Yolngu

community which is off the coast of east Arnhem Land 560 kilometers off Darwin. Gurrumul's background has really impacted his career as he mostly sings in his native language the Yonglu language as well as very little English. His carefully created calm lyrics create emotion and bring people to tears even if the can't speak Yonglu this is how powerful Gurrumul's music is. He has crossed both borders bringing a variety of cultures and people together through his lyrics which relate to his culture, animals, family, ancestors, land and past musical experiences. For example when Gurrumul sings 'Warwu' here is an excerpt from his lyrics he sings "Gu nilimurru nhina yarrarra’yun’" is a lyric line from ‘Warwu’ and an example of the ‘look’ of the Yolngu language. Sung by Gurrumul with rolled ‘r’s and a clipped tongue. This example clearly shows how Gurrmul's background has impacted him. Being blind hasn't stopped Gurrumul from doing normal activities, when he was younger he would ride his bikes down the steep hills of his island with his family members guiding him through the way yelling out go left or go right. Therefore this clearly shows that Gurrumul's background has impacted his career as he relates his culture and language. One of Australia's biggest international and national indigenous music artists; Gurrumul is known for his effective tenor voice as his unique voice that has affected and shaped the public in a special way no other artist has done before in…

beach boy these representations are effortlessly displayed. However, amongst the glorious beaches and harsh deserts making a perfect canvas for film, stands another minority that are quite often forgotten. Like with many countries over the globe, Australia has an Indigenous race, made up of those people who were there long before settlement. Misunderstood and misrepresented this race has been often ignored, however the last decade has seen these people and their lifestyles come out of the…

The Yolngu culture, which means, “person”, is among the oldest living cultures on earth. Some researchers claim it is 400,000 years from two different lineages. Forty four thousand years ago the mixing of genes was reported before Australia separated from Papua New Guinea. Researched have stated that humanity could have started in Australia. The Aboriginal people were considered the first Australian. [1] The majority of Yolngu, who number approximately 5000, live in communities of between 500…

relation to the land, rituals and customs. However, whilst doing this, the film also displays numerous binary oppositions, with an example being white against black. This oversimplification of complex issues disengages viewers as it does not include numerous perspectives and a grey area becomes evident, meaning that in many circumstances, the Indigenous are misunderstood. An example of this is the Caucasian police officer as a representation of good alongside bad, being the Yolngu Boys. He set…

Film Review: Samson and Delilah Yolngu Boy Bran Nue Dae Racism is a major topic in society and has been an issue for our entire existence on this earth. The debatable act of discrimination in Australia, presents itself mainly through the behaviour used towards our native Aboriginal people. The three films, Samson and Delilah, Bran Nue Dae and Yolngu Boy show the themes of homelessness, substance abuse and racism related to the discrimination against the indigenous population. Directors Warwick…

Teenage boys experience a large sum of influence by western culture, predominantly early drug and alcohol abuse. Portrayed in ‘Yolngu Boy’ by Sean Mununggurr, the character Botj experiences the influence of western culture in the form of gasoline. Sniffing gasoline for a high is an extremely dangerous practice leading to health problems and high possibility of addiction. Although not illegal to buy, a majority of Australian states have implemented laws making the misuse of petroleum illegal. But…

The movie Yolngu boy is about friendship and the survival of it through thick and thin. The main charcters are Botj, Lorrupu and Milika. The lesson learnt in this movie I believe is you overcome any problem with friends by your side. The plot is to travel to Darwin with his friends overcoming problems and survival all to help each other. Lorrupu is a spiritual one that encourages their culture and uses it for many purposes. Milika is the sporty one that likes football and music and supports the…

The Australian indigenous youth are a minority of the overall Australian youth, just 4.2% of the entire youth’s population (ABS, 2012), they continue to face many daily challenges while growing up in modern Australian society. To understand the issues the indigenous youth face, the two films Yolngu Boy and Black Chicks Talking were watched. This essay will discuss the main cultural influences and how aboriginal Australians are connected by their own and western cultures, the reasons for the…

Despite living in a time of formal equality, Indigenous Australian youth still face many challenges growing up in contemporary Australian society. This essay examines the challenges Indigenous youth face growing up and the main cultural influences. Specifically exploring the ways in which Indigenous youth today are interdependent to both white culture and indigenous culture. Also including reasoning behind continuous marginalization and stereotyping of Indigenous youth while growing up in this…

Indigenous Youth and their oppression in a modern white Australia We may be living in a time where social and cultural equality is becoming an important issue and topic in many countries. However here in Australia Indigenous Australians are still being oppressed and marginalised by a dominant white culture. Aboriginal youth have been born into this dominance but arguably suffer from the stereotypes the most in today’s society. The films Yolngu Boy and Black Chicks Talking highlight these…