The contributions and achievements of Indigenous role models continue to make substantial impacts upon our history in areas such as the arts, sport, education, science and more increasingly; the world of Politics. Modern Australia is recognising and celebrating the achievements of Aboriginal people more than ever before, where the social landscape is changing (albeit slowly) as a result. The gradual change of peoples ingrained preconceptions, unfounded ideas and prejudiced notions are being challenged and ultimately transformed.
Australia has the terrible condition of having an essentially pointless and prefabricated idea of “Aussiness” that really has no relation to our real culture or the way in which we really see ourselves. We, however subscribe to these stereotypes when trying to find some expression of our Australian identity. The feature film, The Castle, deals with issues about Australian identity in the 1990’s. The film uses techniques like camera shots, language and the use of narration to develop conflict between a decent, old fashioned suburban family, the Kerrigans and an unscrupulous corporation called Airlink. Feature films like The Castle are cultural products because they use attitudes, values and stereotypes about what it means to be Australian.
My film, ‘One Night The Moon’ recounts the classic tale of the wild Australian bush and the fear that it holds by utilising different distinctive voices of characters, specifically Albert Yang, played by Kelton Pell, and Jim Ryan, played by Paul Kelly, to express their thoughts. It mainly focuses on the treatment of Aboriginal people by the
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
Samuel Wagan Watson presents an Aboriginal perspective on Australian identity, exploring the marginalization of Aboriginal culture. Watson associates
Aboriginal people groups depended on an assortment of unmistakable approaches to sort out their political frameworks and establishments prior to contact with Europeans. Later, a considerable amount of these establishments were overlooked or legitimately stifled while the national government endeavored to force a uniform arrangement of limitlessly distinctive Euro-Canadian political goals on Aboriginal social orders. For some Aboriginal people groups, self-government is seen as an approach to recover control over the administration of matters that straightforwardly influence them and to safeguard their social characters. Self-government is alluded to as an inherent right, a previous right established in Aboriginal people groups' long occupation
“Art can use the power of visual image to challenge and even change popular opinions about important and universal issues. Art can be a very influential way to give a strong, direct comments and criticisms on things that have happened in society and culture.” (Rehab-Mol J, 1998, p6) Indigenous art is mostly about connecting to their land and their religious belief; however, art has different forms, especially the Indigenous contemporary art as it uses ‘modern materials in a mixed cultural context’. (Aboriginal Art Online, 2000)
Access to land and resources is important for many aboriginal communities as a basis for the maintenance of aboriginal cultural values, financial security, and economic development. The self-government has also helped provide access to treaty rights and land claims settlements for the Aboriginal population.
Throughout both ‘Rainbow’s End’ and ‘The Rabbits’, the audience discovers the plights that the Aboriginal Australians faced, due to discrimination and assimilation, in intensely confronting, yet intensely meaningful ways. We see how the discrimination and forced assimilation of cultures was common in the lead up to modern times because of composers like Harrison, Marsden and Tan reminding us of these events, allowing us to discover and rediscover our past wrongs through their works, in order to pave the way for a brighter, harmonious future. Without these documentations and retellings of events such as these, history would repeat itself, conflicts would be more apparent and we as a species would not be able to thrive and prosper due to our prejudices and superiority complexes.
The idea that indigenous Australian communities are underprivileged and do not receive the same justice that the white community accrues is represented through Jay Swan and his interactions with the corrupt white police officers and the indigenous locals of the town. My empathetic response to the text as a whole was influenced directly by way the text constructs these ideas as well as my knowledge of the way indigenous Australians are represented in the mainstream media and the behaviour of the police force as an institution. These contextual factors and the way Sen has constructed ideas influenced me to empathise with the indigenous
Despite the decreasing inequalities between men and women in both private and public spheres, aboriginal women continue to be oppressed and discriminated against in both. Aboriginal people in Canada are the indigenous group of people that were residing in Canada prior to the European colonization. The term First Nations, Indian and indigenous are used interchangeably when referring to aboriginal people. Prior to the colonization, aboriginal communities used to be matrilineal and the power between men and women were equally balanced. When the European came in contact with the aboriginal, there came a shift in gender role and power control leading towards discrimination against the women. As a consequence of the colonization, the aboriginal women are a dominant group that are constantly subordinated and ignored by the government system of Canada. Thus today, aboriginal women experiences double jeopardy as they belong to more than one disadvantaged group i.e. being women and belonging to aboriginal group. In contemporary world, there are not much of a difference between Aboriginal people and the other minority groups as they face the similar challenges such as gender discrimination, victimization, and experiences injustice towards them. Although aboriginal people are not considered as visible minorities, this population continues to struggle for their existence like any other visible minorities group. Although both aboriginal men and women are being discriminated in our society, the women tends to experience more discrimination in public and private sphere and are constantly the targeted for violence, abuse and are victimized. In addition, many of the problems and violence faced by aborigin...
Jacquelyin Kilpatrick , Celluloid Indians. Native Americans and Film. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 1999
Indigenous communities are the original inhabitants of their nation. There is a strong respect for the
The movie educates people on the fact of inequality back in the 1900’s between Indigenous Australians and white Australians and about the biggest case in Australia which has changed our history. This movie shows the viewers about some of the injustice the Indigenous Australians suffered due to white Australian people's actions because of their colour and race. The response that was intended was to feel bad for all of the constant injustice that the Indigenous Australians were receiving due to the actions of white Australian
The creation of indigenous media content has proven highly beneficial and important for indigenous audiences. Indigenous media is important because it allows a platform for indigenous audiences to present themselves in a way which is often either neglected or negatively portrayed in mainstream media. This is important to the identity work of indigenous cultures and extends to the culture and connection of the indigenous community and wider culture. In particular this essay will focus on the representation of indigenous people in their own media and how they use indigenous media to show accurate and positive representations of themselves. Specifically focusing on television content, this essay will draw upon work by media scholars to illustrate