Indigenous Australians in Cinema 1936-2014 - Reflections

As part of my son's crusade to "subject" me to a course of study on Indigenous Australians in cinema, we've begun by watching the 'First Australians' series.

It has taken us a while to get through it for a number of reasons, not least my dear son's penchant for suggesting we watch an episode just as I was about to head off to bed causing me to nod off part way through!

This is a brilliant series, it shows Australia's treatment of the first people to inhabit this continent throughout history - both good and bad.

I believe that no Australian child should be able to complete their schooling career without having seen it.

Over decades, governments and media outlets have encouraged the wider community to write off Indigenous people as "no hopers". However as 'First Australians' shows, there are countless Indigenous people throughout our history who have fought through the mire of European domination to fight hard for their people and we should look to those leaders as Australian heroes.

That Australian children have learned for decades about Simpson and his Donkey but not about Pemulwuy or Jandamarra is a travesty, although it does seem to be changing - in part due to this series.

I've found it really upsetting, physically upsetting to know that this treatment had been inflicted on anyone - let alone the first people of the country of my birth. It's a shaming experience, however I've been buoyed by the stories of Pateygarang & Lieutenant William Dawes and of the Wurundjeri people & Reverend John Green which show that not all inter-cultural relationships were negative.

'First Australians' has left me with a fuller understanding of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' history and the depth of their culture. I now have a far better idea what their culture and land means to them - take Koiki Mabo for instance. He was dying, cancer riddled his body but he still would not give up the fight for recognition of his traditional law, culture and land but the cultures and lands of Indigenous peoples throughout Australia.

I am very grateful the series was made and look forward to part two of this study - the films.

Series introduction

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Rhonda lives in Central Victoria, Australia, generally minding her business and leading a quiet, peaceful life- unless her children have shown up to harass her.

Introduction to Indigenous Australians in Cinema 1936-2014

Once upon a time, around about a couple of months ago, I decided to subject my mother to a course of study on Indigenous Australians in cinema. Being an obliging sort of woman, she agreed to humour me. In this post I will outline my plan and in future posts, I hope to include some of her thoughts.

I have a rather extensive book collection and could have inflicted that on my dear mother, but I chose cinema as it's one of the most accessible types of media; after all  'everyone' watches TV and movies!

The Indigenous genre has been chosen not only because it's a favoured topic of mine, but because all Australians could do with learning more about those who have been here for tens of thousands of years. And if you, Dear Reader, are not Australian, you might like to explore this topic anyway, given these are the world's oldest continuous cultures.

We start with the 'First Australians' series (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Australians) to provide an overview of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history since European Settlement. The seven episodes cover Indigenous history since white settlement in an approximately chronological way. The information presented is drawn from primary sources and shows several different people interpreting and reflecting on those sources, it also shows several different 'experiences of colonisation' to provide context later. This series is rated PG- parental guidance is recommended for children under 15 years.

If I was putting together a history syllabus I would certainly include books and other documentaries to fill in some important gaps such as the Myall Creek Massacre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myall_Creek_massacre) which for a long time was believed to be the first time Europeans were brought to justice for killing Aboriginal people and the British Nuclear tests at Maralinga (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_nuclear_tests_at_Maralinga), however our focus here is different.

Now, having watched the 'First Australians' and have a knowledge base to work from, we can move onto the movies! After a great deal of searching I came across a page on the Creative Spirits (http://www.creativespirits.info/resources/movies/) site that seems to name every film depicting Indigenous Australians broken up into a list of those directed by Aboriginal people and those by non-Aboriginal people.

As we will have already looked at the history chronologically, rather than show the films in the order of time they depict, we will watch them in the order that they were made. This will allow us to focus  on how Indigenous people are being depicted over time and allowing discussions around themes, mainstream cultural change and empowerment of film makers, as well as elements within the films themselves.

Below is the list I have collated with notation as to what form I have found them in. Some of the harder DVDs to find are available through Ronin Films (http://www.roninfilms.com.au/) and/or the Australian National Film and Sound Archive shop (http://shop.nfsa.gov.au/). The films range from 'Stoner Comedy' through to realistic drama with lots of swearing, so you may like to look at the IMDB or Wikipedia page/s if your audience is young and/or not a fan of coarse language or 'adult themes':

Uncivilised                                  1936 - Download  - Rated M 

Jedda                                           1955 - DVD         - Rated G

Walkabout                                   1971 - DVD         - Rated R 18+

Mad Dog Morgan                        1976 - Download - Rated R 18+

Storm Boy                                   1976 - Download -  Rated G

The Last Wave                            1977 - Download -  Rated PG

Backroads                                    1977 - Download - Rated MA 15+

The Chant of JB                          1978 - DVD         - Rated R 18+

The Right Stuff                            1983 - Download - Rated PG

Where the Green Ants Dream      1984 - Download - Rated R 18+

Crocodile Dundee                        1986 - Download - Rated PG

Babakiueria                                  1986 - Youtube    - Rated PG

The Fringe Dwellers                    1987 - Download - Rated PG

Tudawali                                      1987 - DVD         - Rated M

Night Cries                                   1990 - DVD         - Rated G

Blackfellas                                    1993 - DVD         - Rated MA 15+

Serenades                                     2001 - DVD         - Rated M

Yolngu Boy                                 2001 - Youtube     - Rated MA 15+

Australian Rules                           2002 - DVD         - Rated MA 15+

Beneath the Clouds                      2002 - Youtube     - Rated M

Rabbit Proof Fence                       2002 - Download - Rated PG

Cold Turkey                                 2002 - DVD         - Rated PG

The Tracker                                  2002 - DVD         - Rated M

Green Bush                                  2005 - DVD         - Rated PG

Jindabyne                                     2006 - DVD         - Rated M

Call Me Mum                               2006 - DVD         - Rated PG

Ten Canoes                                  2006 - DVD         - Rated M

Australia                                       2008 - Download - Rated PG

Bungalung                                    2007 - DVD        - Rated PG

Bran Nue Dae                              2009 - Download - Rated PG

Samson & Delilah                        2009 - Download - Rated MA 15+

Stone Bros                                   2009 - Download - Rated MA 15+

Mad Bastards                               2010 - Download - Rated MA 15+

Toomelah                                     2011 - DVD        - Rated MA 15+

Satellite Boy                                 2012 - DVD        - Rated PG

The Sapphires                              2012 - DVD        - Rated PG

Mabo                                           2012 - Youtube    - Rated G

Mystery Road                              2013 - Download - Rated MA 15+

The Darkside                            2013 - Not Yet Released - Rated M

Charlie's Country                      2013 - DVD                    - Rated M

Around the Block                     2013 - Not Yet Released - Rated M

Having now explored Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cinema from pre-WWII until today, looking at films made by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, we will then look specifically at how First Australians are depicting themselves in television by watching  both seasons of 'Redfern Now.' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redfern_Now) This will allow conversation about differences in convention between film and television, about the different experiences of Indigenous people - even those who live in the same area - as well as  relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within the modern, urban context. This will be followed by Gods of Wheat Street (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gods_of_Wheat_Street) which combines elements of stage and television writing, Aboriginal experience and references to antiquity.

Next in the series
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Bock may be found cruising around Victoria, Australia when he is not making terribly insightful comments about Australian politics and societal issues on social media. Remember, if you Twitter and drive, you're a bloody idiot.

(Author bio delicately written by his sister so she could stop politely requesting him to do it.)