The Drovers Wife

Ladies and gentleman, the film Australian Rules is simply impossible to overlook as Australia’s entry into the international film everything that a proper ‘Australian’ film should, drama, romance, action and deceit. It portrays cultural differences that create segregation between the fabrics of society in a town that doesn’t possess the capacity to co-exist which is evident in urbanized Australia.

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.

Australia’s Identity plays an important part in the stereotypes identified in the film Beneath Clouds, (2002) directed by Ivan Sen presented through violence, racism and a less than adequate education. Through Drover 's Wife (1892) written by Henry Lawson characters are depicted through one mother 's hardships and the way she raises her family in the absence of her husband. Both Beneath Clouds and Drover’s Wife explore Australian identity and what makes it, along with the integral part of any culture in a diverse way.

Hello and welcome to Real Time discussion show. Tonight we will explore the topic 'Representations of Indigenous Australians' in the iconic Australian films 'Rabbit-Proof Fence' and 'The Tracker'. This is an important topic as society can learn from past mistakes presented in these films that will be discussed tonight. On the panel tonight we have Rebecca Long who will be discussing negative representations in 'Rabbit-Proof Fence', and myself, Sarah Christensen, and l will be exploring the negative representations in 'The Tracker' that prompt a positive reaction.

The notion of the contemporary indigenous identity and the impact of these notions are both explored in texts that have been studied. Ivan Sen’s 2002 film ‘Beneath Clouds’ focuses on the stereotypical behaviours of Indigenous Australians highlighting Lina and Vaughn’s journey. This also signifies the status and place of the Australian identity today. Through the use of visual techniques and stereotypes the ideas that the Indigenous are uneducated, involved in crime and the stereotypical portrayal of white people are all explored. Similarly the notion of urban and rural life is represented in Kennith Slessor’s ‘William Street’ and ‘Country Towns’.

The movie marks the beginning of mass social and political change that was intensified by World War II. With countless men at war, Australian women were able to enter and overtake male roles in the workforce. As a result, Feminism was strengthening. Along with the Women’s movement into the workforce, Robert Menzie’s 16-year service as the Prime Minister created the ‘Menzies Era’, where great Australian change has said to be recorded. In such a conservative era, political and social revolutions were difficult to adjust to,

Australian landscapes have long been used to place fear and anxiety in the Anglo-Australian’s psyche. This anxiety and the requirement for Indigenous peoples to negotiate white ideals is reflected in current Australian literature and cinematic identities. This essay will discuss the critical arguments of what makes the chosen texts Australian literature. This discussion will be restricted to the critiques of the film Lantana directed by Ray Lawrence and the novel Biten’ Back written by Vivienne Cleven. The will firstly look at the use of landscape as a crime scene and how this links to the anxieties caused by the doctrine of terra nullius and the perceived threats from an introduced species. It will then look at the Australian fear of a different ‘other’ followed then by a discussion around masculinity and the need for Indigenous people to negotiate white ideals. The essay will argue that Australian literature and film reflect a nation that still has anxieties about the true sovereignty of the land and assert that Indigenous people have a requirement to fit in with white ideals.

Gwen Harwood’s poetry is very powerful for its ability to question the social conventions of its time, positioning the reader to see things in new ways. During the 1960’s, a wave of feminism swept across Australian society, challenging the dominant patriarchal ideologies of the time. Gwen Harwood’s poems ‘Burning Sappho’ and ‘Suburban Sonnet’ are two texts that challenge the dominant image of the happy, gentle, but ultimately subservient housewife. Instead, ‘Burning Sappho’ is powerful in constructing the mother as violent to reject the restraints placed on her by society, whilst Suburban Sonnet addresses the mental impact of the female gender’s confinement to the maternal and domestic sphere. Harwood employs a range of language and

Australia’s identity has always been a complicated one. Starting with Aboriginal genocide, 1800’s cowboys and villains, two world wars and a bunch of poems describing them, it makes it difficult to conclude on what being an ‘Aussie’ really is. Thankfully, the two thought-provoking poems Nobody Calls Me a Wog Anymore by Komninos Zervos, and My Country by Dorothea Mackellar both use their discerning selection of themes to reflect modern attitudes in some extent. Along with their themes, Nobody Calls Me a Wog Anymore and My Country both use their story to capture the attributes modern Australians possess to some degree.

Mateship in Australian Films Mateship has long been a major aspect of the national image as projected by Australian films, yet the moralities of mateship and the image of men as mates did not go unchallenged. Australian cinema as a significant part of the whole industry of image-makers in the country, the way it portrays mateship, the single most important mythic element in the cultural identity of Australia, is worth analysing. This paper first reviews the historical background of mateship in Australia and its contemporary development. The review here serves as a general discussion of mateship that provides the potential readers with some basic understandings of the idea, and as background

Australian’s have a unique proud culture. This culture differentiates them from the British motherland. Through many decades Australia has formed a unique, which at its foundation is made from mateship. Mateship or friendship is the core of Australian identity as this was instilled into them through events such as war. WWII in particular demonstrates the level of mateship shown by Australians as many made the ultimate sacrifice in order to save a mate. The stories of ‘The Magic Pudding’ by Gary Crew & Shaun Tan and ‘Memorial’ by Norman Lindsay will demonstrate how mateship is a significant part of how Australians see

The perception of masculinity within Australian films is a reflection of our society’s views and opinions of what it is to be considered masculine. It is continually reinforced in our society by the constructions of the male character in movies, just like Archie and Frank, in Gallipoli and particular male figures within our nation’s history, such as Ned Kelly. Peter Weir’s reflection of masculinity through the use of his two main characters Archie and Frank, in his 1981 film Gallipoli, helped to perpetuate this construction of the Aussie male stereotype

In a war torn London, a prosaic woman named Mrs. Drover had returned home to retrieve some of the stuff that she had left behind. She arrives to find that not everything is the way that she left it. She soon gets the feeling that she is being watched. Mrs. Drover’s character evolves throughout the story. She goes from a very ordinary woman to a paranoid mess.

This film is performed by two marvellous actors Victor Mature and Hedy Lamarr. They are both given a clear example of what the aboriginal people’s life looks like. On the other hand, the camera work is very well to present the consequences of the European impact on Aboriginal Australian society. In the film, it uses a medium shot to show Delilah look at two European young girls. In this medium shot, compare with two European young girls, Delilah is very different that images indigenous people are hard to get into European world. From these aspects, the film won many categories for Best Direction, Best Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Lead Actor and Best Lead Actress in different