Professor Alistair Fox is Emeritus Professor in the Department of English and Linguistics at the University of Otago

In this insightful and lucid study Alistair Fox examines the coming-of-age narrative in New Zealand films, deftly showing how such stories relate to the history of both New Zealand cinema and the nation. Fox demonstrates the centrality of the coming-of-age theme to New Zealand cinema while also providing evidence that New Zealand film criticism itself has come of age.

• PrefacePart 1. The Coming-of-Age Genre and National Cinema Chapter 1. The Coming-of-Age Film as a Genre: Attributes, Evolution, and FunctionsChapter 2. New Zealand Coming-of-Age Films: Distinctive Characteristics and Thematic PreoccupationsPart 2. The New Zealand New Wave: 1976-1989Chapter 3. The Formation of a Budding Man Alone: The God Boy (Murray Reece, 1976) Chapter 4. An Angry Young Man Seeks to Justify Himself: Sleeping Dogs (Ian Donaldson, 1977)Chapter 5. An Immigrant Filmmaker Substitutes an Alternative Vision of Adolescence: The Scarecrow (Sam Pillsbury, 1982)Chapter 6. Art-Cinema, Cultural Dislocation, and the Entry into Puberty: Vigil (Vincent Ward, 1984)Chapter 7. A Māori Girl Watches, Listens, and Learns – Coming of Age from an Indigenous Viewpoint: Mauri (Merata Mita, 1988)　Part 3. The Second Wave of the 1990sChapter 8. Creativity as a Haven: An Angel at My Table (Jane Campion, 1990)Chapter 9. Desperation Turned Outwards: Heavenly Creatures (Peter Jackson, 1994)Chapter 10. Confronting Domestic Violence and Familial Abuse: Once Were Warriors (Lee Tamahori, 1994)Part 4. Preoccupations of the New MillenniumChapter 11. An Adolescent Girl Experiments with Sexuality: Rain (Christine Jeffs, 2001)Chapter 12. Asserting Feminist Claims within Maori Culture: Whale Rider (Nicki Caro, 2002)Chapter 13. Family Secrets and Their Destructive Consequences: In My Father's Den (Brad McGann, 2004)Chapter 14. A Gay Boy Comes to Terms with His Sexuality: 50 Ways of Saying Fabulous (Stewart Main, 2005)Part 5. Perspectives on Māori Culture since 2010Chapter 15. Parental Abandonment and the Trauma of Loss: Boy (Taika Waititi, 2010)Chapter 16. A Māori Boy Contests the Old Patriarchal Order: Mahana (Lee Tamahori, 2016)Chapter 17. Delinquency and Bicultural Relations: Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Taika Waititi, 2016)ConclusionBibliographyIndex

Professor Alistair Fox is Emeritus Professor in the Department of English and Linguistics at the University of Otago

In this insightful and lucid study Alistair Fox examines the coming-of-age narrative in New Zealand films, deftly showing how such stories relate to the history of both New Zealand cinema and the nation. Fox demonstrates the centrality of the coming-of-age theme to New Zealand cinema while also providing evidence that New Zealand film criticism itself has come of age.

• PrefacePart 1. The Coming-of-Age Genre and National Cinema Chapter 1. The Coming-of-Age Film as a Genre: Attributes, Evolution, and FunctionsChapter 2. New Zealand Coming-of-Age Films: Distinctive Characteristics and Thematic PreoccupationsPart 2. The New Zealand New Wave: 1976-1989Chapter 3. The Formation of a Budding Man Alone: The God Boy (Murray Reece, 1976) Chapter 4. An Angry Young Man Seeks to Justify Himself: Sleeping Dogs (Ian Donaldson, 1977)Chapter 5. An Immigrant Filmmaker Substitutes an Alternative Vision of Adolescence: The Scarecrow (Sam Pillsbury, 1982)Chapter 6. Art-Cinema, Cultural Dislocation, and the Entry into Puberty: Vigil (Vincent Ward, 1984)Chapter 7. A Māori Girl Watches, Listens, and Learns – Coming of Age from an Indigenous Viewpoint: Mauri (Merata Mita, 1988)　Part 3. The Second Wave of the 1990sChapter 8. Creativity as a Haven: An Angel at My Table (Jane Campion, 1990)Chapter 9. Desperation Turned Outwards: Heavenly Creatures (Peter Jackson, 1994)Chapter 10. Confronting Domestic Violence and Familial Abuse: Once Were Warriors (Lee Tamahori, 1994)Part 4. Preoccupations of the New MillenniumChapter 11. An Adolescent Girl Experiments with Sexuality: Rain (Christine Jeffs, 2001)Chapter 12. Asserting Feminist Claims within Maori Culture: Whale Rider (Nicki Caro, 2002)Chapter 13. Family Secrets and Their Destructive Consequences: In My Father's Den (Brad McGann, 2004)Chapter 14. A Gay Boy Comes to Terms with His Sexuality: 50 Ways of Saying Fabulous (Stewart Main, 2005)Part 5. Perspectives on Māori Culture since 2010Chapter 15. Parental Abandonment and the Trauma of Loss: Boy (Taika Waititi, 2010)Chapter 16. A Māori Boy Contests the Old Patriarchal Order: Mahana (Lee Tamahori, 2016)Chapter 17. Delinquency and Bicultural Relations: Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Taika Waititi, 2016)ConclusionBibliographyIndex

Professor Alistair Fox is Emeritus Professor in the Department of English and Linguistics at the University of Otago

In this insightful and lucid study Alistair Fox examines the coming-of-age narrative in New Zealand films, deftly showing how such stories relate to the history of both New Zealand cinema and the nation. Fox demonstrates the centrality of the coming-of-age theme to New Zealand cinema while also providing evidence that New Zealand film criticism itself has come of age.

• PrefacePart 1. The Coming-of-Age Genre and National Cinema Chapter 1. The Coming-of-Age Film as a Genre: Attributes, Evolution, and FunctionsChapter 2. New Zealand Coming-of-Age Films: Distinctive Characteristics and Thematic PreoccupationsPart 2. The New Zealand New Wave: 1976-1989Chapter 3. The Formation of a Budding Man Alone: The God Boy (Murray Reece, 1976) Chapter 4. An Angry Young Man Seeks to Justify Himself: Sleeping Dogs (Ian Donaldson, 1977)Chapter 5. An Immigrant Filmmaker Substitutes an Alternative Vision of Adolescence: The Scarecrow (Sam Pillsbury, 1982)Chapter 6. Art-Cinema, Cultural Dislocation, and the Entry into Puberty: Vigil (Vincent Ward, 1984)Chapter 7. A Māori Girl Watches, Listens, and Learns – Coming of Age from an Indigenous Viewpoint: Mauri (Merata Mita, 1988)　Part 3. The Second Wave of the 1990sChapter 8. Creativity as a Haven: An Angel at My Table (Jane Campion, 1990)Chapter 9. Desperation Turned Outwards: Heavenly Creatures (Peter Jackson, 1994)Chapter 10. Confronting Domestic Violence and Familial Abuse: Once Were Warriors (Lee Tamahori, 1994)Part 4. Preoccupations of the New MillenniumChapter 11. An Adolescent Girl Experiments with Sexuality: Rain (Christine Jeffs, 2001)Chapter 12. Asserting Feminist Claims within Maori Culture: Whale Rider (Nicki Caro, 2002)Chapter 13. Family Secrets and Their Destructive Consequences: In My Father's Den (Brad McGann, 2004)Chapter 14. A Gay Boy Comes to Terms with His Sexuality: 50 Ways of Saying Fabulous (Stewart Main, 2005)Part 5. Perspectives on Māori Culture since 2010Chapter 15. Parental Abandonment and the Trauma of Loss: Boy (Taika Waititi, 2010)Chapter 16. A Māori Boy Contests the Old Patriarchal Order: Mahana (Lee Tamahori, 2016)Chapter 17. Delinquency and Bicultural Relations: Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Taika Waititi, 2016)ConclusionBibliographyIndex