Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for having me here today. As a nation, the Australian people have respected the “underdogs” in many events throughout history, an example is KERRYN McCann, the 38-year mother of two from Bulli, winning the 2006 Commonwealth Games marathon, two years before dying from cancer. Now in 2017, The Australian people have the chance to celebrate the work they have contributed to the film industry and to show the world what it means to be Australian, and with the Australian Film Festival coming up they can do that. Personally I am not of Australian nationality, but I have come to notice the importance for the Australian people to acknowledge their work in the film industry, as it gives them a chance to …show more content…
see how far they have come. In Ireland the underdog was an aspect highly devalued and has never been revealed through films. However, when I arrived in Australia, I had the opportunity to watch the movie The Castle, directed by Rob Stich in 1977. Having watched it I was extremely amazed in the acknowledgment and the importance of the underdog in the film. This is achieved through camera angles and character. So what is an underdog?
Well, in a film the underdog is the character, who is expected to lose. Yet, very frequently, it is the underdog who comes out victorious, when faced in a particular situation. In The Castle, the underdog is being portrayed by the main protagonist Darryl Kerrigan. In the film, a mediocre Melbourne family is faced with the challenge of saving their beloved home from the cold hearted hands of the government, and the airport authorities. Father Darryl Kerrigan decides to take a stand against the government for forcing him to leave his home, and ends up hiring an inexpert lawyer as his defence. The use of camera angles on the protagonist Darryl, successfully contributed to constructing the underdog. After the first court scene, Darryl is portrayed as hopeless and destroyed, by using camera angles which crabbed to the left. This portrayal leaves the impression that Darryl is bound to lose, and this helps to construct the underdog. A similar scene is when the family are packing up, to leave their house. A zoomed in camera angle is used on Darryl Kerrigan, this is used to single him out as the only one who …show more content…
suffered. This reminds the audience that, Darryl is going to lose his house, and this emphasizes the fact that he is expected to lose. This is highly effective in building the underdog, as this convinces the audience that he has lost. In the scene where Darryl wins the court case, he is portrayed as an ecstatic person and the superior character of the film through his facial expression with a low camera angle. The low camera angle highlights his struggle to fight for his house and that he was stressed and this gives the impression, that he is superior in the film after the second court case. By portraying Darryl as stressed and confused at first and then ecstatic in the end, through the use if camera angles, the underdog was successfully constructed. The storyline of the film was exceptional in highlighting certain aspects of Darryl Kerrigan’s character, which in turn allows the audience to relate to the underdog to Darryl himself.
The film is narrated by the eldest son Dale. In the scene where they’re packing Dale talks about his dad’s negative state of mind after the court case. After the second court case Dale narrates again, this time he talks about his dad’s happiness and his positive state of mind after the second court case. By changing the narration of the story as the events unfolded the audience were able to engage themselves with Darryl through narration Darryl was seen through two different perspectives and third helped construct the
underdog. As a person not of an Australian origin, I have noticed there is a strong connection between Australian films, and the Australian people. I realised, that Australian films play a huge part in shaping the Australian culture. By using storyline, the audience felt engaged with Darryl Kerrigan as the events opened. In doing so, it became clear to me why the aspect of the underdog is important to Australian society. The underdog aspect strengthens the Australian identity, in a way it portrays the Australian people as being sedulous, and resilient. Should this film, then be included in the Australian film festival? Well, I will leave that for you to decide.
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
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.
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
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The contributions and achievements of Indigenous role models continue to make substantial impacts upon our history in areas such as the arts, sport, education, science and more increasingly; the world of Politics. Modern Australia is recognising and celebrating the achievements of Aboriginal people more than ever before, where the social landscape is changing (albeit slowly) as a result. The gradual change of peoples ingrained preconceptions, unfounded ideas and prejudiced notions are being challenged and ultimately transformed.
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John Singleton’s view of social problems in South Central Los Angeles happens in a tale of three friends growing up together. Doughboy and Ricky Baker are half-brothers and have opposite personalities. Ricky is a football player who hopes to win a scholarship and spends most of his time playing football. On the other hand, Doughboy is a young man who looks upon his environment for guidance. He is involved in violence, abusing drugs, and participates in violence. In between is their friend Tre, who actually has a father to teach him what is right from wrong. Furious Styles, who is Tre’s father in the film does everything in his strength to keep his son from becoming another startling statistic. As you can see, it is always important for parents to be a part of their child’s life because it can make a big difference not only in their life but also their child’s future.
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