Rabbit Proof Fence Analysis

Great Essays
Register to read the introduction… The story is concerned with the journey of three young aboriginal girls who escape from the Moore River Native Settlement and walk the 1600 kilometers home to Jigalong. The three young girls were taken from their homes in the 1930s and placed in settlements initiated by government policy which forcibly removed half caste children from their aboriginal families. Soon after their arrival they escape and begin their long journey back to their tribal …show more content…
The film runs through a simple, yet effective plot of abduction, incarceration, escape, pursuit and finally homecoming. The film removes all extraneous material for example the initial journey from Jigalong to the Moore River native settlement is condensed. Therefore it is evident that the film privileges narrative interpretation over historical accuracy.

To what extent do Hollywood narrative conventions override the historical Aboriginal experience which is fore grounded in the
…show more content…
What sort of impact did the film have?
Political:
The former national Liberal leader John Hewson stated:
‘John Howard and his ministry should, as a matter of compulsion, take the first opportunity to see and discuss the movie Rabbit Proof Fence. And, not just because of this move, they should immediately say "Sorry!" along with, and on behalf of, the rest of us.'

Did the film have an affect on you personally?
Ie.) Did it change your way of thinking at all about Australia and/or being an Australian?

References:
Articles:
Attwood, Bain, "Learning about the truth": The Stolen Generations Narrative" in Attwood and MacGowan, eds., Telling Stories: Indigenous History and Memory in Australia and New Zealand (2001)

Tony Hughes-d Aeth, "Which Rabbit Proof Fence? Empathy, Assimilation, Hollywood" Australian Humanities Review, September – November 2002

Monique Rooney, "Echoes Across the Flats': Storytelling and Phillip Noyce's Rabbit Proof Fence," Southerly 62/3 (2002),

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