The Castle, Directed By Rob Sitch

Stenders continues to create an idealised representation of the Australian identity through his representation of conflict with authority. Conflict of authority is traditionally identified as an aspect of Australian identity when an authority figures is seen to be using power unfairly and in corrupt ways. Stenders is clearly drawing on the historical context of Australia as a penal settlement where mistreated convicts developed a hatred for authority figures that unnecessarily treated them with cruelty. Stenders uses the characters of the Cribbages, the caretakers of the caravan park to embody the notion of the corrupt misuse of power. This is evident in Stenders’ portrayal of them as intimidating and unreasonable in their response to Nancy keeping Red Dog in the park. Stenders positions us to participate in the disregard for authority through his negative representation suggested by their mug and arrogant facial expressions and abrasive tone in, “I don't care if he is the Queen’s bloody corgi.” We are further compelled to align our perspective of them with Nancy’s through the high angle point of view shot focalised through Nancy’s eyes which makes them appear small and powerless.

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.

In the novel, “We Have Always Lived in the Castle,” there are many extremely important themes, such as domesticity. This novel focuses heavily on domesticity because it portrays characters who are highly devoted to their home. In this novel, Constance Blackwood, Mary Katherine Blackwood, and Julian Blackwood are three of the only Blackwood’s which are still alive. However, the cause of death of the rest of the Blackwood’s causes many of the townspeople to hate Constance and Mary Katherine Blackwood especially. Although very hated in the village, the two girls and their uncle Julian remain in

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.

The idea of the “Aussie Battler” is projected in The Castle via the protagonist, Darryl Kerrigan. Through this, average Australians who also consider themselves somewhat of an “Aussie Battler” are able to identify with his character. In other words, Darryl is the father that many Australians would be able to relate to as their own. Despite his character being slightly exaggerated, the audience is still able to identify with him on some degree. Darryl is optimistic, hardworking and has “good principles”. Although having an airport in their backyard, Darryl believes that he and his family live in the land of luxury, this projects that Darryl is always looking on the bright side and is able to appreciate the simple things in life, thus this suggests that Australians are quite uncomplicated. An example that supports this archetypal representation of the “Aussie Battler” is when the Kerrigans take a visit to their holiday home in Bonnie Doon. Whilst there, Darryl can be continuously quoted as saying, “how’s the serenity” nevertheless, the audience is positioned to see Bonnie Doon as a desolate landscape complete with high voltage power lines. However, from Darryl’s point of view, you could not get any better. Therefore, the element of identity in this film makes it more relatable towards the intended

In Jeannette Walls’ Memoir “the Glass Castle,” she writes about her struggle being raised in poverty and discusses her relationship with her father. In “The Glass Castle,” Jeannette constantly writes about her relationship with her father and the significant impact he has on her. Jeannette shows us both the ugly and pretty in her father but that has never stopped her from admitting how inspirational her father was to her. One can only agree that Rex Walls was everything but a negative impact on Jeannette Walls live. In many instances he has managed to make her feel unique, beautiful, smart, and independent. Jeannette’s eagerness to quickly forgive her father is already a reason to why Rex Wall’s plays such a positive impact on her

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

Today I’ll be talking about the play “Blackrock” that I’ve been studying in class this term, the purpose of this speech is to make us think how Australian drama challenges us to think about Australian culture and identity, and the impacts it can have on us as person and as a community.

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.

Most often, in most families, children look up to their parents for guidance as children view their parents as role models. However in The Glass Castle, this was not the case but the exact opposite.

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.

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!

Bart Layton built this doc not from one perspective, but from a collection of them. Some stories, like “The Imposter” need a panoptic approach to connect the audience to the film. The themes of manipulation, identity and love are the main themes conveyed by Layton. These themes are communicated through sounds and visual imagery.

Through our exploration within class, Andrew Bovell’s adaption of The Secret River has shown us its righteous place as a remarkable Australian play. The various themes throughout the novel highlight issues revolving around ownership and dispossession as well as reiterating how important reconciliation amongst white and indigenous Australians is. Bovell’s adaption is captivating, poignant and opens the door for a conversation of our nation’s history that has been silenced on many occasions.