In the film, Rabbit proof fence Molly and the girls were faced with obstacles and changes and little freedom they had as they were forced to change into white culture. As the girls were taken away from the families forcefully they were determined to go back where she would be welcomed by her fellow tribe and families. Molly being the oldest and being the most matured out of the 3 she started to take responsibilities for herself and her younger sisters. As she would understand her weaknesses and strength she could overcome her fears and build up her confidence. Even the harsh environment and lack of resources didn’t stop her from falling. Phillip noyce uses camera techniques to visualise this. Close to half way a scene with molly walking with
When the girls do collapse onto the ground, Molly sees an eagle soaring in the sky above them. This eagle, as explained by Molly’s mother in opening scene, was a symbol of protection and safety in Aboriginal culture. The appearance of this eagle in their time of need emphasises how the Aboriginals are truly bonded, psychologically and physically, to their land and culture.
Maggie was so traumatized from her house burning down that she became a timid and under appreciated little girl. Maggie is so self conscious that her mom says she walks like a dog run over by a car: “chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house to the ground.” This
Rabbit Proof Fence is a movie directed by Phillip Noyce based on the novel by Doris Pilkington Garimara. In the excerpt, ‘The Stealing of Children,’ it shows the offspring of the indigenous people being taken away from their parents as the white settlers thought they weren’t being treated properly. Events like these occurred from 1910-1970 in Australia’s history. Many aboriginal children didn’t want to be taken away and the fictional story, based on real events, of Rabbit Proof Fence has been created from the point of view of those people living at this time. The director has created many representations of Aboriginal people through the use of language features, visual elements and the audio components.
Rabbit Proof Fence has been published both as a book and as a movie. Being a reader or a viewer entirely changes our point of view on the story. As a reader, we get descriptive insight on the situations and emotions of the characters. We are then able to re-create these visually using our imagination and have endless freedom doing so. As a viewer, our creativity is somewhat restricted. We do not imagine the characters’ physical appearance, the locations or the overall situations in the same way as in a book. These elements are already given to us. Throughout this essay I will be exploring how the music and the filming creates a contrast between reading the book with elaborate descriptions.
Fences took place in the 1950’s, during that time the role of women in the 1950 was repressive and constrictive in a lot of ways. The 1950s is often viewed as a period of conformity, when both men and women observed strict gender roles and complied with society’s expectations (Women in 1950’s). Society placed a very high significance on different expectations on behavior in public as well as at home. Women were to be homemakers, caring mothers, and to be an obedient wife to their husbands. A wife was only considered a “good wife” if she did anything and everything her husband asked for and agreed with everything the man would say. This was the type of way Troy treated Rose in fences and how he thought of women and their
Fences, by August Wilson takes place in the 1950's; a time where gender roles where strict. Wilson sets the issues that transpire within the play in a time period that wasn’t ideal for women to speak out. The irony of the play's setting correlates to the issues that the women characters within the story face. Fences can be viewed as a one-sided male perspective that gives little acknowledgement to the woman characters. Wilson's plays have been controversial because some say that he depicts woman as subservient and subordinate. However, taking a closer look into the character of Rose, I can argue that Wilson does not paint a stereotypical depiction of woman. Instead Wilson uses the woman's sexuality, maternal instinct, and intuition, to insinuate their strength and empowerment through the woman’s actions contrary to the belief of the woman in his plays being seen as weak and voiceless.
August Wilson’s Fences was centered on the life of Troy Maxson, an African American man full of bitterness towards the world because of the cards he was dealt in life amidst the 1950’s. In the play Troy was raised by an unloving and abusive father, when he wanted to become a Major League Baseball player he was rejected because of his race. Troy even served time in prison because he was impoverished and needed money so he robbed a bank and ended up killing a man. Troy’s life was anything but easy. In the play Troy and his son Cory were told to build a fence around their home by Rose. It is common knowledge that fences are used in one of two ways: to keep things outside or to keep things inside. In the same way that fences are used to keep
The film Rabbit-Proof Fence by Philip Noyce takes place in 1931 in a small town named Jigalong in Western Australia. Along the town is a rabbit-proof fence that runs for miles through the Australian Outback. The film focuses on three aboriginal girls, 14-year-old Molly, her younger 8-year-old sister Daisy, and their 10-year-old cousin Gracie. The officers removed the girls from their family and forced them to assimilate into white society. The chief A. O. Neville legally removed the aboriginal girls from their family because they were half-castes which means they are half one white parent and one Aboriginal parent. In this case, the girls had an aboriginal mother and a white father who was a worker near their area, but the father in not take part in the girl’s life. The Chief wanted to take away all the half-castes from the Aboriginal homes so they could eventually breed the aboriginals out of existence as well as give the half-caste a better life in their modern society. These camps held lots of indigenous children and trained the children to become laborers and servants for the white families. Soon after arriving at the Moore River camp, the three girls escaped after the first night and made a 1,500-mile journey home. Molly, Gracie, and Daisy left as soon as it began to rain so their tracks could be covered. Although at the camp, the workers soon noticed the girls had escaped and sent the Aboriginal tracker to go find them and return them back to Moore River camp. The girls later found the rabbit-proof fence and followed it north to find Jigalong. On their way back to home, they met an aboriginal man who told the girls that Gracie’s mother was in Wiluna and she could take a train to meet her. Soon after Gracie parted ways, the tracker captured Gracie and they returned back to Moore River. Daisy and Molly continued to follow the fence and finally arrived home to meet their mother. Although, the family had to leave to go hide in the desert in order for the family to stay together. After the movie ends, there is a short clip of the real Molly and Daisy in 2002. The captions said that Gracie did not survive her way back to Moore River Camp and she was never seen again. Molly also stated that the government took
In the story of “Fences” and also “A Doll House” we will compare the plot of change. Sometimes change is accepted and others it is not. One thing that the reader will become aware of is that times change and people change. Change is a constant thing, whether talking about society as a whole or about the people that make up that society. One thing is for sure and that is that there will always be change. In the story “A Doll House” we will see how change within two main character’s will change the family dynamics of a picture perfect family. The thing that the reader does not expect it the tragic ending that does happen within this picture perfect family. In the story “Fences” we will find how the character’s unwillingness to accept change will ultimately lead to the demise of his family life that he has. Not only does this demise come from his unwillingness to accept change but because he wants change but in very different ways than what society has to offer.
“Jesus be a fence all around me every day. Jesus, I want you to protect me as I travel on my way” (Wilson 1.2.21). The play Fences follows the journey of an African American family, the Maxons, and their struggle to handle the appearance of both physical and metaphorical fences. Fences shows the difficulties that the Maxons face in an attempt to balance love, loss, and laughter. The Maxson family lives in Pittsburgh during the 1950’s, and they meet tensions when searching for equality within their relationships and in their larger community. Throughout the play, tension builds between characters. To portray this tension, the author, August Wilson utilizes the narrative elements of parallel plots through storytelling, developing characters
Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence, Remembering Babylon, and Puddn’head Wilson all contain numerous references to borders of various kinds, both literal and figurative. Focusing on two of the above texts, answer the following question: what do these borders represent?
The play Fences by August Wilson centers around the character of Troy, a middle-aged African-American man. Troy struggles to keep his family together, mostly as the result of mistakes he has made as a husband and parent. These mistakes reflect certain personality traits that make up Troy’s complex character, including his obsession with providing financially, his inability to love his family, and his stubborn insistence on others following the paths he decides for them. These character traits can be explained by the social, racial, and economic climate of the time. Fences takes place in late 1950’s Pennsylvania during the beginning of the Civil Rights Era, and Troy’s character is shaped by the disappointments that have come along with racism and economic difficulty, along with not being up to date on the changes happening in the Civil Rights movement. Although Troy and his character traits are responsible for the tragic decisions he has made, it is possible that the social context of the time has shaped him into the person he is.
Rabbit Proof Fence is a great film based on the real tale and experiences of three young Aboriginal girls, Molly, Gracie and Daisy, who were taken against their will from their families in Jigalong, Western Australia in 1931. The film puts a human face on the "Stolen Generation", an event which categorized links between the government and Aborigines in Australia for a lot of the 20th century.
A life spent making mistakes is not only human, but expected when the life itself is seen as a mistake. While the main character, Troy, in Wilson’s play “Fences” elicits exclamations of disapproval from the readers, Troy’s background gives meaning to his poor decision making as a man, husband, and father in the 1950s. Troy’s thought process, loss of sense of self, and actions prove him to be a pure example of a black everyman. The black everyman bends under the pressure of having to be highly masculine while also living under the thumb of the white race. It is clear in every interaction Troy is in that he oozes sadness, while inwardly seething at the slightest implications of anyone around him reaching new heights. Thus making Troy’s character not only believable due to his hypocrisy, but also sympathetic as a result of the disadvantages he has lived through. I see a part of Troy in every black man I know, always wanting more, but never losing the awareness that it may be out of their grasp.
One strength of the novel is that it has realistic/relatable characters. One way that makes On the Fence have realistic characters is that they are normal humans with nothing special about them and they are not mythical or anything like that. For example, “ I’m just a pure tomboy, keen about sports and involved in running, soccer and basketball and roughhousing with my brothers. Nothing special.” (West 36). The main character, Charlie, described herself as ordinary tomboy and nothing special. She might be a little different than other girls, but she is still a human and has nothing about her that says otherwise. The novel also includes characters that we can relate to. Another example that shows that the characters are relatable is “‘You heard me. I don’t think you learned your lesson last time because I paid for your ticket. So, you are paying not only for this ticket, but also the last one, and the extra hundred dollars a month you are going to cost me in insurance.’ ‘But I don’t have that kind of money.’ ‘Then find a job.’” (West 14). At this point in the story, Charlie’s dad was punishing Charlie for receiving a speeding ticket. This is relatable because many teenagers get into some kind of trouble and face consequences. Along with the realistic and relatable characters there is also realistic dialogue that makes the novel even better for someone like me.