Home is where the heart is. And the heart is with friends and family. Good afternoon everyone and welcome to the start of this wonderful celebration, the Australia Day Film Festival. The two films opening this festival are Rabbit-Proof Fence and Bran Nue Dae. These two films show us the importance of land and cultural identity in Aboriginal. These films, Rachel Perkin’s 2009, Bran Nue Dae and Phillip Noyce’s 2002, Rabbit-Proof Fence have become classics regarding the struggles of Aborigines while trying to survive in white culture. Set in 1931, Rabbit-Proof Fence shows the journey of three young half-caste girls in the time when the Government was allowed to forcibly remove them from their families. This story shows the hard ships they go through,
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Throughout Rabbit-Proof Fence the girls are seen trekking through the harsh outback landscape of WA leaving them battered and bruised. And through that time the one thing on their minds is getting back to their family. This is shown through the continuous efforts to keep moving even when causing them unbearable pain. On the other hand, in Bran Nue Dae, Willie had the help of the much older Uncle Tadpole who had knowledge on how to get back to their homes relatively easily, and along the way teaching Willie of his Aboriginal heritage that was suppressed by his mother’s goal of having him become a Catholic priest. To the relief of the audience, Willie was able to get home to his Mother and the culture he was happy in. Although towards the end of journey for the young girls in Rabbit-Proof Fence, Gracie was lost to the hands of the Government. The two drastically different experiences leading up to the reunion allow the audience to understand and empathise with the characters as they reunite with their families. With Willie the audience will be happy and proud of his growth through the trip and the audience will be left feeling generally happy. Although for the girls, as many audience members may have already experience through the screening, tears are expected. After being lost for 9 weeks and losing a cousin one would be exhausted both physically and mentally although Molly has one more job to do: break the news that Gracie is gone. Leaving both the family and audience in sobs. These characterisations of the characters effectively shape the emotions of the audience so that they are able to empathise with the characters when they are reunited with their
Throughout Rabbit-Proof Fence the girls are seen trekking through the harsh outback landscape of WA leaving them battered and bruised. And through that time the one thing on their minds is getting back to their family. This is shown through the continuous efforts to keep moving even when causing them unbearable pain. On the other hand, in Bran Nue Dae, Willie had the help of the much older Uncle Tadpole who had knowledge on how to get back to their homes relatively easily, and along the way teaching Willie of his Aboriginal heritage that was suppressed by his mother’s goal of having him become a Catholic priest. To the relief of the audience, Willie was able to get home to his Mother and the culture he was happy in. Although towards the end of journey for the young girls in Rabbit-Proof Fence, Gracie was lost to the hands of the Government. The two drastically different experiences leading up to the reunion allow the audience to understand and empathise with the characters as they reunite with their families. With Willie the audience will be happy and proud of his growth through the trip and the audience will be left feeling generally happy. Although for the girls, as many audience members may have already experience through the screening, tears are expected. After being lost for 9 weeks and losing a cousin one would be exhausted both physically and mentally although Molly has one more job to do: break the news that Gracie is gone. Leaving both the family and audience in sobs. These characterisations of the characters effectively shape the emotions of the audience so that they are able to empathise with the characters when they are reunited with their