calls me
And no one knows how far it goes
If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me
One day I'll know
If I go, there's just no telling how far I'll go
Moana knows that her future exists beyond the confines of Motunui but her father isn’t supportive at all. He experienced a seriously traumatic event in his youth when he and a friend tried to sail beyond the breakwaters and his friend drowned. Since then, no one leaves because it’s not safe on the sea.
But Moana’s paternal grandmother, a free spirited, self proclaimed “village crazy lady” believes she’s meant for a bigger life and reveals a long kept secret about their people. Hidden in a cave that has been walled off for years, are huge boats that she’s never seen before.
Moana also finds a set of drums inside the cave and when she bangs on them, a mystical wind blows and she’s able to see the past play out, set to the absolute banger, “We Know The Way”. The song tells the story of how Moana’s people were once voyagers who braved the unknown, exploring the seas and settling new islands. They were confident in their abilities and with their home in their hearts, they boldly set a course to expand to other islands.
Musical Analysis
Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda (American, 2016) and Opetaia Foi’a (Samoan, 2016), “We Know The Way” has the feeling of an anthem, largely due to Foi’a’s strong lead vocals and the sweeping Tokelauan choir. I learned that Tokelau is a dependent territory of New Zealand, located halfway between New Zealand and Hawai’i. The beat is dominated by a Polynesian log drum called a pate. It has a deep, resonant sound that creates a sense of tradition and timelessness.“We Know The Way” is played in the key of A major and contains four chords from E major, A major, D major and A major. It has a tempo of 90 BPM and is written in a simple 4/4 meter.
The blending of male and female vocals also lends a richness to the song, with both moments of seriousness and hopefulness. Miranda truly is a master of blending voices, upon voices… upon even more voices (Ex: “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”) and he pulls it off here, as well. It’s easy to be transported to the deck of that ancient ship and to feel like a wayfinder, exploring new lands.
In a February 2017 interview with The Spinoff, Opetaia Foi’a was asked about his favorite song on the soundtrack. He responded that it was “the one that promotes the pioneers, the best sailors the world has ever seen, ‘We Know The Way.’”
Social Commentary
To me, the social commentary of “We Know The Way” is that it’s important to remember where you come from and to trust yourself to take big chances when necessary. The reason I identify with this song is that when Moana debuted, my small family was in the midst of a huge move from Alaska to Texas. None of our extended family (all based in Alaska) understood our decision nor were they particularly supportive of the move.“We Know The Way” was a sort of touchstone for me; its message was to trust my intuition that a move would be a positive experience for our family and that as the song says, “when it’s time to find home, we know the way”.
Aue, aue
We set a course to find
A brand new island everywhere we roam
Aue, aue
We keep our island in our mind
And when it's time to find home
We know the way
Sure enough, when we decided to return to Alaska after 6 years, the transition was seamless and we settled into our lives in Fairbanks almost as though we’d never left. But the beauty was that in leaving, we experienced more than would have ever been possible if we’d stayed AND we grew in our appreciation for home. “We Know The Way” still means a lot to me and I hope you’ll find it to be inspirational, too.
Citations
We know the way. Opetaia Foa’i. (n.d.). https://www.opetaiafoai.com/we-know-the-way.html
Wiki, C. to D. (n.d.). We know the way. Disney Wiki. https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/We_Know_the_Way
One of my and my kid's favorites. The song that you specifically chose I think is a great example of the movie. Moana has grown up but is still young slowly becoming the leader of her people. With all that on her back, she had the urge to sail into the sea to make her people's lives better. She didn't yet know what it was or why she was being called out to sea but she knew she had to try. I think that you did a great job explaining the depth behind the song and the movie.
ReplyDeleteI love this movie, I have watched this movie so many times from babysitting. I think this film has such a powerful meaning and a very empowering meaning towards empowering women to step up and fighting for your own. I think the song is very inspirational and I think it does have a great message towards their target audience which is kids. I really liked how you organized your blog post with sections and explaining the musical analysis part of it and explaining the lyrics meanings.
ReplyDeleteI loveeeee this movie! Ever since it came out i've loved it. I really like the way you described the social commentry. I completely agree with you on what you said, and how you should always remember where you came from and trust yourself, even if its a big decision. The entire film is fantastic, and I love all the songs, but this song has always been one of my top favorites from this movie. I think its such an empowering story and has such a great storyline.
ReplyDeleteI did the same one but I really like how detailed yours is! This helps me to think about how to do my projects with my same thought and ideas. Great work!
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