People Hate It When I'm Right ...LOL!! ...

...ok, make that "some people" hate it when I'm right.  Even my own children don't like it when I'm right.  They either express the sentiment in a risible and yet lighthearted way, or I hear it from their mother to whom they often make the confession that they "hate it when Dad is right." 😜 But then that's mostly in the context of parental counsel and advice given to them directly, in which case the parent is almost always right.  But in this instance, I'm referring to where I have expressed and/or posited an opinion or position on an issue and it turns out that I was right, and so I don't know exactly who the real - and imaginary - "haters" are. 🤣🤣😛😜😲🤣 ... or the "love-to-haters" for that matter.🤣🤣

Anyhow, to the point.  Three years ago, when Moana (the Disney cartoon) was the topic of conversation among Polys and non-Polys (short for "Polynesians") alike, there was much controversy about the movie and cultural appropriation, as well as how the distorted depiction - if not the blasphemy - of Maui the demigod, provoked the ire of many Polynesians.  I did write some reviews of Moana at the time and among those is the position post (reposted below) in which I presented a "theory" on Maui's character being possibly based on The Rock's (Dwayne Johnson) grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia.  I specifically wrote: "So my theory is that Disney used him, Maivia, as a model for Maui."

The post is dated June 28, 2016, four months before Moana was released/debuted.  This piece of information is important in understanding the veracity of the information shared here.  My theory was completely my own, devised and formulated exclusively on wit, reason and insight.  There was no corroboration with any secondary source or research - professional or otherwise.  And no, I was not a fly on the wall during any Disney board meeting; nor am I friends with "The Rock"🤣🤣.  But, amazingly, and just last night, I found out that my theory was right.  How?  Read on. Read the complete post to find out.

Original post re-posted, complete with pictures.

Moana Revisited: Disney's Little Big Secret?
(Note: This original title is also quite consequential.  Re: The Rock's tweet at end of the post.)

Presently, there are certain people who are frustrated and angry on the Internet. They're mostly Polynesians.  No, they're not angry with Donald Duck Trump, but with Donald Duck's maker, Disney.  They're angry about Dwayne.  The Rock. Well not with him personally but with his "character" (Maui) in the upcoming new Disney cartoon, Moana.

So what's their main beef?  Well, it's about Maui being depicted as a beefy, fat, obese Poly guy. Ok, demigod.  The Poly's are not pleased with using a stereotype as a model for Maui.  Maui is supposed to be a Polynesian god/demigod, handsome and well built like a Greek god, or like the Rock himself.

So what do I think?  Does it matter what I think?  Well it depends.  I think my angry Poly's may have a point, depending on whether Maui is perceived as fat and bulky or just big and all muscles plastered on a Poly frame.

But I have a theory of my own.  Here.

Maivia, model for Maui?

Dwayne Johnson was/is a pro wrestler, an Afro-Polynesian one.  He grew up in and around wrestling.  His father was a professional wrestler and his grandfather was one too.  Johnson however is slightly an atypical Poly wrestler in build.  He is a mutant image of the famous duo Afa and Sika (aka The Wild Samoans). But Johnson is also a near foil, physically, of another more famous Samoan wrestler.  Peter Fanene Maivia - his grandfather.

So my theory is that Disney used him, Maivia, as a model for Maui.  For someone who has etched in his mind the picture of Peter Maivia's image during his heyday, I can say that Maui is easily a clone.  While growing up in Lalomanu, The Rock's grandmother's village, we, the children, used to go to the family's house and would sneak a peek at a picture of Maivia pasted on one of the posts.  And the picture was one like this one (above) - big, buff, muscular guy with long curls.  Word got around that he used his long curls to entice his opponents then would go in for the fall.



Again, we who grew up in Lalomanu, after many years, still remember Maivia to be this hulk of a man.  And much later after he had his pe'a (tattoo), he became even more of an archetype and symbol.  Yes, very much like Maui.

Could Disney have done The Rock a favor and use his grandfather as a model for his Maui character?  That's very possible.  And if my theory has merit, then Maui, like Maivia, is not obese or flabby, he is big, buff and muscular.

Sorry my angry Poly friends!

Maui

Maivia

____________________________

A year later (October 2017) after the above post was published in this blog, The Rock, revealed "a lil' Disney ...secret" (re: my title 🤣😲) and then also tweeted about it:

So the familiar question from past posts, especially when someone says something that's in agreement with my blog,  "Did The Rock read my blog?"  ...Hmmm... never know. 🤣🤣🤣 ...oohhh and come to think of it, maybe Disney is the "hater" 😡😡😝 ...cause I knew their little BIG secret 🤣🤣😍😍💜💛

By the way thumbing through my genealogy, my great grandmother Selafi Olive FUATAGA Alama and The Rock's grandmother (Ofelia) are of the FUATAGA clan of Lalomanu.  

Some interesting pics 🤣🤣🤣

Samoan Brothers - "Hobbs and Shaw" (The Rock)