English SACE STAGE 1
Bridget O’Brien
Women play a central role in “The drovers Wife” by henry Lawson and the film, ‘Australia’ by Baz Luhrman. With references to the narrative elements and cinematic conventions, discuss how women were portrayed in both Genres.
Both the text ‘The Drovers Wife’ and the movie ‘Australia’ focus on the independency of Australian women and the aboriginal society. In the short story "The Drover's Wife," Henry Lawson acknowledges the hardships of Australian women whose bravery and perseverance is unfairly overlooked. It is often the men who receive all the glory while the women suffer silently in the background. In the movie ‘Australia’ Baz Luhrman sheds light on the life of one of these heroic women as she …show more content…
Nula is the main symbol in the movie Australia; he represents Lady Ashley’s weakness and shows another side of her than what you get to see when Nula is not in the scene. When Nula gets on the boat ready to go to the island where the Half-Cast children go the camera zooms out and spins around Lady Ashley’s body and head, showing the hurt and heart break running through her. The music and suspense with the camera function ties you into the movie and makes you feel as if you know exactly what lady Ashley is going through.
The drover’s wife also shows vulnerability even though both stories are all about independent, strong women. The very end of the story after the snake is killed the woman begins to cry. The power behind this is that she kept calm throughout the whole situation but only afterwards does she allow herself to feel stressed and afraid. This highlights the determination of her character put also gives her more humanistic traits as she cries over her missing husband and her want to be cared for. This more sincere side also appears when she is sitting calmly by the fireside watching over her children. Her maternal qualities really begin to shine through. She is quiet and calm and looks as she allows her children to sleep. She stays up all night just to protect them.
Lawson's admiration of women is evident in the portrayal of a strong and independent female protagonist. The
Bridget O’Brien
Women play a central role in “The drovers Wife” by henry Lawson and the film, ‘Australia’ by Baz Luhrman. With references to the narrative elements and cinematic conventions, discuss how women were portrayed in both Genres.
Both the text ‘The Drovers Wife’ and the movie ‘Australia’ focus on the independency of Australian women and the aboriginal society. In the short story "The Drover's Wife," Henry Lawson acknowledges the hardships of Australian women whose bravery and perseverance is unfairly overlooked. It is often the men who receive all the glory while the women suffer silently in the background. In the movie ‘Australia’ Baz Luhrman sheds light on the life of one of these heroic women as she …show more content…
Nula is the main symbol in the movie Australia; he represents Lady Ashley’s weakness and shows another side of her than what you get to see when Nula is not in the scene. When Nula gets on the boat ready to go to the island where the Half-Cast children go the camera zooms out and spins around Lady Ashley’s body and head, showing the hurt and heart break running through her. The music and suspense with the camera function ties you into the movie and makes you feel as if you know exactly what lady Ashley is going through.
The drover’s wife also shows vulnerability even though both stories are all about independent, strong women. The very end of the story after the snake is killed the woman begins to cry. The power behind this is that she kept calm throughout the whole situation but only afterwards does she allow herself to feel stressed and afraid. This highlights the determination of her character put also gives her more humanistic traits as she cries over her missing husband and her want to be cared for. This more sincere side also appears when she is sitting calmly by the fireside watching over her children. Her maternal qualities really begin to shine through. She is quiet and calm and looks as she allows her children to sleep. She stays up all night just to protect them.
Lawson's admiration of women is evident in the portrayal of a strong and independent female protagonist. The