Australian Stereotypes In The Sapphires

The movie in which I have chosen to study and evaluate is The Sapphires, the movie was released on the 9 August 2012. Written by Tony Briggs and Keith Thompson and based in the Murray River in Albury, Sydney and in Vietnam. It is set in the era of the late 1950 and 1960’s. In this speech I will talk about the plot, how the movie challenges the Australian stereotype and the literary techniques used by the film makers, while also linking to the ‘Ture Blue Aussie’ topic we are currently studying.
The movie depicts what it was like to be Australian in the decades of the 50’s and 60’s and the decisions of the Australian government over this period, through the journey of four Aboriginal women and one Irish man. The movie explores the treatment of indigenous people living in this era in comparison to white Australians. The unique ways in which the characters made their living provided for scrutiny, judgement and vulnerability. In the movie you see just how differently the Aboriginal community was treated compared to the white Australians during these era’s.

During the scene when the three girls are in a bar performing in a talent show and the filmmaker scans the venue, show that it was a ‘white’ place and the coloured girls weren’t welcomed. They were put into the corner so they were out of sight. During the talent show you see a white person performing and straight away you can tell that they aren’t talented, but when the three Aboriginal girls come up they perform a country song “Today I start lovin you again”, at the end of their performance the only person to applaud them was a child that is innocent and clearly oblivious to the racial prejudice of the society in which he is living. At the end of the competition, the white performer with the least amount of talent won the prize money, demonstrating clear prejudice and