Stereotypes In Rob Sitch's Film 'The Castle'

In the 2011 Australian film ‘Red Dog’ directed by Kriv Stenders many issues relating to Australian identity are addressed including the stereotypical Australian values such as conflict with authority and mateship. Stenders uses skilful camera and visual techniques to portray a realistic 1970’s context throughout the movie. Throughout the movie it is evident that Stenders portrays his values and attitudes such as rebellion against authority that abuses power and independence.

As the story unravels, the Kerrigans are faced with a major dilemma, in the form of a compulsory acquisition of their home. The land on which their house is built, is needed by the corporate giant Airlink to build the largest freight handling facility in Australia. And so the Kerrigans embark on an odyssey to save their “castle” from acquisition and consequent demolition.

Australian people and culture are often stereotyped in the media in different forms, one of them being film. The two films being examined, ‘Red dog’ (2011) and the ‘Sapphires’ (2012), are an example of the Australian identity but from different points of view. ‘Red dog’ shows the kind and positive side which exemplifies mateship and loyalty. The film ‘Sapphires’ ,which takes place in the 1950’s through to the 1960’s, shows a negative and racist view towards the indigenous people. Both the films show different aspects of the Australian identity, not all insights of the films accurately represent contemporary Australian identity as the Australian identity has changed by the evolution of people and their lifestyle.

Australia is filled with many different aspects in which makes it the country it is today. I believe it is important to study texts that explore aspects of Australia by studying texts such as ‘The Club’, by David Williamson, a play written in 1977 about an Australian football club and movies such as “The Castle”, directed by Rob Stitch in 1997, about the daily life of an Australian family when their happiness is threatened when developers attempt to buy their house to expand the neighboring airport. Both these texts show us what Australian life was like in the past. By us looking at themes such as language, tradition and the mateship shown we are able to explore different aspects of Australia that make it what it is today.

Hi everyone! How are you today? Nice to see all you guys here. Let’s me introduce myself first. My name is Jane Kennedy. I am one of writers of the film ‘The Castle’. I’m sure that everyone has watched ‘The Castle’, right? I’m invited to be here and tell you about this movie as well as how I and my team have built up and shown the ideas about the voice of Australians through it. As you know, everyone including Australians have their own way of understanding and an opinion of the world and people in it. That’s called their ‘voice’. However, the way Australians view and understand the world is unique. Let’s come back to ‘The Castle’, this is a story about the Kerrigan family who together stand up to fight against the government for their

Another text that illustrates similar ideas of citizenship and cultural identity is the Castle directed by Rob Sitch. Castle follows the life of a working-class family in Melbourne, who have been told they must vacate their house to allow for infrastructural expansion. These texts demonstrate the importance of community and personal identity within the lives of Australians, that is experienced within citizenship.

Stereotype plays a big part in today’s society. In the Memoir “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls, others would easily misjudge Jeannette’s family just by their image and the way they lived their life. Although they lived the way they did the walls family had much potential and were very well educated in their own ways. People need to live by the quote “Never judge a book by its cover” because you never know who they are until you meet them.

The Castle is a movie primarily about a family sticking together and their fight for the right to live in their own home. The Castle’s portrayal of family is both positive and negative.

Identity. It’s a broad and difficult concept. As Australians, our identity is multi-faceted, having various different expressions. One aspect of my sense of Australian identity is masculinity and the idea of the “Aussie Battler.” An Aussie Battler is a man from the working class, a person who has pride in the country they live in. An Aussie battler is a patriarchal figure who works hard to support their family, often spending their spare time with the family or at the pub. The Piper’s Son, an Australian novel by Melina Marchetta, reflects my sense of Australian identity through it’s representation of Australian masculinity in the depiction of Dominic Finch-Mackee as the archetypal “Aussie Battler.”

Many Australian films explore the concept of ‘overcoming adversity’, common to films from many countries but they explore it in a manner unique to Australia and embrace the ‘Aussie Battler’ or ‘Aussie Hero’ icon. The films Gallipoli (Directed by Peter Weir - 1981) and Ned Kelly (Directed by Gregor Jordan - 2003) are two good examples of this. Both films show evidence of characters overcoming adversities throughout their stories. The following will analyse each film and explore the concept by looking at themes and film techniques.

The typical Australian: lazy, beer guzzling, faded blue singlets, thongs, slang words. This is the dominant reading formed by the media, commonly in advertisements and novels. The image constructed by such media is one of an unfit ‘couch potato’ who sits around all day drinking and watching television. This stereotype is not only downgrading, but constructs Australian males as underachievers in society. Some Australians may be like this, as for many the pursuit of leisure is a serious business. Indeed texts such as Chris Franklin’s – Bloke (2000) and The Wind and the Monkey (1999) support this theory of the common Australian man. However texts such as Crocodile Dundee (1986) and The Castle (1999)

The Castle, directed by Robert Sitch and produced in 1997, is arguably one of the greatest Australian movies ever created. It is a peculiar, boorish and above all, humorous film, that is loved by most Australians. With great use of trademark Aussie humour, amateur camera work and Australian stereotyping, the movie can be very relatable to Australian viewers, typically those of the blue-collar working-class level. Even with light-hearted humour that could be taken offensively, and seen as a ‘dig at Australian culture, in my opinion, the Castle portrays the typical Australian working -class family and has an underlying message of being resilient and never giving up!

Australia is also seen through the contrast of Jim and Ashley’s cultures – Jim living in Australia all his life, and Ashley being educated in England. Ashley is seen as higher class than Jim, because Ashley owns land, received a better education, while Jim is working class, and was educated in a one room school. Ashley’s classical taste in music suggests an education, also.

Home-grown cultural products such as films and music are an important way for people of a country to explore and share their common culture and heritage. Australian characters, themes and issues, however, are often overshadowed by representations of the American way of life.

‘The Castle’ is an iconic Australian movie, directed by Rob Stich. Filmed in 1997, it is set in 1980s Australia and really portrays the idea of the stereotypical Australian family. Key values endorsed in this movie are family, home, community and justice. The movie explores the theme of what is right, regardless of the law from the viewpoint of a middle class Australian family.