Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T05:05:44.140Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

At the Movies: Contemporary Australian Indigenous Cultural Expressions – Transforming the Australian Story

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2017

Lynn Griffin ,
Steven Griffin  and
Michelle Trudgett
Lynn Griffin*
Affiliation:
Centre for the Advancement of Indigenous Knowledges, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney 2007, New South Wales, Australia
Steven Griffin
Affiliation:
Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples, Southern Cross University, Gold Coast 4225, Queensland, Australia
Michelle Trudgett
Affiliation:
Centre for the Advancement of Indigenous Knowledges, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney 2007, New South Wales, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Lynn Griffin, Centre for the Advancement of Indigenous Knowledges, University of Technology Sydney, P.O. Box 123, Ultimo, New South Wales 2007, Australia. Email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Cinema is an art form widely recognised as an agent to change the social condition and alter traditional norms. Movies can be used to educate and transform society's collective conscience. Indigenous Australian artists utilise the power of artistic expression as a tool to initiate change in the attitudes and perceptions of the broader Australian society. Australia's story has predominately been told from the coloniser's viewpoint. This narrative is being rewritten through Indigenous artists utilising the power of cinema to create compelling stories with Indigenous control. This medium has come into prominence for Indigenous Australians to express our culture, ontology and politics. Movies such as Samson and Delilah, Bran Nue Dae, The Sapphires and Rabbit-Proof Fence for example, have highlighted the injustices of past policies, adding new dimensions to the Australian narrative. These three films are just a few of the Indigenous Australian produced films being used in the Australian National Curriculum.

Through this medium, Australian Indigenous voices are rewriting the Australian narrative from the Indigenous perspective, deconstructing the predominant stereotypical perceptions of Indigenous culture and reframing the Australian story. Films are essential educational tools to cross the cultural space that often separates Indigenous learners from their non-Indigenous counterparts.

Keywords

educationIndigenous controlmoviesAustralia's storycurriculum
Type
Research Article
Information
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 47 , Issue 2 , December 2018 , pp. 131 - 138
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2014). Year 6 history work sample portfolio summary. Retrieved 12 August, 2016 from http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/worksamples/year_6_history_portfolio_satisfactory.pdf.Google Scholar
Carrodus, G., Tudball, L., & Walsh, T. (2011). Rabbit-Proof Fence – study guide. Retrieved 12 August, 2016 from http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/secondary/hsie/aboriginal6/assets/pdf/rabbitproof.pdf.Google Scholar
Clark, T. (2013). Keating's Redfern speech is still worth fighting over. The Conversation, Retrieved 22 March, 2016 from http://theconversation.com/keatings-redfern-speech-is-still-worth-fighting-over-21118.Google Scholar
Connell, R., Campbell, C., Vickers, M., Welch, A., Foley, D., Bagnall, N., & Hayes, D. (2010). Education, change and society (2nd ed.). South Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Croteau, D., & Hoynes, W. (2003). Media and the social world. In Croteau, D., & Hoynes, W. (Eds.), Media society: Industries, images and audiences (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.Google Scholar
Davis, T. (2014). Locating the sapphires: Transnational and cross-cultural dimensions of an Australian Indigenous musical film. Continuum, 28 (5), 594– 604.Google Scholar
Dickson, J.S. (1998). How and why has civics education developed to its current situation? The Common Good. Retrieved 12 August, 2016 from http://www.abc.net.au/civics/teach/articles/jdickson/currentsit.htm.Google Scholar
Dolgopolov, G. (2014). Beyond black and white: Indigenous cinema and the mainstream, Metro Magazine: Media & Education Magazine, 181, 78–83.Google Scholar
Education Services Australia. (2014). Civics and citizenship education. Retrieved 10 August, 2016 from http://www.civicsandcitizenship.edu.au/cce/pl_teach_justice.9485.html.Google Scholar
Flicking, D. (2002). The stolen ones. The Guardian. Retrieved 08 August, 2016 from http://www.theguardian.com/film/australia-culture-blog/2013/dec/20/rabbit-proof-fence-rewatching-classic-australian-films.Google Scholar
Gilbert, R. (ed.) (2004). Studying society and environment-a guide for teachers (3rd ed.), Melbourne, Australia: Thomson Social Science Press.Google Scholar
Herbert, J. (2010). Indigenous studies: Tools of empowerment within the academe. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 39 (S), 23–31.Google Scholar
Hook, G. (2013).Towards a decolonising pedagogy: Understanding Australian Indigenous studies through critical whiteness theory and film pedagogy. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 41 (2), 110– 119.Google Scholar
Howard, J.W. (1996). The liberal tradition the beliefs and values which guide the federal government. Retrieved 12 July, 2016 from http://www.menzieslecture.org/1996.html.Google Scholar
Ireland, J. (2014 January 10). Christopher Pyne appoints critics of school curriculum to review system. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 July, 2016 from http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/christopher-pyne-appoints-critics-of-school-curriculum-to-review-system-20140109-30l4b.Google Scholar
Kress, G., & Van Leeuwen, T. (1996). Reading images: The grammar of visual design. London, UK: Routledge.Google Scholar
Langton, M. (1993). Well I heard it on the radio and I saw it on the television. . .An essay for the Australian film commission on the politics and Aesthetics of Filmmaking by and about Aboriginal people and things. Woolloomooloo, Australia: Aboriginal Film Commission.Google Scholar
Levy, S. (2013). Cinema culture richer after rise of indigenous voices. The Sydney Morning Herald. June 5 2013. Retrieved 6 August, 2016 from http://www.smh.com.au/comment/cinema-culture-richer-after-rise-of-indigenous-voices-20130604-2no4e.html.Google Scholar
Maddison, S. (2009). Black politics – inside the complexity of aboriginal political culture. Crows Nest, Australia: Allen and Unwin.Google Scholar
Manne, R. (2009). The history wars. The Monthly, November, 51 Retrieved 18 July, 2016 from http://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2009/november/1270703045/robert-manne/comment.Google Scholar
Martin, K. (2003). Ways of knowing, being and doing: A theoretical framework and methods for Indigenous and Indigenist research. Journal of Australian Studies, 27 (76), 203–214.Google Scholar
McCullum, K., Waller, L., & Meadows, M. (2012). Raising the volume: Indigenous voices in news media and policy. Media International Australia, 42, 101–111.Google Scholar
Murphy, C. (2013). A study of the representation of Aboriginal people in Australian cinema. Unpublished BA thesis, University of Portsmouth, England.Google Scholar
Nakata, M. (2007). The cultural interface. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 36 (S), 7–14.Google Scholar
Nakata, M. (2011). Pathways for Indigenous Education in the Australian Curriculum Framework. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 40, 1–8.Google Scholar
Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Kath Walker). (1988). Retrieved 20 July, 2016, from http://www.australianinspiration.com.au/Quotes/Australiana/IndigenousAustralians.aspx.Google Scholar
Pascoe, B. (2008). A canyon of incomprehension. Overland, No. 92, 8–12.Google Scholar
Pascoe, B. (2011). History: The real gap between black and white. In Purdie, N., Milgate, G., & Bell, H. (Eds.), Two way teaching and learning: Towards culturally reflective and relevant education (pp. 3–13). Camberwell, Australia: ACER Press.Google Scholar
Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority. (2014). Religion and Ethics SAS. Retrieved 20 July, 2016 from https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/downloads/senior/snr_rel_eth_14_unit_work_indigenous_aus_spirit.docx.Google Scholar
Rekhari, S. (2007). Film, representation and the exclusion of aboriginal identity: Examples from Australian cinema, university Wollongong. Retrieved 10 August, 2016 from http://www.tasa.org.au/conferences/conferencepapers07/papers/31.pdf.Google Scholar
Rekhari, S. (2008). The “Other” in film: Exclusions of Aboriginal identity from Australian Cinema. Visual Anthropology, 21 (2), 125–135.Google Scholar
Reynolds, H. (2000). Why weren't we told: A personal search for the truth about our history. Ringwood Victoria, Australia: Penguin Books.Google Scholar
Rigney, L.-I. (2011). Indigenous education and tomorrow's classroom: Three questions, three answers. In Purdie, N., Milgate, G., & Bell, H.R. (Eds.), Two way teaching & learning: Toward culturally reflective and relevant education (pp. 39–47). Camberwell, Australia: ACER Press.Google Scholar
Sherwood, J., Keech, S., Keenan, T., & Kelly, B. (2011). Indigenous studies: Teaching and learning together. In Purdie, N., Milgate, G., & Bell, H. (Eds.), Two way teaching and learning: Towards culturally reflective and relevant education (pp. 189–204). Camberwell, Australia: ACER Press.Google Scholar
Siemienowicz, R. (2013). New wave rising. Kill Your Darlings, 16, 30–42.Google Scholar
Stone, J. (2013). The Sapphires: An Aboriginal group finds its voice, OCanada-Entertainment. Retrieved 20 July, 2016 from http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/the-sapphires-an-aboriginal-group-finds-its-voice/.Google Scholar
Taylor, K., & Guerin, P. (2010). Health care and Indigenous Australians – cultural safety in practice (2nd ed.). Melbourne, Australia: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Thomas, J. (2014). Respecting protocols for representing aboriginal cultures. Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature, 14 (3), 1–13.Google Scholar
Welch, A. (2011). City and Bush. In Connell, R., Campbell, C., Vickers, M., Welch, A., Foley, D., Bagnall, N., & Hayes, D. (Eds.), Education, change and society. (2nd. ed.). (pp. 65--92). South Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Windschuttle, K. (2003). The fabrication of aboriginal history vol. 1. Van Diemen's Land 1803–1847. Paddington, Australia: Macleay Press.Google Scholar