Hawaiian, The Legend of Eddie Aikau

This film is called Hawaiian, The Legend of Eddie Aikau because Eddie was a hero in his death and saved many lives, but he was also a hero in that he helped save surfing and Hawaiian culture from being overrun by Americans and Australians.

Topic: Eddie Aikau

Focus: The Hawaiian identity and surfing career of Eddie Aikau

Angle: Eddie Aikau was the embodiment of the Hawaiian identity through his dedication to Hawaiian culture, specifically surfing, and passion for helping others.

This documentary was made as part of ESPN's programming, which shaped the film's content to be more angled toward the sport, surfing, as well as Eddie Aikau's heroism. The filmmakers might have had the assumption that the film's viewers would be mostly sports fans that needed lots of action to stay interested.
The film might have gone more into the history of Hawaiians if it was made by PBS or the History Channel. It would have been angled more toward a general viewer than a sports fan, and would have given more details about the Hokulea and traditions. It would have had less action shots of him surfing and less detail about the specific surfing contests.

Eddie Aikau









If I were to write a documentary based on the latest reading, my topic would be President William McKinley. My focus would be his political career as a Republican and his work to improve the nation during his presidency around the turn of the century. I would first go into how he advanced during the Civil War on the Union side, and then begin illuminating his climb from Congress, the office of governor of Ohio, to the presidency, beating out Williams Jennings Bryan twice. I could utilize reenactments while teaching about the war. His assassination during his second term, which was unfortunate, could also be used to make his story more interesting to viewers. I would highlight his propensity for tariffs that helped America's industry grow. I would discuss in detail how he was the president during the Spanish-American War, which was won quickly, and the acquisition of Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam. The angle would be that though McKinley cared for the country, allowed it to be led it to prosperity in the future, and died tragically while leading it, his underrated legacy was unfairly overshadowed by Theodore Roosevelt.