Australian Stereotypes In The Sapphires

The movie in which I have chosen to study and evaluate is The Sapphires, the movie was released on the 9 August 2012. Written by Tony Briggs and Keith Thompson and based in the Murray River in Albury, Sydney and in Vietnam. It is set in the era of the late 1950 and 1960’s. In this speech I will talk about the plot, how the movie challenges the Australian stereotype and the literary techniques used by the film makers, while also linking to the ‘Ture Blue Aussie’ topic we are currently studying.
The movie depicts what it was like to be Australian in the decades of the 50’s and 60’s and the decisions of the Australian government over this period, through the journey of four Aboriginal women and one Irish man. The movie explores the treatment of indigenous people living in this era in comparison to white Australians. The unique ways in which the characters made their living provided for scrutiny, judgement and vulnerability. In the movie you see just how differently the Aboriginal community was treated compared to the white Australians during these era’s.

The plot of the sapphires is about a group of four young Aboriginal sisters during a time when Aboriginals had been granted citizenship rights; however, still often treated as second class citizens. Change was new and acceptance still hard to come by. The group of young girls entered a talent quest. During the talent quest the audience of mainly white Australians ignored the girls even thought their talent was considerably better than others performing; however, the girl’s talent struck a chord with one man, an Irishman Dave Lovelace, a failed musician, who tends to drown himself in alcohol each time he suffers failure. Julie, one of the sisters, the most ambitious of the three suggests they all collaborate to audition to perform for US troops in Vietnam. They all agree, including their cousin Kaye. Kaye was part of the stolen generation, she was removed from her family due to her pale skin, raised as a white girl and continued to stay away from her ancestral family by her own choice.
As the group is formed Dave knows and understands what the troops will want to hear and see. The girls perform country songs well however Dave knows that that will be less appealing to the audience. He creates a more ‘souls sister’ group vibe mainly because they are dark skinned girls. The girls pass audition, and leave to sing and entertain in Vietnam. The girls are constantly overwhelmed with the need to prove themselves and the reality of being in a war zone and the conditions of the Vietnam War. However, ultimately the girls battle with the differences between themselves, cultural difference, relationship complications and with each other threaten the success of the group. Dave and Gail have a love hate relationship, constantly creating rifts between each other, professionally and personally.

Literary techniques
The director/writer has used a technique called a juxtaposition, meaning for something to be really similar but really different at the same time. In the movies there are two scenes depicting the characters in a similar but different way. In these scenes you see Kay with her white friends having a calm and boring party talking about Tupperware and then you see the other girls having fun drinking dancing and partying. The reason these scenes are put into the movie is because it shows the audience the differences between the two races and how they have fun.
There is a scene in the sapphires where it uses a two-shot camera angle to show the girls in a group together singing with Dave playing the piano in the background. This shows that the four girls are united and ready to sing together as a group, and with a medium shot it shows Dave ready to help the girls throughout their music career by supporting them with his music. This scene also has the four girls in bright colours surrounded by darkness to show that they will stand out from the rest, demonstrating the use of colour, light through the transitions.
One particular scene in the beginning of the movie demonstrates and outlines the inequality between Aboriginal Australians and White Australians.

During the scene when the three girls are in a bar performing in a talent show and the filmmaker scans the venue, show that it was a ‘white’ place and the coloured girls weren’t welcomed. They were put into the corner so they were out of sight. During the talent show you see a white person performing and straight away you can tell that they aren’t talented, but when the three Aboriginal girls come up they perform a country song “Today I start lovin you again”, at the end of their performance the only person to applaud them was a child that is innocent and clearly oblivious to the racial prejudice of the society in which he is living. At the end of the competition, the white performer with the least amount of talent won the prize money, demonstrating clear prejudice and

bias.
A victim of the stolen generation is one of the main characters and a theme that is prominently explored throughout the film. This theme/topic can be used to answer the “who has the dominant voice in developing Australia’s literary identity?” question. The stolen generation was a significant part of our countries history, it is both controversial and provocative. The stolen generation was about Aboriginal children removed from their homes to live with White Australians. They were taught to reject their indigenous heritage and forced to adopt white culture, often changing their names and forbidden to speak their traditional language. In doing so, prevented and excluded the education of the true aboriginal traditions, customs and beliefs.
This scene shows that not only did the children stolen miss their cultural heritage, there is significant rivalry between those that remained true to their heritage. It shows the relationships between the sisters, the guilt manifested as anger and some could say jealousy. However, Kaye’s search for her identity stands true and strong. She continues to perform with her sisters strengthening and repairing the relationship.

In the movie the sapphires Gail and Kay were very close but because of the stolen generation kay was taken away and their friendship was damaged. In the opening scene the director used visual techniques like a flashback and with use of colour to help show that the relationship between Kay and Gail was good. The director had Gail and Kay run through a flower field and the colours of the flowers represent the innocents of the two children. When the four girls go to perform in front of Vietnam soldiers Kay falls in love with one of the soldiers and Gail doesn’t approve and says, “going out with a black guy doesn’t make you any blacker” and insults her by calling her a coconut meaning black on the outside but white on the inside. With having this incident, it shows that a Kay and Gail’s relationship is falling apart. When the four girls get back from Vietnam the indigenous community welcomes Kay back with a smoking ceremony which includes two important women to Kay, her sister Gale and her Grandmother. The smoking ceremony takes place and the involves the smouldering of various native plants with are beloved to have cleansing properties, and the ridding of evil spirits. The director used the visual symbol of white smoke to show that Kay was welcomed back into the indigenous community especially from Gale. Another visual technique that was used was the relationship between the two sister Gale and Kay, their relationship seemed to flourish during the smoking ceremony. When the girls left hugging each other at the end of the smoking ceremony this reinforced the relationship. This shot by the film director showed Gale was pleased and Kay was accepting of her part within the community, just like when they were younger.
True Blue unit
The movie helps give an answer to the unit question “Is there a unique – or quintessential – Australian identity?” by showing how indigenous Australians were treated in 1968. With the movie showing the treatment of the indigenous society, it gives us a grasp of how the original native Australians were treated. The movie doesn’t show us much of the typical white Australian but it does show us what it means to be Australian, it shows the viewers that it doesn’t matter what you look like or where you’ve come from, the only thing that matters is your family.
This movie is a good choice for the unit true blue because it highlights the controversial issue of the stolen generation, delving into the impacts it made on families and individuals, individuals personal identities within their own race. The movie also highlights the significance of racial differences and intolerances of the late 1960’s. The movie highlights the changes to acceptance and tolerance. The movie challenges the idea of Australian stereotypes by showing what it was like for someone with an indigenous background to live in Australia during the time of the main white Australian stereotype. This can be seen when three of the girls go to get Kay the Aboriginal child that was from the stolen generation and when they open the door to see Kay they are turned away and frowned upon by the white females. By having this scene, it widens the view of what it was like to be an Aboriginal by showing you that they weren’t freely accepted and tolerated but all Australians.

The film explored the environments of both Aboriginal Australians and White Australians, showing very few similarities. The Aboriginals lived off the land and built temporary shelters so they wouldn’t damage the land around them, the Aboriginals were aware of the way the world worked and the life cycle of every animal that lived in Australia. As they didn’t build houses or farms to sleep in or live in the white Australians, deemed them uneducated and not as smart. However, it was difference in beliefs and skills not inadequacies.

The sapphires is relevant to the unit true blue because it answers the question “who has the dominant voice in developing Australia’s literary identity”, “Are some interpretations of Australian identity more valid than others?”, “Do contemporary authors challenge ideas about what it means to be Australia?” and “Is there a unique – or quintessential – Australian identity?”