This Pacific Islander Called Out A Movie Review That Said The "Moana" Live-Action Remake "Didn't Need To Exist," And It's An Important Conversation

On Friday, the live-action remake of Moana sailed into theaters!

As a Samoan woman, I got goosebumps as soon as the first song began and started crying within 10 minutes. While I adored the animated movie, seeing real Pacific Islanders on screen just hit differently. Hearing our languages, seeing our clothing, watching our dances — all of these cultural details made me incredibly emotional. Catherine Laga'aia wearing a real tuiga (Samoan headdress) was the first time I've seen that in a film, and I'll never forget it.

And because of the new movie, we got a taualuga (Samoan dance) at the Hollywood Bowl during the global premiere! I still can't believe this tradition was uplifted to the world stage.

PI representation in Hollywood is notoriously low (but improving in recent years!). I tried looking up current statistics; however, the US often combines Asians and Pacific Islanders into a single API label, making it difficult to find disaggregated data. I did come across one USC study that examined the top 1,300 films from 2007-2019 and found that only 21 films had PI leads or co-leads. And those 21 movies starred just four actors: Dwayne Johnson in 14 films, Keanu Reeves in five films, Auliʻi Cravalho (who voiced the original Moana) in one film, and Jason Momoa in one film.

While I have so much respect and love for these actors, I think that study provides excellent insight into why the new Moana movie means so much to Pasifika people. Over a 12-year span, we never saw a real Pacific Islander woman leading a Hollywood film on screen because the original Moana was animated!

So, you can probably understand why Pacific Islanders are upset by thoughtless reviews of the live-action remake. One response from LA-based rapper and storyteller Jay Taj — who is Chamorro, Black, and Samoan — has already garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Instagram. You might know Jay as the runner-up on Season 2 of Netflix's Rhythm + Flow, the rapper behind several singles, or the creator of the viral Pasifika series he posted throughout API Month this year.

The movie critic's TikTok that Jay stitched began, "Just got out of the Moana live-action remake, and I have a new least favorite film of the year. I hated every second of that because, first of all, it didn't need to exist."

I won't include screenshots of the movie critic here because she seems to have deleted the TikTok.

"Nah, bro," Jay said in his own video. "Actually, the only thing that shouldn't exist is your opinion. How 'bout that? ... I think it's already weird as fuck that you guys are on the internet talking so passionately about a fucking kids' movie, let alone so effortlessly throwing around the word 'pointless.' Just because you don't see the point in something, baby girl, doesn't mean that it's pointless in the first place. The point just wasn't for you."

"If you must know what the point of this movie is, I’ll break it down for you. Most of Pasifika history and Pacific Island culture has been erased by motherfuckers that look a lot like you, and we’re fighting every day to reclaim who we are. And regardless of the fact that this is a kids’ film produced by a giant movie studio, for us, it’s also an immortalization of what little bit we still have to hold onto in Pasifika culture. So, to call it pointless is to say that you have zero peripheral vision, and you kind of sound like a dickhead."

Jay emphasized that the live-action remake of Moana features real Pasifika people, languages, songs, garments, and more. "And those points serve many points for every Pasifika person on the planet, let alone our beautiful nieces and nephews who need to see themselves to be themselves. And if you stepped outside of your ugly ass ego and self-righteousness, you might fuck around and find a point that teaches you something, too."

Most of the people in the comments were loving it, with many talking about the importance of representation:

And some directed their negative comments toward the movie critic herself. I won't include any screenshots here, but suffice to say that people were NOT happy with her.

Jay ended up posting an update in the comment section of his video a day later: "NOTE: I don’t know this creator, and I’m not actually pressed about HER specifically. I truly respect that she reviews films and shares her opinion. I’m sure she’s a stand up person who also ISN’T racist by any means like some of yall are implying. I’d just seen this narrative that the film is pointless/unnecessary A LOT from folks today and it just stung a lil bit because it’s accidental erasure of an entire community who’s celebrating the ACTUAL point of this film being adapted to live action RIGHT NOW."

"All that said, this was just the video I chose to stitch cuz it was the most recent one I’d seen. My point stands — it’s not POINTLESS. It may be a cash grab in your opinion, it may be poorly made in your opinion, it may be too soon in your opinion. But it’s NOT pointless and the purpose of my video was to illustrate the very point the movie exists in the way that it does. ALOFA [love] ❤️"

To learn more, BuzzFeed reached out to Jay, who shared that while he stands behind his overall message, he wishes he phrased things a bit differently in his video.

"My point about representation and erasure was valid, but my delivery wasn't," he told BuzzFeed. "I let frustration override respect, and that gave people permission to pile on in ways I never intended. I should have been clear that I was pushing back on an idea, not attacking a person. What I'd tell anyone in this position: You can defend representation fiercely and stay grounded in your humanity. Those aren't opposites. Pasifika celebration deserves to exist without requiring us to tear anyone down."

"I was at the Moana premiere, and some people have questioned whether I'm defending this film because of that experience. But I don't love this film because I was at the premiere, I was at the premiere because I love this film. And I think that joy, that pride in seeing ourselves on screen like this, that's what I should have leaned into more from the start instead of leading with defense. I still stand on the substance of what I said, but I wish I'd let the celebration speak louder than my defense," Jay concluded.

Well-said! Personally, I'm glad Jay spoke out about how much Moana means to our community. All week long, my social media feed has been filled with people seeing themselves represented in the characters on screen, some for the first time, and that demonstrates why this movie did need to exist. But he's right that leading with love is also important, especially during this moment of celebration and cultural pride.

You can follow Jay on Instagram here. And if you've seen the live-action Moana remake, what did you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below!