The Secret River Film Analysis

Superior Essays
Worldview and Privilege Essay

The film The Secret River (2015) provides an insightful outlook and perspective on privilege, power, communication difficulties, and differing worldviews. The film provides a view on privilege and power through the depiction of Settlers and Indigenous custodians of Australia. It offers an intuitive outlook on land ownership, highlighting the varying attitudes and relationships each group has with the land and the concept of racial superiority. Differing cultures are thoroughly investigated throughout the film, providing understanding into the marginalisation of mainly indigenous people as well as White settlers within the film.

The film portrays significant differing worldviews between the White settlers and the Indigenous people. The White settlers have a very industrial and humanistic outlook of the world through their social
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He happily communicates and interacts with the Indigenous people, displaying no signs of racism, superiority or power. He respects the Indigenous people for themselves and shows no feeling of separation or differentiation from them indicating humility and understanding. However, due to this humility, Dickie is therefore at risk of marginalisation within the Settler community, partly clear, as Dickie is punished by his father (The Secret River 2015).

In conclusion, The Secret River (2015) highlights the harmonious and sustainable relationship the Aboriginal people had with the land prior to colonisation and provides a basis for the ongoing impacts that the disruption to the relationship has had on the health and wellbeing of Indigenous Australians. The film also underlines the racism projected towards Indigenous Australians and the power and superiority that the Early Settlers made apparent over the Indigenous people resulting in disagreement and atrocity causing banishment of the Indigenous

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