To what extent is power portrayed in the film ‘The Castle’? ‘The Castle’ is a film about Darryl Kerrigan and his family, who have their house mandatorily acquired by an airline and government coalition to use his land to expand an airport, but try to fight it through the legal system. The film portrays power in many different forms, such as family power, the power of the state and government institutions over the individual, and the power of an experienced, prestigious lawyer compared to that of a small-time, unknown one. One instance of power being portrayed in ‘The Castle’ is the scenes with Dennis Denuto and the Queen’s Council. In the High Court scenes when Lawrence Hammill is helping Kerrigan and Denuto argue their case, he is shown …show more content…
a great deal more respect from the judges and opposing lawyers than Denuto was, due to his status as a Queen’s Council and also due to his knowledge of Australian law and the Constitution. The disparity in power between the two is especially obvious when Denuto is trying to help Lawrence, as he passes unhelpful notes, is visibly nervous and knows he’s in over his head, and generally looks pathetic. Even though the two are both lawyers, Lawrence is clearly the more powerful one as he conducts himself confidently, speaks with authority, seems to know what he’s doing and presents a much stronger argument for his case than Denuto did. An example of the power of government institutions over the ordinary person in this film is the Council and AirLink’s power over Darryl Kerrigan and his family.
In the film, AirLink has an extreme amount of power over ordinary people due to their relationship with the government of Australia, their extreme wealth, and capable legal team. Ordinarily, Darryl Kerrigan wouldn’t have had any chance of saving his home from AirLink, it is only out of pure chance that he met the Queen’s Council Lawrence Hammill, who agreed to help him. If not for Lawrence using his power as a Queen’s Council to help Darryl and his family they would have certainly lost the case, even though their claim being in breach of the Australian …show more content…
Constitution. The film also portrays power in Darryl Kerrigan’s family.
The family is mostly democratic as generally they all care about each other and what they have to say, but the power is not divided equally. Darryl has the most power in the family, as he is the “man of the house”. He is described by Dale as “the backbone of the family”. In many scenes his sons will come to him for advice indicating that he is the most trusted in the family. Although Darryl is the leader, he isn’t an autocratic leader. The film makes it clear that he loves his family and he always hears them out and considers what they have to say at the dinner table. The second most powerful in the family is Sal, the mother. Although she does have less power in the family than Darryl, their positions are mostly equal. While Darryl is the backbone of the family, Sal is “... the other bones. All of em’.” As the caretaker of the family and only other adult, the children all respect her authority. The third most powerful of the family is Tracey, as it is stated by Dale that “it’s no secret that Tracey’s the favourite.”. Finally the least powerful of the family would be Dale and Steve, the two brothers. This is made clear in the scene where Tracey returns home from her holiday and talks to the family about her experiences. Dayle keeps interrupting her with questions while Tracey is trying to talk to the parents, until she snaps and tells him to be quiet, which he does. This shows Tracey holds power over Dayle and
presumably Steve as well. In summary, ‘The Castle’ portrays power to a great extent in many ways. It looks at the power of Lawrence Hammill, the Queen’s Council, compared to Dennis Denuto, a small-time and relatively unknown lawyer as well as the power of the Council and AirLink over the ordinary individual like Darryl. The film also portrays power dynamics between the different family members in Darryl Kerrigan’s family, with the traditional family power structure of father at the top, then mother, then the favourite child, and on the bottom of the ladder the children.
Darryl’s life is worth fighting for. “You can’t buy what I’ve got.” ‘The Castle’ directed by Rob Sitch, about one man, his family and neighbours on the verge of being homeless. Darryl Kerrigan, the “backbone of the family” won’t stand for that. Of course no one can buy what he has. He’s spent almost his entire lifetime building what he has, why should he give it up? Darryl’s way of life is simple yet filled with family values. 3 Highview Crescent is the home to Darryl, his wife Sal and their 3 children: Wayne, Steve, Tracy and Dale. (Wayne currently being in jail.) The house is made up of love, and simple family values. Darryl’s also added bits and pieces to it. He’s added on so much to the house, his own personal touch. His neighbours, also in the same bout are almost family to the Kerrigans. Jack and Farouk are another reason why Darryl’s ready to take matters into his own hands.
First power, amongst the royal family the mother, Eleanor is the Queen; the father is King Henry, the youngest son John, middle son Geoffrey, and oldest son Richard. In the play not one, but all of these characters have power in some kind of way. King Henry spent his life conquering many regions and wants to continue to conquer by passing king down to one of his three sons. A quote from the play that shows the greed that having power can create Henry asked, “Isn’t being chancellor power enough?” Geoffrey replies, “It’s not the power I feel deprived of. It’s the mention I miss.” Geoffrey does not think he will receive enough respect if he is just the chancellor and his younger brother John is king. When he comes to Richard, the oldest brother he thinks he should be king because of his army he has behind him, but this is where futility comes into play. It is not always about war and killing people to prove your powerful, but in Richards’s ways that is the only way. Richard says, “I am a constant soldier, a sometime poet, and I will be king.” This quote describes the type of person Richard wants to be, he wants to have all the power to rein over the castle and do it through war. Each of the family members is jealous of one another especially the children of the king and queen, it is pretty much a sibling rivalry between them. Having power can be a good thing or bad thing, in this situation the king and queens children have a different view on having power and what they would do if crowned
Taylor and Lou Ann demonstrate a symbiotic relationship between the roles and characteristics in a family. Edna Poppy and Virgie Mae replaces the missing physical and emotional traits in a stable household. The examples tie into the fact that not all families in this book match “the norms” and expectations, but are equally valued, blood or
The Castle is a movie primarily about a family sticking together and their fight for the right to live in their own home. The Castle’s portrayal of family is both positive and negative.
However, the family is described as a unit that allows people to interact with the larger social unit of a society. This is because the family is a unit within a large societal unit that involves different pressures especially for kids as they grow. Weiser (17) argues that every person has a way of living and determining their liberal life especially in the democratic world. In line with this point, the movie shows how Tom decided to lead his life despite the love of his doting mother. The destiny of the two boys, Tom and Matt, who live in good families is i...
Australia has the terrible condition of having an essentially pointless and prefabricated idea of “Aussiness” that really has no relation to our real culture or the way in which we really see ourselves. We, however subscribe to these stereotypes when trying to find some expression of our Australian identity. The feature film, The Castle, deals with issues about Australian identity in the 1990’s. The film uses techniques like camera shots, language and the use of narration to develop conflict between a decent, old fashioned suburban family, the Kerrigans and an unscrupulous corporation called Airlink. Feature films like The Castle are cultural products because they use attitudes, values and stereotypes about what it means to be Australian.
The Castle, directed by Rob Sitch, is an Australian comedy, which delves into the lives of a stereotypical Australian family, the Kerrigans. The film touchs on issues close to home in a humourous way. The audience is introduced to the classic Aussie family, narrated in the viewpoint of the youngest of the Kerrigans, Dale.
There are numerous examples of how Miller presents and develops the theme of power and authority, but it only unveils itself gradually through the play, due to each character’s hidden physical attitudes. Firstly there is the religious authority, with the work of god that presides over the lives of the villagers. Next we soon come across the court’s legal authority that is run by Danforth who consumes most of the court’s say in every matter, but they still abide and depend on the strict Puritan’s religious authority. Then there is abusive empowerment that Ab...
The Man in the High Castle is an alternative history novel that takes place in a reality that diverts from our own when Franklin D. Roosevelt is assassinated in 1933. In this way, the United States never enters into World War II. The novel follows the stories of a few characters scattered through the now puppet-state America. Many character decisions in the book are made by the use of the I Ching oracle, a testament to the influence and control of the Axis powers on culture as well as the questioning of the control of one’s own fate, something that is not reflected in the totalitarian i...
Automatically when individuals think of power in the families they think the head of the household has all of the power, but members of a household all exert power on all others. In the Tanner household, we often do not notice much power and the overuse of it because every individual is loving in their own way. Almost every individual knows Full House is definitely a family of lovers that we fell in love in an instant as we were watching the television show.Often times individuals think the only ones that are able to have power are the parents or older siblings. Power takes full charge in every immediate family, especially in the loving Tanner household. Members of the Tanner family together control the household by exerting normative, economic,
Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. After Edmond escapes from prison, he increases his power from the money he gains from the Isle of Monte Cristo to be able to eradicate his enemies. In The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas the author uses imagery and details to portray the theme of power.
Mills highlights the unjust power of the power elite for imposing their power in an organized and planned manner, infringing on the democratic and political rights of those who are not part of the power elite.
Abraham Lincoln once said “if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” By saying this, Lincoln bestows that power has the ability to change people--ultimately for the worse. If both were in the same generation, Machiavelli and Lincoln would have been great friends. Machiavelli expanded on Lincoln’s thoughts by stating: “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Machiavelli believes that if one is given utter power, that person’s mindset will become unscrupulous. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey and the Stanford Prison Experiment with leading investigator Philip Zimbardo include numerous examples that further develop and defend Machiavelli’s quote.
To become powerful, is to become corrupt, and The Tragedy of Macbeth is a prime example. In William Shakespeare's tragic tale, a young nobleman soon becomes corrupt when he is given the opportunity to become king. His need for power and safety drives him to corruption, ultimately killing off anyone who stands in his path: innocent or not. Throughout the play, many characters portray the impact power has on a relationship: Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, Banquo and Macbeth, Macduff and Macbeth and many more. While all these characters were affected by power in the play, Banquo and Macbeth's relationship best demonstrates the effect of power.
To thoroughly elaborate on the institution of family we most look at the family as it was before and how much it has changed over time. Throughout the years we are recognizing that the family is slowly being replaced by other agents of socialization. Families in the past consisted of a mother and a father and most times children. We are, as many societies a patriarchal society; men are usually the head of the households. This has always been considered the norm.