The scrape of Aboriginals in The Ecstasy of Rita Joe and The Rez Sisters Harinivetha.v Assistant professor Department of English S.R.N.M. College Sattur. George Ryga’s The Ecstasy of Rita Joe and Tomson Highway’s The Rez Sister present fragmented societies touched by racial prejudices and cultural losses, the authors adopts different perspectives and tones, conveying variant messages about Aboriginals’ plight. In The Ecstasy of Rita Joe, which is a play about a young Natives woman who is alienated both from the reserve and city life, Ryge conveys a critical and pessimistic outlook about Native’s hopeless situation as Rita is trapped by the white colonialist insensitivity. In The Rez Sister, which is a modern tragicomedy, Highway presents …show more content…
Both plays address this issue. In The Rez sisters, Philomena tells how she had to give up her child for adoption and how she wishes she could find her child in Toronto. Similarly, in The Ecstasy, in a discussion about founding a family, Rita mentions that Clara Hill is unaware of where her children are?. “Goddam it!” (RS 49) answers Jamie, revealing the extent of his anger about this cruel fact. In the trial, when confronted by the magistrate about what she will do with her girl, Rita answers that she would rather kill her child than give her away as the Magistrate suggests she should (RS 35). Parting with one’s progenitors is a definite rupture; a vacuum is created in Aboriginals’ cultural continuity and their …show more content…
Rita is caught in a spiral of events. All scenes skilfully echo the Aboriginals’ deep-rooted pain, complaints and aspiration. These plays have now attained national and international recognition, which is not surprising since the human tragedy of disregard, disrespect and intentional indifference is still the lot of many people, such as the many minority groups who constantly strive to appropriate their voice, and reclaim their identity and their way of life amidst the overwhelming power of ruling
This narrative text is based off the film The Sapphires set in Australia in the 1960s. In The Sapphires we see a flashback of Kay’s childhood and how she is part of the Stolen Generation. I will use this storyline as the starting point for my diary entries. The film gave me background knowledge on Stolen Generation and their experiences they faced. However, I need to know extra information so I will do further research about the Stolen Generation, in order to give an accurate description of their experiences. This narrative is targeted towards everyone. It is designed to inform them about the Stolen Generation and how they changed when forcibly moved to an Aborigines White Institution. This piece of text will be written in a diary entry form. I will use informal and conversational language. I will also use descriptive language when describing objects and sceneries throughout the text.
Throughout the early 20th century, the Australian public was led to believe that Aboriginal children were disadvantaged in their communities, and that there was a high risk of physical and sexual abuse. Aboriginal children were being removed in order to be exposed to ‘Anglo values’ and ‘work habits’ with a view to them being employed by colonial settlers, and to stop their parents, families and communities from passing on their culture, language and identity
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.
Furthermore, Downey’s apt use of pathos, or emotional appeals, draws readers in and triggers an emotional response in them, keeping them engaged for the duration of the essay. To expand, he uses blunt phrases like, “permanent loss” (445) and “distant, angry aliens, lacking emotional bonds” (446) to create a severe impact on readers. Also, stirring examples of “descent into alcohol, drugs, and prostitution” (445) and “children committing suicide” (446) illustrate for readers the acute level of damage and suffering that Aboriginal victims experienced. Downey’s use of evocative and graphic imagery in his recounts of “residential schools” (446) and the physical, “emotional and sexual abuse” (447) that specific victims endured elucidates the turmoil and anguish felt by victims of the ‘Sixties Scoop’ in general. As such, this technique fully immerses readers in his essay. Downey creates both a sense of compassion and guilt in his readers through his mention of children who were “enslaved,
“Is that you Ruthie?” brings to light the negative aspects of these camps and, in particularly, how Aboriginals were taken advantage of throughout their working careers as well as how they were lured onto the reserves.
An individual’s search for identity is fuelled by a need to find a place in the world where we belong, thus not belonging consequently leas to a feeling of alienation and isolation. This notion is explored through May’s journey seeking to connect with her racial heritage, her idea of understanding and acceptance. The old man Graham, May encounters at the mission expresses an Aboriginal perspective on the contemporary relationship between the two societies. “no one to talk about it. And they die, kill em selves, than those governments just put another numba, nother cross in they list. They still trying to do it, kill us of, tell us that its always been they plan.” They hybrid vernacular communicates the hatred through the ethnolect strongly marked by the non –standard features of the pronouns in “they list,” “they plan.” Graham’s diatribe reflects him as an individual demonstrating the marginalisation of the minority groups. Similarly, Armin Greder’s picture book The island demonstrates the notion concerning the duality of belonging with its inherit prejudices and xenophobic attitudes expresses the majority’s deliberate exclusion of ‘the other’ outside
Since the differences that characterize the two plays stem from their diametric perspectives on life—The Rez Sisters displays an essentially optimistic stance on Native peoples, whereas Les Belles-sœurs presents the Western world’s postmodern spiritual vacuum—any similarities may appear absolutely contradictory. However, their parallels are ultimately derived from their respective positions and impacts within history, both pieces standing at the precipice of postcolonial liberation and merging identity. Tremblay’s, Les Belles-sœurs, intercepted the path of the Quiet Revolution during the 1960s, advocating for the Québécois sovereignty movement through the highly controversial use of the working-class dialect, joual. Similarly, the very existence of Highway’s, The Rez Sisters, represented a political act in itself, echoing the Aboriginal peoples’
In the orientation of the film Blair uses techniques such as setting, this is an important technique as different settings can either show a rise of reduction of prejudice towards indigenous people. The film begins in the Australian outback, where the audience is first introduce to two characters Gail and Kay. The two girls are cousins and are running across the scene, they make up about 10% of the height of the screen. Blair uses long-shot contrasting their vulnerability. Establishment shots of the homes and buildings and also seen, we as the audience understand that the girls are relatively poor as there are many family member sharing minimal houses, they are living in close proximity to each other and live in a remote area. Already Blair has expressed the theme of prejudice by depicting the isolation indigenous people have with white communities. The aboriginal families seem to be living in a mission environment contrasting that they were disadvantaged from the European settlers. After seeing the earlier setting of the
The poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal, draws the realistic image of the confronting realities of alienation and displacement of Indigenous Australians. It is because of such experiences that has empowered Noonuccal to express and advocate learning from experiences by positioning the audience to view the horrors that occurred, creating a platform for her poetry. Through the emphasis of identity, it allows the audience to deeply connect with the past, determining and illustrating a profound link between the ancient past and contemporary present. Oodgeroo’s deep connectivity with art and poetry highlights the importance of learning from experiences, for not only the Aboriginal culture but, for all cultures, and that colonisation does not destroy self-identity. Through the poems The Past and China…Woman, it has allowed the individual to promote change, encouraging the survival of cultures through learning from past experiences
Aboriginal women is sexualized, assaulted, and mistreated in today’s society, and the novel portrays this inequity. Lisa’s friend, Erica, was in Terrace, when Lisa witnesses her being harassed by a group of white men. The men were teaching Erica how to “fuck a white man,” when Lisa intervenes. The men call the girls “a squaw, “cunt”, and “bitch” (Robinson 250). The
The pub scene in the Australian Outback helped me understand the consequences of prejudice through the combination of dialogue and cinematography. These film features shows the unfair treatment that Aborigines endured because of their race. The mid shots showed how the white Australian audience at the pub Talent Quest ignore the two Aborigine sisters as they began to sin. A panning shot showed the audience’s disapproving and disgusted looks as they avoided eye contact with the sisters. Clearly contrasting with the warm and enthusiastic cheers given to the white Australian performers before them, as also shown in a panning shot. Noticing the coldness of the crowd, Gail says, “Thanks for the half-heart applause.” The dialogue and camera shots clearly outlined the difference in treatment between Aborigines and White Australians in Australia. This clearly shows the inequality between the two races, as Aborigines were clearly mistreated based on their appearance. At the end of the Talent Quest, after the White Australian performer
The different perspectives create interest and draw us into the experiences of others. The two texts, ‘The Tracker’ composed by Rolf De Heer and ‘Bran Nue Dae’ composed by Rachel Perkins explores this notion. Both films are evident to the racial discrimination of Aborigines in Australia. ‘The Tracker’ is a 2002 art house film set in 1922. It is clear that there were no Aboriginal rights and which white settlement had the greatest control. ‘Bran Nue Dae’ is a 2009 musical/comedy/drama film set in 1969 about the beginning of Aboriginal rights.The different perspectives are from Colonial/Indigenous people. The voices were through the role of the characters, the genre, the music and the cinematography.
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.
‘The Sapphires’ by Wayne Blair was the trigger that led my research into the effects of the Stolen Generation on Aboriginals in Australia. This film is about an Aboriginal singing group who want to make a name for themselves, but find it difficult because of the racism against them. This film also tells the stories of their cousin Kay, who was a half-caste and was stolen from her Aboriginal family at a young age to be taught the ways of white people, and forget her culture. This film made me realise that I am lucky to live in a country where racism of such an extent in which children are stolen from their indigenous families, isn’t part of our history, and has not affected me personally. From my research, I have found six main sources that have helped me to understand how large this problem was and continues to be. My sources: ‘The Sapphires’ by Wayne Blair; a film about a group of Aboriginal singers who are affected by racism which is based on a real life singing group; ‘The Sorry Speech’, by Kevin Rudd who was the Prime Minister of Australia in 2008 who explains the damage and apologises for the way that the actions of past governments tore apart the lives of their indigenous people. Then there is ‘Blind Eye,’ the documentary in which people who were stolen are interviewed and tell their stories. The film, ‘Rabbit Proof Fence’ this tells the story of two girls who were stolen and gives us insight into how brutally that they were treated after being ripped apart from
In each of her plays, Lill presents protagonists oppressed, by social powers that appear beyond their control and management; yet the majority of her characters never lose hope for a better world. Her plays have been highly regarded in Canada and beyond. Wendy Lill’s plays show how the natives have been surviving in spite