David Williamson’s play, ‘The Removalists’ serves as a microcosm of contemporary Australian society during 1970s. It explores the prevalence of social conditioning and the hierarchy of authority within the play’s cultural and historical setting. Williamson explores themes such as domestic violence, sexism and the abuse of power, all of which provide the audience with insight into deeper issues surrounding contemporary Australia. As the play unfolds, Williamson also reflects on the social and moral issues in society, placing emphasis on the negative attitude that stems within the values of society.
The overarching theme in ‘The Removalists” is the prevalence of domestic violence in the 1970s, as depicted through physical, verbal and psychological
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 2014 Walkley Award winning documentary, "Cronulla Riots: the day that shocked the nation" reveals to us a whole new side of Aussie culture. No more she’ll be right, no more fair go and sadly no more fair dinkum. The doco proved to all of us (or is it just me?) that the Australian identity isn’t really what we believe it to be. After viewing this documentary
The performance ‘Chasing the Lollyman’ by Debase productions succeeded in using the Dramatic Languages to create a Dramatic Meaning that comments on a social and political issue. This, along with the effective manipulation of the dramatic conventions, has allowed Debase to successfully recognised the Epic Theatre style. Chasing the Lollyman is one man show starring one of Queensland's most dynamic and funny Indigenous performers, Mark Sheppard. He shares many stories, a celebration of urban Indigenous identity and takes a satirical look at the media and popular culture. Playing a variety of characters, Mark pokes fun at everything from Neighbours (what would it be like if a Murri family moved into Ramsey street) to polities. The dramatic meaning of the performance is if Australia wants to become one, we need to learn to accept each other for their differences.
All three authors recognize that difference constructs discrimination. The concept of othering (Hall 1997) and Anglo dominance presented by Moreton-Robinson (2015) help understand Judith Butler’s findings as to why oppression and exclusion cannot be reduced completely. It is same fear of the ‘other’ and white dominance in Australia that keep Australian institutions from reaching integration and equality—film being one these institutions. The filmmakers of The Sapphires attempt to tell the Aboriginal narrative. The scenes mentioned in the previous paragraphs, educate a diverse audience about Aboriginal discrimination in Australia in the 1960s. However, even though the filmmakers reveal some truths of Aboriginal discrimination, they do it in a way which the Aboriginal narrative is suppressed and Anglo dominance is maintained. “The Sapphires” plot is not centered on Aboriginal discrimination, rather a story of how four Aboriginal girls learn about love and friendship. Aboriginal discrimination in the 1960s forms only a small part of the journey to entertain American Troops in Vietnam. By presenting a musical comedy-drama film, the filmmakers sugar coat Australia’s dark past. The movie also ends on a good note. Cousin Kay who at some point rejected her Aboriginal roots, overcomes her prejudice and gets more in touch with the Aboriginal culture by partaking in an Aboriginal ceremony. By the end of the film the audience barely recalls the discrimination scenes and only remembers a happy ending. This is dangerous, as the film deceives its white Australian audience to believe that racial inequality in Australia is an issue of the past not the present. Therefore, promoting the idea that the Australia does not continue to privilege white people over Aboriginals
To an extent, the characters in the play represent aspects of the Australian identity and experience. However, Rayson's vivid grasp of speech patterns to evoke character, and her ability to manipulate the audience with humour and pathos move the text beyond mere polemic and stereotype. In an almost Brechtian way, she positions us to analyse as we are entertained and moved.
Throughout time the concept of gender and the corruption of power associated with it has been a very evident problem within society. Many texts have been designed to expose these issues and in particular the feature films’ Heathers, directed by Michael Lehman and Shame, by Steve Jodrell. Both these films have been heavily constructed in order to position us as the audience to take a very negative response towards the concepts of power and gender and further an ‘anti-conform’ attitude. Techniques such as narrative elements and codes and conventions have been used to mould these ideas and attitudes within the texts.
T Australians can be represented in a positive way by celebrating its diversity as a united nation, between its people and the land. Nevertheless, Australia can also be seen in a negative way, as being harsh and cruel. S – This presentation will be analysing one Australian song, I am Australian by Bruce
Throughout Australian history a racist attitude towards Aboriginals has been a significant issue. From the moment the early settlers arrived on our shores and colonised, the Aboriginals have been fighting for the survival of their culture. The Aboriginals haven been take in and dominated to bring them in line with an idealistic European society. These themes have been put forward by Jack Davis in his stage play, No Sugar, the story of an Aboriginal family’s fight for survival during the Great Depression years. Admittedly Davis utilises his characters to confront the audience and take them out of their comfort zone, showing them the reality of Aboriginal treatment. This is an element of the marginalisation that Jack Davis uses through out the play this starts from the beginning where he discomforts the audience by using an open stage. One character that Davis uses through out the play is A.O. Neville, Davis uses him to portray the issue of power, this is a very important issue that is carried through out the play.
Like child abuse, it affects every American by impacting those we love the most. Awareness for domestic violence victims has evolved since the beginning of our country. In earlier times, it was a private matter, and took place “behind closed doors”. They helped them past their sufferings and place them back into mainstream culture. (Karmen, 2015) Claims one movement that assisted with the process is the Feminist Movement. This widespread movement took place during the 1970’s, and represented the “beaten women”. It helped them stand up for themselves during their distraught times. Domestic tranquility ensures women their safety at home under their husbands’ protection. The Feminist’s Movement questioned domestic tranquility and urged women to stand up for themselves (Karmen, 2015). They discovered the “silent crisis” that lived inside so many women at the time. The crisis was that the men they married gave into the times of “behind closed doors” and “look the other way”. Those times would stand no more, due to the feminist’s movement and widespread awareness. Laws and legislation have changed since the rediscovery of the victims of domestic violence. One example is restraining orders. Restraining orders set up a level of protection for the women from the male offenders. Another example of legislation is The Violence Against Women Act. Promulgated in 1994 the act mandates that all states enforce protective orders issued in a
In conclusion, the invisibility of domestic violence has caused numerous negative effects on women, children and the overall structure of modern day society. Women have been affected psychologically as well as socially. Children have been disadvantaged by the effects of domestic abuse within the school environment and in the latter parts of their lives. (worldly statement).
Today, in the 20th Century, it is a commonly known fact in Australia, and throughout the rest of the world, that Aborigines were mistreated from since western culture first settled, and for many years after that. It is the main purpose of stage dramas to bring issues, such as the one mentioned above, and ideas about these issues to life through dramatic performances and the use of a number of various techniques. No Sugar, a revisionist text written by Jack Davis in 1985, is one of these stage dramas. Jack Davis brings issues and even expresses his own ideas about issues such as the injustices of Aboriginal treatment during the 1930's, to life in No Sugar very well because No Sugar is a revisionist text, and therefore offers a new perspective of an Aboriginal point of view, on events which occurred during the time of the issue at hand.
The voices of individuals in shaping the perspective on Australian issues are presented in Bruce Dawe’s poetry. Dawe's ability to express the drama and beauty of everyday life has made his work readily accessible to the general public. Bruce Dawe’s primary purpose in his poetry was to depict the unspoken social issues, concerning the typical Australian suburban residents. His concern for these matters is evident through his mocking approach to the issues he presents in his poems. The poem “___” and the related text help shape our perspective on Australian issues through Dawe's use of techniques and context.
As a reflection of our pseudo-civilised society, domestic violence remained for years, a silent killer. Until the feminist movement in the 1970s, which urged women to speak out against domestic violence and campaign for legal protections, it was seen as a private matter. Following media recognition, Australia introduced the “Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act of 1989”. Progress in eliminating violence against women has been slow and the legal and public policy environment has struggled to keep pace with the need for change. Due to the cultural stigma surrounding domestic violence and lack of severity in protection strategies, many cases continue to go unnoticed and unregistered. Recent surveys found that three in every five Australian
In conclusion, David Lodge managed to embody the concrete term of feminism. Through the character of Robyn Penrose, he creates the breakup of the traditional Victorian image of woman.“ `There are lots of things I wouldn 't do. I wouldn 't work in a factory. I wouldn 't work in a bank. I wouldn 't be a housewife. When I think of most people 's lives, especially women 's lives, I don 't know how they bear it. ' `Someone has to do those jobs, ' said Vic. `That 's what 's so depressing. ' ”(Lodge
Billboards, radio, and TV ads across the country proclaim that “every fifteen seconds a woman is beaten by a man.” Violence against women is clearly a problem of national importance, but has anyone ever asked how often men are beaten by women? The unfortunate fact is that men are the victims of domestic violence at least as often as women are. While the very idea of men being beaten by their wives runs contrary to many of our deeply ingrained beliefs about men and women, female violence against men is a well-documented phenomenon almost completely ignored by both the media and society.