Texts presently are able to offer audiences modern perspectives on old ideas, this technique is presented in Andrew Bovell stage play adaptation of Kate Grenville’s original novel The Secret River (2005, 2013). This representational, realistic play offers modern perspectives on ideas which have been current since the early 19th century. The morally complex history of the colonization of Australia, is explored in the 2013 stage play The Secret River. The Secret River, follows British convict William Thornhill’s journey to new found land Australia with his wife Sal and two son’s Willie and Dick. The play explores the struggle for power between the white British settlers and the Aboriginal Dharug tribe. Through the use of historical knowledge …show more content…
Since the dawn of time humans have always feared the idea of difference, that anything different from you must be evil in some shape or form. This is not just seen in history, the old idea that different is bad can be seen in the children’s Disney film Pocahontas (1995) by Eric Goldburg. Where history has been seen to repeat itself, British troops set out to take new found land, but there are already indigenous people living there, but as they are not civilized the land can be taken and the White settlers must civilize these people ‘who don’t know better’. But are they really helping? “Here’s what you get when races are diverse …they’re savages…barley even human…they’re not like you and me which means they must be evil”[4]. Therefore, this idea of “civilized” is presented to children at such a young age, even after most of these events have occurred. The Aboriginals were seen as ‘uncivilized’ and dehumanized because of their appearance and way of life. This meant that the Aboriginals had no rights, no dignity, no identity as shown as Will and Sal rename the members of the Dharug tribe with English names such as “Jack” for Ngalamalum, “Meg” for Buryia and “Polly” for Gilyagan. By degrading the Aboriginals, the white settlers are basically stating that they are of a higher status, automatically degrading them “they’re vermin same way as rat is vermin”[8]. This is shown through the paternalism presented in the epilogue of The Secret River. As previously shown in act 2 scene 18, Thornhill and the other white settlers have massacred nearly all of the Dharug tribe and then feel an overwhelming sense of paternalism to look after surviving member
Hannie Rayson’s play ‘Hotel Sorrento’ explores the changing nature of Australian cultural identity. Rayson successfully perpetuates and challenges common Australian stereotypes in order to establish how the Australian National Identity has changed over time. She presents these stereotypes through the characters expectations of gender roles, attitudes towards Australian culture and the theme of ownership.
Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma, provides a vivid and brutally honest account of the atrocities committed against Pocahontas and her people, unlike the popular animated film released by Disney. We will never know the absolute truth behind Pocahontas and her people, or the early settlers who emigrated to Jamestown, but one truth, however, remains evident. The English had succeeded in destroying an entire culture, rich with diversity. This may not have been what the English had intended at first, but it untimely was the result of their actions against the Powhatan people and the other tribes of the surrounding region. They imposed harsh conditions which included abduction, conversion, violence, and tributes which practically impossible to
In The Secret River; through the perspective of William Thornhill, Kate Grenville explores a convict's life and their experience when they are given the option to die, or be taken from their home in Europe to the foreign Victorian State. The most obvious option is for someone to continue living as opposed to them to die as a criminal. The novel is remarkably unique in which providing the point of view of both the Europeans and the Aboriginals as the conflict between them develops and culminates as a result of their opposing cultures. As this rivalry progresses, William Thornhill and other European settlers are 'trapped' within this conflict, and each are given the opportunity to choose how to escape their entrapment. In the novel, many chose
Susan Griffin’s “Our Secret”, a chapter in her book, A Chorus of Stones: The Private Life of War, is about the hidden shame and pain humans carry and their consequences. It is an astonishing essay, a meditation on the soul-destroying price of conforming to false selves that have been brutalized by others, mentally or physically or both, or by themselves in committing acts of violence and emotional cruelty.
According to conservative conflict theory, society is a struggle for dominance among competing social groups defined by class, race, and gender. Conflict occurs when groups compete over power and resources. (Tepperman, Albanese & Curtis 2012. pg. 167) The dominant group will exploit the minority by creating rules for success in their society, while denying the minority opportunities for such success, thereby ensuring that they continue to monopolize power and privilege. (Crossman.n.d) This paradigm was well presented throughout the film. The European settlers in Canada viewed the natives as obstacles in their quest of expansion by conquering resources and land. They feared that the aboriginal practices and beliefs will disrupt the cohesion of their own society. The Canadian government adopted the method of residential schools for aboriginal children for in an attempt to assimilate the future generations. The children were stripped of their native culture,...
Gail Godwin's short story "A Sorrowful Woman" revolves around a wife and mother who becomes overwhelmed with her husband and child and withdraws from them, gradually shutting them completely out of her life. Unsatisfied with her role as dutiful mother and wife, she tries on other roles, but finds that none of them satisfy her either. She is accustomed to a specific role, and has a difficult time coping when a more extensive array of choices is presented to her. This is made clear in this section of the story.
The assimilation policy was a policy that existed between the 1940’s and the 1970’s, and replaced that of protectionism. Its purpose was to have all persons of aboriginal blood and mixed blood living like ‘white’ Australians, this established practice of removing Aboriginal children (generally half-bloods) from their homes was to bring them up without their culture, and they were encouraged to forget their aboriginal heritage. Children were placed in institutions where they could be 'trained' to take their place in white society. During the time of assimilation Aboriginal people were to be educated for full citizenship, and have access to public education, housing and services. However, most commonly aboriginal people did not receive equal rights and opportunities, for example, their wages were usually less than that paid to the white workers and they often did not receive recognition for the roles they played in the defence of Australia and their contribution to the cattle industry. It wasn’t until the early 1960’s that expendi...
Her book focuses on the myriads of issues and struggles that Indigenous men and women have faced and will continue to face because of colonialism. During her speech, Palmater addressed the grave effects of the cultural assimilation that permeated in Indigenous communities, particularly the Indian Residential School System and the Indian Act, which has been extensively discussed in both lectures and readings. Such policies were created by European settlers to institutionalize colonialism and maintain the social and cultural hierarchy that established Aboriginals as the inferior group. Palmater also discussed that according to news reports, an Aboriginal baby from Manitoba is taken away every single day by the government and is put in social care (CTVNews.ca Staff, 2015). This echoes Andrea Smith’s argument in “Heteropatriarchy and the Three Pillars of White Supremacy: Rethinking Women of Color Organizing” that colonialism continues to affect Aboriginals through genocide (2006, p. 68). Although such actions by the government are not physical acts of genocide, where 90% of Aboriginal population was annihilated, it is this modern day cultural assimilation that succeeded the Indigenous Residential School System and the Indian Act embodies colonialism and genocide (Larkin, November 4,
The whites took the Native American children with the purpose to assimilate the children to the white culture. They would force all the native children to choose white names, cut their hair like a white man or woman, and gave them a strict schedule to follow along, they were also not allowed to speak their native language or else they would be punished heavily. Even though this action was for a good purpose, the white people ended up killing many of the Native children, which broke the promise they had made to the children’s parents back at the reservation. These events had occurred because the whites had the power to control the children to do, and follow the ways of the whites.
Before the introduction of the “pale face” Native Americans lived a calm and serene life. They lived in big communities and help one another in order to survive. They had a form of religion, poly-theistic, that would be their main form of salvation. They had chiefs and warriors. They had teepees that would allow them to quickly pack up and move. The Native Americans were a nomadic, primitive people that did not live up to the whiter man’s view of “civilization”. However, the white man, pale face, felt the need to change the Native Americans barbaric ways of life. The Americans were smart in their efforts in trying to convert the Indians. They would go after the kids because they were still young and gullible. “Yes, my child, several others besides Judewin are going away with the palefaces. Your brother said the missionaries had inquired about his little sister... “Did he tell them to take me, mother” (40). The children were impressionable. In this first story, the daughter gets hooked on going with the missionaries because they said they had apple trees and being that she has never seen an apple tree, she begged her mother to go not knowing that her mother did not want to send her away. Some Indians enjoyed leaving with the Americans; others did not because of what the Americans had done to the Indians. The mother in this story had told her daughter stories of what the paleface had done and how they had killed most...
Composers show how confronting and meaningful discoveries can be through how their characters and settings of their works are depicted. I agree with this statement, because the discoveries made within a text by the audience are there to piece together the picture of which is the texts underlying motive. Examples of this can be seen in the texts ‘Rainbow’s End’ a play by Jane Harrison and the children’s book ‘The Rabbits’ by John Marsden and Shaun Tan. ‘Rainbow’s End’ follows a family of three Aboriginal Australian females; Gladys - single mother trying to support her daughter and help her succeed in life, Nan Dear – Gladys’s mother and Dolly – Gladys’s teenage daughter, showing the struggles that they as an Aboriginal family face in a Anglo-dominant, 1950’s Australian society. ‘The Rabbits’ is an allegory, or retelling, of the British colonisation of Australia, with the British being represented by rabbits and the Indigenous Australians being represented by numbats, an endangered Australian native animal. Both of these texts display themes of discrimination and assimilation towards aboriginals, giving us the chance to discover and understand their struggles.
‘An individual’s interaction with others and the world around them can enrich or limit their
For example, in the local school, stereotypes such as the image of the ‘wild man’ are consolidated by claiming that there was cannibalism among the indigenous people of the northwest coast (Soper-Jones 2009, 20; Robinson 2010, 68f.). Moreover, native people are still considered to be second-class citizens, which is pointed out by Lisamarie’s aunt Trudy, when she has been harassed by some white guys in a car: “[Y]ou’re a mouthy Indian, and everyone thinks we’re born sluts. Those guys would have said you were asking for it and got off scot-free”
Pocahontas indirectly proclaims that race shouldn’t determine a person’s position in class ranking but the kind of person they are should. The film is based of economic class ranking depending on the color of ones skin. Someone with dark skin is known as a “savage” who lives off the land such as Pocahontas and her tribe. Someone with a white skin is known as a “pale face” that lives with many luxuries such as the British colonists from England in the film. If the Native Americans went into British territory, they would not be welcomed and vise versa. The British colonists would not be welcomed into the Native tribes land. But ultimately by the end, the film focuses on the idea that race shouldn’t matter and that the type of person should. Discrimination amongst races becomes resolved through time and getting to know people. The character John Smith, for example, being a w...
Specific elements of the storyline that display the theme racism include: the display of animalistic treatment, enforced religious practices, and historical comparisons. The film reveals the overarching government belief that the white race is smarter and purer, to the inferior, uncivilized and misguided, darker-skinned, Aboriginals. This belief is demonstrated throughout the film and signifies the government’s attitudes toward the half-caste race as: uncivilized animals that need a trainer to discipline them. For example, the film shows the girls being transported like livestock to th...