The Man Alone, the Black Sheep and the Bad Apple: Squeaky Wheels of New Zealand Cinema

Abstract

In New Zealand literature and film the literary trope of the Man Alone, a recurring feature throughout much of the twentieth century, rests on modernist, colonialist assumptions that tensions between white settler (Pakeha) men’s attachment to their ancestral roots and feelings of belonging in New Zealand trouble their psyche. Typically these men are dysfunctional, unhappy, violent, and self-absorbed. In its original form the trope is passé and ripe for parody. In this article I briefly outline the traditional trope, then provide readings of two recent New Zealand films, Black Sheep (Jonathan King, 2006) and Eagle vs Shark (Taika Waititi, 2007), to identify the ways in which contemporary issues of identity and biculturalism permeate contemporary treatment of the trope.