Assessment 1(Reflective Paper): Rabbit Proof Fence
Rabbit Proof fence is an Australian made film by director Philip Noyce and tells the story of three aboriginal girls Molly, Daisy and Gracie, who escape from an Aboriginal Institute, coinciding with the Australian western society during the Stolen generation Period. The film is based on the book ‘Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence’, which is inspired by true events and is written by Doris Pilkington, daughter of the main character Molly. The three aboriginal girls are taken from their community and are relocated to the Moore River Native Settlement. When they arrive they are united with other aboriginal children who like them have been taken, as part of the ‘Stolen Generation’ because of their mixed blood status (half white and half Aboriginal), known as ‘half-castes’. The story tells of their escape from the settlement and the journey to return to their family by following the Rabbit-Proof Fence that stretches over 1000 miles through the Australian Arid lands. I chose this film for my reflective paper because it gives an introduction into Australian History, through the eyes of the Aboriginal people and attempts to address the political, intellectual and cultural issues surrounding this time. The film also explores the relationship between the aborigines and the invading settlers and explains why half-caste Aboriginals were taken from their families as part of the ‘Stolen Generation’ and gives an insight into the lives and feelings of both aboriginal and non-aboriginal people of the time.
The ‘Stolen Generation’ consisted of children of Australian Aboriginal descent who suffered the destruction of identity, family life and culture because they were removed from their families by the Australian and State governments. These children were separated from their families during the period between 1910 and 1970.[1] The belief was that the children could be absorbed into white Australia by giving up their cultural heritage, and in time even their biological characteristic such as physical features and skin colour in successive generations.[2] This was represented in the movie as Mr. A.O Neville, mentions that the half-caste children should be removed from their families for he fears that there will be a ‘racial classification dilemma’ as the half-caste child could “allow a creation of an unwanted third race” and there will be a dispute on whether or not “the colours be encouraged to go back to the blacks” or “advance to the white status and be absorbed in the white population”.[3] He also mentions that half-caste children can be bred into white people and demonstrates how after three generations of marriages with white people there will be no trace of their original origin “the third generation, no trace of origin is apparent… continuing infiltration of white blood finally stamps out the black colour”.[4] Molly, Daisy and Gracie were taken from their family by the police, and along with thousands of other ‘stolen’ children of the era were taught to adapt to western society, by speaking English and brought up to believe in Christianity and abandon their traditional beliefs and culture. Children at the Settlement were also taught to believe that “the Aboriginal culture was evil” And persuaded them through the use of force to never revisit their original way of life and continue on living in western society.[5] The removal of children has become the most well known aspect of the aftermath from the colonisation process, destroying Aboriginal identity by educating Aboriginal children in non-aboriginal home and institutions. This is seen as a ‘deliberate theft’ of Aboriginal cultural identity by removing the children form families and communities and by removing ‘the next generations from their land’.[6] Aboriginal people are still experiencing the shockwaves of trauma from these acts today.
A large feature of this film is the lack of understanding between the Aboriginal people and the whites. A significant barrier to understanding the complexity of aboriginal culture lies in the widespread failure to recognise the diversity of Aboriginal people and their aspirations and demands.[7] As demonstrated in this movie and still today, Aboriginal people have known and understood far more about non-aboriginal people than non-aboriginal people have known about them. Aboriginal people have often deliberately limited the sharing of information about themselves with non-aboriginal people as a means of limiting non-aboriginal control over their lives. [8] After witnessing and researching historical events its understood why this withdrawal has occurred. As the white colonists gradually occupied the land of Indigenous people, their nomadic way of life was seriously eroded. Aboriginals were and still are seen as a ‘stone age’ race, the Aborigines came to rely on our laws and regulations as the structure of their society. Our laws change overnight in parliament with a stroke of a pen, yet Aboriginal laws are in the hearts of their culture and country, which never change. This strong idea of culture, is represented in the film when the three aboriginal girls are forced to fight the forces of the whites with the only weapon they have, culture, without help from the law. The Aboriginal girls are educated through generations of survival skills, tracking, hunting and survival in the bush, in which they would never have made it back to their home without. These qualities were essential throughout the journey, demonstrating the fundamental power of culture.
Although the film portrays the girls making it home, the settlement was not closed down and the actions during the stolen generation era still occurred, as we learn from the film at the end when they mention that Molly was again taken. This shows that neither the white or Aboriginal forces were successful in their actions. The racial struggles still continue up until today over land rights and racial equality. In policy terms, Aboriginal people in Australia have rarely been seen as anything other than a ‘problem to be solved’, Rather then engaging with aboriginal people and working in meaningful partnerships with them. Many stolen generation memoirs are now published in books, plays and films, such as Rabbit-Proof fence, and a National Sorry day was established. These publications continue to create awareness to Australia’s dark past and inspire people to investigate further into racial issues and think about their own lives differently. For Instance, I have watched this movie many times before, but it wasn’t until I did research around the topic on people’s individual stories and Aboriginal culture itself, that I looked past typical stereotypes and inside the word culture. This word has an entirely different meaning for non-aboriginal people such as myself, and from that I believe that we could learn a thing or two from Aboriginal people and their way of life for the better.
References
· Branagh, K, Rabbit-Proof Fence, DVD, Directed by Philip Noyce (Australia, 2002).
· GNT People, “Doris Pilkington Garimara Interview”, ABC 2011. http://www.abc.net.au/dimensions/dimensions_people/Transcripts/s888108.htm, (accessed August 15th)
· Anne Brewster, “Aboriginal life writing and globalization”, Australian Humanities Review. http://www.australianhumanitiesreview.org/archive/Issue-March-2002/brewster2.html, (accessed August 16th)
· Sarah Maddison, Black Politics: Inside the Complexity of Aboriginal Political Culture (Allen & Unwin. 2009)
· Robert Manne, In Denial: the stolen generations and the right (Issue 1) (Black Inc. 2001)
[1] Robert Manne, In Denial: the stolen generations and the right (Issue 1) (Black Inc. 2001), pg iii
[2] Anne Brewster, “Aboriginal life writing and globalization”, Australian Humanities Review. http://www.australianhumanitiesreview.org/archive/Issue-March-2002/brewster2.html, (accessed August 16th)
[5] GNT People, “Doris Pilkington Garimara Interview”, ABC 2011. http://www.abc.net.au/dimensions/dimensions_people/Transcripts/s888108.htm, (accessed August 15th)
[6] Sarah Maddison, Black Politics: Inside the Complexity of Aboriginal Political Culture (Allen & Unwin. 2009), pg 208.
[7] Sarah Maddison, Black Politics: Inside the Complexity of Aboriginal Political Culture (Allen & Unwin. 2009), pg xxi
[8] Sarah Maddison, Black Politics: Inside the Complexity of Aboriginal Political Culture (Allen & Unwin. 2009), pg xxviii.
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