Gramma Tala in Moana

My favorite character in the film Moana was Gramma Tala, Moana’s grandmother. She is the village mystic, or “crazy lady”. In my view, she is the one most intimately connected to the earth and its constituents. This is communicated, not surprisingly, in song form as she sings “I like to dance with the water/ the undertow and the waves/ the water is mischievous (ha!)/ I like how it misbehaves/ the village may think I’m crazy/ or say that I drift too far/ but once you know what you like, well/ there you are”. What I admire in her is her deep and intimate connection with nature and also the authentic way in which she lives. No one else in the film is depicted as dancing with the waves, taking the time to move with the rhythm of the world. Yet she does not let this deter her from doing this herself. I found myself wishing I could step into that reality and learn from Gramma Tala myself.