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Analyse the extent to which Chelsea Phillips-Carr is justified in claiming…
Analyse the extent to which Chelsea Phillips-Carr is justified in claiming that Thornton’s film, fails to address the intersection between race and the Sweet Country female gender.
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It is nuanced, to a large extent it does address the intersection yet there are flaws. Abigail's branch :)
The silence of Lizzy is deliberate; it riles the audience up, it shows history as it was - and by this, it warns us not to make the same mistakes again. It plays with the audience's sympathies.
Lizzy was not portrayed as merely a damsel in distress, or weak and helpless as an Aboriginal woman. She is presented as a strong woman that terrible things happen to, and is silenced by the oppressive patriarchy.
However, at times Lizzy felt undeveloped and with less depth than the males in the film.
It is important to recognize our history, and the mistakes and problems of the past. By Sweet Country representing Lizzy as silenced and powerless, we can recognize and correct the sexism and racism of colonialism. If the director chose to give Lizzy more of a voice, then it would be inaccurate to the culture of the time and lose the shock and pain the audience feels at the injustice of it all.
The representations of Sam and Lizzy are more civilized and moral than some of the white people hunting them down. In the way that they pray before eating, and how Sam rescues the man trying to kill him, it prompts the audience to root for them, see them as the good guys and recognize the injustice that was done to them.
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Need to consider whether silencing Lizzie was intended to inform the audience of that part of history , or purely because she just wasn't a priority to the director.
Film Languages:
- Male/white characters in the foreground of the shot, with the female/aboriginal characters in the background
- Symbolic codes: Harry's red costume (that same red appearing when LIzzie bleeds on her skirt), Lizzie's dirty white blouse (she's been used, and she's dirty)
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In historical literature and print media, Aboriginal women have been represented as either victims of male brutality and sexual attention, or as sexually promiscuous.
However, how long should Indigenous women be portrayed as weak, or sexual objects? If we ever want to move on from the past, there is a need for new perspectives (ones that empower) when representing Aboriginal women.
It's as if the director is pointing the audience towards lizzie, screaming look at her! yet she can't speak.
The only moment Lizzie is expected to speak, the white men are demanding her to; giving her permission to speak.
When she finally speaks up "He's the one that did it. Why blame me? You're supposed to be a man. You're no man." she is immediately silenced by Sam by threatening to punch her.
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