Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546606
2 8 P E R S P E C T I V E S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 2 6 Set in ancient Polynesia (Tonga, Fiji and Samoa), the film follows a brave village chief's daughter, Moana of Motunui (Catherine Laga'aia), who is drawn to the sea from a young age. Her father forbids anyone from passing the barrier reef because of events that have happened in the past. When coconuts rot and fish disappear, Gramma Tala (Rena Owen) reveals that a terrible curse was unleashed when the demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) stole the heart of the mother island, Te Fiti. To save her home, Moana disobeys her father and sets sail to find Maui and restore the heart to its rightful owner. She ultimately fulfills her destiny to become a master wayfinder of the ocean. The film was directed by Thomas Kail with Production Design by John Myhre and set decoration by Jan Pascale. The Importance of Language When Working in Other Cultures I cannot overstate the number of times I have been asked to google translate something for the set. Although Google is learning and getting better, it often lacks the cultural sensitivity to translate the colloquial subtleties of other peoples. We can get into trouble very quickly. Early in my career, I was asked by a designer who will remain nameless, to put some beautiful Chinese calligraphy on the set. Yes, it WAS beautiful, but no one knew what it said. Not even editing, clearance or publicity ever caught that it said "hemorrhoids," which was not appropriate for the scene. And it was big. It has since been digitally removed for streaming. Lesson learned. It's funny now but at the time, not so much. So, when I worked with Production Designer Julie Ziah on Goliath (S4), we built a whole San Francisco Chinatown backlot on the stage. Naturally, there were tons of signs in Chinese (mostly Cantonese, not Mandarin). After my former experience, I told them I wouldn't do the show unless we had a professional translator to help us. They complied. When working with her, I realized it was important not only to have the words correct but to choose 'auspicious' names that made sense to the Chinese community. Long story short, on the first day of shooting, there were about thirty Asian American extras, essentially proof-readers, sitting offstage and I thought, "Thank God, we did this correctly. I wouldn't anyone to think that their culture was disrespected by the show." I know many of you understand this well, but I think it bears mentioning for people new to the industry. Diving Into the Beauty of Polynesian Culture M O A N A B Y K A R E N T E N E Y C K , G R A P H I C D E S I G N E R A. MAP OF POLYNESIA SHOWING FIGI, TONGA AND SAMOA, WHERE MOANA TAKES PLACE. A