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In the increasingly entertainment based society of today filmic portrayal of historic events has become an increasingly portrayal. This re-enactment, or adaptation of past events can serve in a very positive manner as it allows issues to be brought to mass audiences. Film as a medium allows these issues to be understood from various, alternative positions allowing discussion and understanding. However the accuracy of the understanding gained by a viewer must be questioned as it would not only vary between individuals, but may also have been a result of the film makers including inaccurate information or manipulating the truth of an event.
This argument is restricted to analysis of only three particular historically based films, ‘Jedda', ‘The chant of Jimmie Blacksmith' and ‘Rabbit Proof Fence' all of which discuss race relations in Australian History. These films all present many important facts and details surrounding several issues including assimilation, the stolen generations and the effects of colonisation. However, they too are subject to the omission of important facts and misdirection of viewer's focus on the issue at hand. This misdirection or omission is in most cases a result of the inclusion of the same plot and emotive factors that are utilised in the first instance to focus a viewer's interest on the issue. The film makers interpretation of the historical happenings on which the film is based, also acts to influence the perspective from which an audience views on-screen events.
Theses elements of historically based films act negatively as they threaten to create of a misinformed understanding of the factual events. How dramatically these negative elements effect a viewers understanding of events varies would vary depending upon his or her prior knowledge. A viewer who is well informed regarding a particular issue is less likely to experience a transformation in understanding than a viewer who is previously ignorant. This also means that any addition of emotional aspects to the factually based film will have less of an effect on the understanding of well-informed individual than it would on a individual who lacks a knowledge based understanding.
So whilst historically based films do offer an alteration in the understanding of a viewer, this alteration is subject to difference between individuals and the change may not actually be a positive one. It is also unlikely that any transformation in a viewers understanding would be radical. Viewers with a knowledge based understanding of events would be unlikely to be influenced by filmic elements such plot and character. Viewers who are less informed on the events in question would not necessarily have an established understanding that could be subject to change. Rather than a radical transformation, it is more likely that a viewer would experience a growth, alteration or deeper or more personal understanding of the events portrayed on screen.
‘Rabbit Proof Fence' portrays realistic experiences of three children of the stolen generation, allowing emotional insight, to the events, through the characters. This is particularly powerful as it does in fact create an alternate understanding of the events surrounding the stolen generations as the viewer experiences the children's circumstances from a personal perspective. This is most evident in one of the early seen when all three girls are torn from their relatives. This is perhaps one of the most pungent scenes in the film as the viewer perceives the extraordinary grief experienced by children and adults alike. The same feeling is created later on when Molly's skin is checked for the level of pigmentation. As viewers we are placed in what Tony Hughes D'aeth labels an ‘…empathetic occupation of Molly's body…' This technique is very important as it allows a new understanding of the events to develop within the viewer.
Whilst this is important in building an understanding of events, the focus placed on the emotional aspects of the film should perhaps have been partially redirected to the factual basis of the tale. Because of the increasing amount of the viewer's attention that is drawn to the girls personally, many of the facts the film is based on become less important. This is apparent throughout the film particularly during the period which the girls spend away from their parents. Due to the factual basis of the film which included 55 oral accounts, the portrayal of the treatment of the girls in the home is only partially accurate. Certain aspects are accurately represented such as; the single toiletry bucket and punishment of solitary confinement.
However the film fails to reveal the true conditions endured by many indigenous children in the same circumstances as the characters in the film. Anonymous testaments in the report ‘Bringing them Home' state that solitary confinement was not at all unusual as a form of punishment. The sanitary conditions in camps such as the one seen in the film are by the men and women who endured them as not only appalling and responsible for much sickness, but also as a condition often coupled with physical and verbal abuse. The development of a viewers understanding of events are again misdirected in the final scene where critical information regarding the continual battle that all three girls endured in their life times, making it to Jigalong to be captured and escape and recaptured. Rather than absorbing this important realisation, the film passes by them quickly, leaving a seemingly happy conclusion. This is a particular problem as it threatens to lead viewers to understand that such events did reach a peaceful conclusion eventually. This did happen in some cases in correct but as expressed in Jane Harrison's notes for Stolen, more often than not the separation resulted in the loss of much family, and if found, an inability to communicate or return to an indigenous community. This is certainly not the case as even now committees and support networks are formed to support the hundreds of indigenous families torn apart by the 186 Aborigines act.
It must be considered that any understanding gained or developed by a viewer of Rabbit Proof Fence is always going to be limited as it is built only on the observation of one interpretation of only three of an entire generation. There were many other children who never lived in camps as seen in the film but rather in single or multiple foster homes in which many of them suffered from great cruelty as outlined in Rosalie Fraser's memoir ‘Shadow Child'. It is evident that whilst in the case of this film, the emotive aspects do allow for a transforation in understanding for a viewer. However, this does not mean that limitations still apply as those who are well informed on the subject and events would not have necessarily experienced a transformation in their understanding, and any new understanding developed by an entirely naïve observer may, whilst sincere still remain misguided or inaccurate.
The film Jedda raises several key issues surrounding the concept of assimilation developed in the mid 180's. This film is crucial in alerting viewers to this policy and its repercussions. Poignant elements of ‘Jedda' are crucial as they allow the recognition of the key issue of separating an Aboriginal child from his or her community and culture and the consequences. Scenes such as that where indigenous music is entwined with Jedda's piano playing and close-up of the European collection of Indigenous tools are utilised to emphasise the extraordinary angst that separating a child from their community can result in. Jedda's persistence with talking to and playing with ‘station blacks' on the McCann's property. The behaviour of Jedda towards the other Aborigines going on ‘walkabout' allows the audience to gain perspective and understanding in regards to conflict that arises in separating a child from his or her community. The final message obtained in the death of Jedda and her captor are perhaps the final elements in allowing the audience to understand the issues that come with assimilation.
It is very likely that this is the interpretation and understanding of events an audience would gain from viewing Jedda, but there are also flaws in any understanding gained from this particular film. Predominantly these arise when examining the making of the film itself. Joe is a character introduced to suggest from a predominantly European view that assimilation can be successful and a positive tribute for an individual. Joe being played by the British actor Paul Reynell was perhaps not the best choice as his character becomes unrealistic. This acts as a device, were an audience to perceive his character as a truly successfully assimilated Aborigine, then the message of the film and the understanding an audience would reach appears to be that, as he assimilated, he survived, Jedda resisted and dies. Joe's narrative also acts to emphasise this message, his emotional appeals suggest the viewer understand the events from his perspective, understanding his sadness that Jedda's resistance to assimilation led to her death.
This is particularly concerning when considered from the point of view of an individual who is uninformed on the subject of assimilation prior to viewing the film. This viewer may not necessarily experience an alteration in understanding of events due to the on-screen portrayal of Jedda. However, if they do it is most likely to be from the perspective of Joe, which is the precise importance of filmic elements such as the addition of an emotional and concerned narrative.
A viewer well informed on the subject of assimilation in the 1800's is unlikely to be offered any change in understanding of events through a film like Jedda as it would more likely be dismissed than considered as it portrays predominantly European views regarding assimilation and whilst acknowledges Jedda's decent to an inevitable death still concludes with a message that encourages assimilation. This is not a message many agree with, as is discussed in both ‘The Guruma Story' and ‘Koori History', in which both indigenous (peter Stevens) and non-indigenous (Carol Cooper) deny this adamantly.
‘The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith' depicts the European colonisation of indigenous Australia, resulting in the assimilation of an aboriginal child into European with the result of resistance and murder. This film is particularly important as almost all events in the film, regarding Jimmie Blacksmith (Governor), are in fact fictional, as no evidence prior to his actual trial is available. Due to this, the film does without question offer an alteration in understanding of the events surrounding Jimmie Blacksmith and his trials and tribulation, as no other means was available prior to this, which would allow the understanding of such a character.
Whilst this depiction is essentially fictional several key issues relating to colonisation and it's effects on indigenous communities are raised. Emotive elements are incredibly important in this film in not necessarily offering a radical transformation of a viewers understanding, but allowing a deeper level of understanding, from both an informed and ignorant perspective, to develop.
Despite this, an issue remains in that this film, as a historic representation fails to emphasise the importance of the problems in indigenous communities that were a result of colonisation. This is apparent in many areas throughout the film. Alcoholism was a particular hazard as ‘station blacks' and those in other reciprocal relationships with Europeans would occasionally receive alcohol in return for work as documented in various articles written by Anthropologist Annette Hamilton. Whilst this is shown in the film as many dishevelled aborigines pull Jimmie along with them there are issues in the fact that the audiences attention is focussed on Jimmie's terror, not that the indigenous members of the community were in a unnecessary and unhealthy state, introduced by European colonisation.
This occurs again when Jimmie is in the jail cell and rather than the viewer focussing on the violence inflicted by the policeman on the other indigenous inmate, we are compelled to feel Jimmies lack of comforted and sadness at being in a cell. It is not until the morning when he finds the body we are made truly aware of the altercation. Even then, it remains ambiguous as to whether or not the policeman hung the prisoner or whether it was a result of suicide. In ‘The Guruma story' Peter Stevens recalls such an event in "They hang him there with a rope- police man, just having fun", also mentioning that wrongful imprisonment of aborigines was a frequent event, again, not the issue the audience is compelled to focus on as Jimmie is locked away gratuitously.
The biggest area difficulty faced when analysing whether this film creates an alteration in a viewers understanding surrounds the depiction of the violence Jimmie inflicts on the European characters in the tale. This violence, whilst provoked, does appear to be a needless and avoidable reaction to previous events that appear in the plot. Whilst an un-informed viewer may perceive Jimmie as uselessly violent and understand him to be unhappy and misunderstood, a viewer with knowledge prior to this will find no knew understanding in these events. A well informed viewer will well be aware that by this point in history the indigenous people had suffered massive injustices through slaughter and massacres as described by Janine Roberts in ‘From Massacres to mining'. The social Evolutionist H.K Rusden explained such killings in 1876 as ‘..Exterminating the inferior Australian…'It is only by such evidence that it can be understood why the character of Jimmie reacted so dramatically when yet another restriction was placed on his attempt to live happily amongst a newly Europeans dominated Australia.
Whilst this film does allow a closer and more personal attachment to be made between viewer and the character of Jimmie and his wife, a transformation in understanding is unlikely. Whilst viewers may gain a development in their understanding it is likely that much of this is the result of misdirection of focus and inaccurate use of factual events. A viewer regarding the film from a already knowledge based background is able to develop their emotive connection to the characters but it is unlikely that any transformation regarding their understanding of these events would occur, let alone one regarded radical.
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