The Aussie “underdog” theme is one of the most overused genres of Australian film and television. Whilst it is overused, some of the messages that are conveyed are both extremely motivational and providers of false hope. Take for instance the three films: “The Castle”, “Crackerjack” and “Ned Kelly”. Three classic Australian films that all follow the tried and tested formula of the Aussie “underdog” to differing extents. All three of these films can provide great levels of motivation whilst also promoting a sense of false hope at times. The Castle (1997) The Castle is a film that follows the story of the Kerrigan family as they fight the command by the local government to have their house compulsorily acquired taking their case all the way …show more content…
Crackerjack follows the story of layabout Jack Simpson as he stumbles his way into a lawn bowling competition in order to save his local club. The underdog part of the story comes from two places, the fact that he and his small local club are fighting against the might of a big business owner and the unlikely nature of Jack to become a good bowler. Take for instance when early on Len, Jack’s reluctant mentor says “A true test of character” after Jack has released a bowl that has gone miles off target. Compare this when later, Jack gets his bowling club into the final and Len repeats himself again and says “I still say bowls is a true revealer of charcter. He showed some today” This displays an extraordinary character turnaround in a short period of time. In reality, if a person gets to a low enough point much like Jack does and has the right mentors around them like Jack has, this rapid development from a grub to an upstanding personality is not only very possible but very plausible. Crackerjack through its realistic character development avoids crossing the line between providing great levels of motivation and promoting a false sense of
Darryl’s life is worth fighting for. “You can’t buy what I’ve got.” ‘The Castle’ directed by Rob Sitch, about one man, his family and neighbours on the verge of being homeless. Darryl Kerrigan, the “backbone of the family” won’t stand for that. Of course no one can buy what he has. He’s spent almost his entire lifetime building what he has, why should he give it up? Darryl’s way of life is simple yet filled with family values. 3 Highview Crescent is the home to Darryl, his wife Sal and their 3 children: Wayne, Steve, Tracy and Dale. (Wayne currently being in jail.) The house is made up of love, and simple family values. Darryl’s also added bits and pieces to it. He’s added on so much to the house, his own personal touch. His neighbours, also in the same bout are almost family to the Kerrigans. Jack and Farouk are another reason why Darryl’s ready to take matters into his own hands.
The 2014 Walkley Award winning documentary, "Cronulla Riots: the day that shocked the nation" reveals to us a whole new side of Aussie culture. No more she’ll be right, no more fair go and sadly no more fair dinkum. The doco proved to all of us (or is it just me?) that the Australian identity isn’t really what we believe it to be. After viewing this documentary
In “The Thematic Paradigm,” University of Florida professor of film studies, Robert Ray, defines two types of heroes pervading American films, the outlaw hero and the official hero. Often the two types are merged in a reconciliatory pattern, he argues. In fact, this
The Indigenous youth of Australia still face many challenges growing up in a world dominated by white Europeans. This essay will discuss the stereotypes and marginalisation that young Indigenous teenagers must face. After viewing Yolngu Boy and Black Chicks Talking, there will be examples from the two movies on the stereotypes, marginalisation, interdependent and the connection the characters of the movies have with the Aboriginal culture and the dominant white culture.
This led him to create Reel Injun to persuade viewers that Aboriginals are humans too. The film has done a great job of addressing the impacts of western films among Aboriginals. These pictures should be used to influence the audience’s view and debunk the misconception of the identity of indigenous people. The message of this film is to question personal beliefs and opinions about the Aboriginal’s portrayals in the media and films. In today’s society, aboriginals are still over-represented and have disproportionate representation in the criminal justice (Personal communication, A. Eyjolfson, Oct. 19, 2016). The majority still believe that Natives are alcoholic and that they are more likely to have run-ins with the law. These depictions of Aboriginals promote racism and discrimination that creates a social structure of “us versus them”. This social structure promotes inequality in our society. According to Wilkinson and Pickett (2010), when we reduce inequality we increase our well-being and our quality of life. To reduce inequality it is important to address the issues and how individuals contribute to these issues. Reel Injun questions personal opinion and beliefs in order to address the issue and break false stereotypes of
As a nation, the Australian people have respected the “underdogs” in many events throughout history, an example is KERRYN McCann, the 38-year mother of two from Bulli, winning the 2006 Commonwealth Games marathon, two years before dying from cancer. Now in 2017, The Australian people have the chance to celebrate the work they have contributed to the film industry and to show the world what it means to be Australian, and with the Australian Film Festival coming up they can do that. Personally I am not of Australian nationality, but I have come to notice the importance for the Australian people to acknowledge their work in the film industry, as it gives them a chance to
realtor named Jonathon who travels to Dracula’s castle in order to close a house deal. He
In The Pathos of Failure, Thomas Elsaesser explains the emergence of a new ideology within American filmmaking, which reflects a “fading confidence in being able to tell a story” (280) and the dissolution of psychologically relatable, goal-oriented characters. He elaborates that these unmotivated characters impede the “the affirmative-consequential model of narrative [which] is gradually being replaced by another, whose precise shape is yet to crystallize” (281). Christian Keathley outlined this shape in more detail in Trapped in the Affection Image, where he argued that shifting cultural attitudes resulted in skepticism of the usefulness of action (Keathley). In Robert Altman’s McCabe & Mrs. Miller and Roman Polanski’s Chinatown, this crisis of action is a key element of the main characters’ failure, because it stifles the execution of classical narrative and stylistic genre conventions.
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.
One could easily dismiss movies as superficial, unnecessarily violent spectacles, although such a viewpoint is distressingly pessimistic and myopic. In a given year, several films are released which have long-lasting effects on large numbers of individuals. These pictures speak
The Downfall of Camila With the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution, many individuals took this opportunity to expand their standings within society. Men sought to overthrow the tyrannical government and redistribute the land evenly amongst all Mexicans. Mariano Azuela in The Underdogs describes the adventures of a successful rebel group who undergoes a mission to eliminate Federal forces. Women, on the other hand, sought to expand their rights with society and to break the norms established. The women who decided to join the combat roles were referred to as Las Soldaderas.
The illusion of freedom and self-determination is so strong because the dealer’s accomplices disguise themselves as regular people, when they are actually part of the trick. As Lincoln told Booth when he first started teaching him the game, “Everybody out there is part of the crowd. His crew is part of the crowd, he himself is part of the crowd” (Parks 73). The dealer, or the top-dog, and his crew is part of the target’s environment. They might be random strangers, but also people one would interact with every day. They could be a neighbor, a friend, and even a person’s own family, and within this book, one’s own brother. People who are not in on the game are helpless victims that fall trap in the system. Lincoln is the topdog in his little card game, and he plays his brother like how the system plays him. Although Lincoln plays the underdog as a black man in the work force, within the realm of the card game, he represents the
Summary: The movie is about a typical Australian family living in the suburbs of Melbourne. The patriarch: Darryl Kerrigan is a sweet, yet a little dim witted, loving father and husband. Him and his wife (Sal) are parents to three sons (the narrator: Dale, Steve: an aspiring engineer and Wayne: who’s serving time for armed robbery) and a daughter (the oldest: Tracey who’s married) They are shown as the archetypal loving family, who enjoy every moment together, laughing through the joys and showing solidarity in the pain. Darryl is also very proud of his home, repeatedly quoting the old phrase “a man’s home is his castle” and sticks to that when developers acquire the land (compulsory acquisition) to expand the airport (which
“Entertainment has to come hand in hand with a little bit of medicine, some people go to the movies to be reminded that everything’s okay. I don’t make those kinds of movies. That, to me, is a lie. Everything’s not okay.” - David Fincher. David Fincher is the director that I am choosing to homage for a number of reasons. I personally find his movies to be some of the deepest, most well made, and beautiful films in recent memory. However it is Fincher’s take on story telling and filmmaking in general that causes me to admire his films so much. This quote exemplifies that, and is something that I whole-heartedly agree with. I am and have always been extremely opinionated and open about my views on the world and I believe that artists have a responsibility to do what they can with their art to help improve the culture that they are helping to create. In this paper I will try to outline exactly how Fincher creates the masterpieces that he does and what I can take from that and apply to my films.
The hidden castle was the primary locale for both film (“Beast’s Castle”). Particularly in the live action, it was where the story started and ended. The castle was structured in a way resembling the architectural style of the Baroque period and each room is elegantly furnished (Stamp). The bedroom, dining room, library, prison and the beast’s private garden were artificial sets, and the scenes in each location were the turning points in the storyline.