The Castle Movie Essay

The Castle (1997)

Summary: The movie is about a typical Australian family living in the suburbs of Melbourne. The patriarch: Darryl Kerrigan is a sweet, yet a little dim witted, loving father and husband. Him and his wife (Sal) are parents to three sons (the narrator: Dale, Steve: an aspiring engineer and Wayne: who’s serving time for armed robbery) and a daughter (the oldest: Tracey who’s married) They are shown as the archetypal loving family, who enjoy every moment together, laughing through the joys and showing solidarity in the pain. Darryl is also very proud of his home, repeatedly quoting the old phrase “a man’s home is his castle” and sticks to that when developers acquire the land (compulsory acquisition) to expand the airport (which

they live right next to) Darryl is shown time after again, not to be concerned about the “compensation” as no amount of money will be able to replace the lifetime of cherished memories in that home.

However, fighting against a multibillion dollar project is not an easy task, as he (and his friendly neighbours) lose in the Appeals court and are then forced to move out. However, one stroke of luck comes to aid the Kerrigan household, in a man “Lawrence Hammill” who Darry met at the courthouse over some innocuous small talk. Lawrence was a retired Queen’s Counsel and was touched by Danny’s zest in saving his beloved “castle” and took up the case pro-bono. The climax was at the Federal Court, where Lawrence fought tooth and nail with knowledge, eloquence and emotion to express the Constitution’s aim to be fair, and purchasing the Kerrigan land and hence “shortchanging” them was everything but fair. The court ruled in their favour, and the Kerrigans continued to prosper in their beloved home with Lawrence as close

and frequent visitor.

Cultural Aspects:
The movie does an amazing job representing the typical Australian family. The movie was released in 1997, but its relevance continues till date, as evidenced by the fact that in a 2010 survey conducted by the Australian Day Council of NSW, Australians named it as the movie that “most accurately represents Australia”
The movie also shows Australians as kind hearted, warm people who can sometimes be crude and ignorant of other cultures.
To better understand the culture, I’ve attempted to classify Australians by Geert Hofstede’s 5 cultural dimensions.
Disclaimer: The movie is 2 decades old and culture now is dynamic, so some of these points might by irrelevant, but they do give an insight to their past and prior beliefs.
1. Power Distance: i.e. the level of hierarchy existent in the culture. I observed that Australia has a low power distance culture. When Darryl went to city hall the first time to understand the laws at work here, he was able to meet a bureaucrat quickly, and even got a date in the Appeals court at the earliest. When he put up a fight, a lawyer from the opposing company reacted very soon by offering 25,00$ more in the compensation. In a mere 3 weeks only, he had a case in the Federal Court, showing that levels of hierarchy don’t slow the wheels of corporations. Also, the parents in the family talk to their children like friends, showing a lack of societal hierarchy.
2. Masculinity or Femininity: There were lots of instances and characters in the movie to show that Australia is a highly masculine culture i.e. there is clear division of work between the genders. The narrator (the younger son) said “Father is the backbone of the Kerrigan family. He built half the house and is always planning extensions. And if Father is the backbone, Mother is all the other bones. She keeps the family together” Darryl Kerrigan was the sole wage earner of the family, while Sal cooked at home and raised the children. Darryl is also depicted as the “Aussie battler”, a man who will protect his family through bold gestures. The daughter: Tracey was also married at a very young age, and quoted saying to her mother “I’m not having kids until 23!” showing that women are expected to become mothers at a young age.
3.

Individualist or Collectivist: The culture shown is almost a balance between both. While Darryl is shown to take care of his immediate family, he’s also shown to be loyal towards his neighbours. Also, he was never afraid of expressing his thoughts. And the relationships (the ones outside his family) were also vital. He was friends with a lawyer “Dennis Denuto”, who despite being a small claims lawyer, helped him in Constitutional Law court, even after being threatened by the company’s lawyer. Lawrence also came to their aid, despite not having close relations with the family. All these factors show that Australia (in 1997 at least) fell between Individualist and Collectivist

parameters.
4. Uncertainty Avoidance: In the film, the family is fascinated by other cultures. Like when they listened with rapt attention to Tracey’s stories about Thailand and asked many questions. They also displayed other features: like low stress and anxiety (even in the face of an under financed eviction) and acceptable of different ideas (as Darryl used to say to Steve: “you’re an ideas man Steve” in response to his varied inventions) hence reiterating their belief in “what is different is curious”
5. Short or Long-Term Orientation: According the film, Australian culture is Short Term Oriented. They display the key features like: personal stability (like the family believed in Wayne’s good character despite his crime and were proud of how he took the sentence so well) Their traditions were guarded heavily (like their family dinners where they all sat down with the TV shut off and consequent family fun) and were proud of their locality and nation.
Another think noteworthy is that it’s a low context culture. They do not mince words and speak their minds, and are not afraid of confrontation (like in the court where Darryl directly spoke to the other attorney when he made unwarranted remarks)