Australia
I saw Austrailia at the end of last week, as it's been running on cable constantly and well, the cable is always on at our house (not my fault!).
I found myself put off by the opening, largely because of the stilted dialect Nullah speaks in. Eventually I circled around the entrance to the living room enough times and my dinner was ready so I got sucked in. And I sat planted on my ass for over 2 hours, having heard the first 30-45 minutes from the kitchen. I was alternately infatuated and infuriated at the story. It harps on the "stolen generations" and the ignominy of this horrific past policy, but is clearly by and for a white audience. Aboriginals rarely represent themselves, and primarily appear as servants or shamans. The shamans are magical, mystical, and - apart from Nullah - in the distance. Both the blatant racists and the still a bit racist anti-racists are white, and they are fighting for control of the biracial kids repossessed by the State. Ultimately, the biracial kids are not reunited with their mothers and do not get to decide who will own them next; Nullah is adopted by the white main characters (to be fair, I think he does want to live with them) and the rest are evacuated presumably to be indentured again or possibly adopted, again by white parents.
I enjoyed Kidman & Jackman's performances, but their romance (especially the stormy bits) felt poorly done, stilted, preachy about what a person's duties are regardless of his/her feelings.
I think I watched to the end because my brain was fried and I wanted to see how it turned out. I don't know that I was enlightened by the process.
Out on the Interwebs, SLB puts it together better than I can manage as I wrestle with a smart and adorable young man, blatant racism, an epic story with poor telling, and that disrespector of likes and dislikes Hugh Jackman. Australia is better titled Ballad of the Magical Half-Negro (by Baz Luhrmann).
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Unrelated to this except that it is also entertainment: Boston Legal is funny as hell. My housemates are working their way through the show, and I find it a great balance of smart funny, cynical world-weariness, timely political commentary, and serious consideration of life issues. The casting is excellent, and I love how the rat bastards at the firm play off each other in hilarious ways.
I found myself put off by the opening, largely because of the stilted dialect Nullah speaks in. Eventually I circled around the entrance to the living room enough times and my dinner was ready so I got sucked in. And I sat planted on my ass for over 2 hours, having heard the first 30-45 minutes from the kitchen. I was alternately infatuated and infuriated at the story. It harps on the "stolen generations" and the ignominy of this horrific past policy, but is clearly by and for a white audience. Aboriginals rarely represent themselves, and primarily appear as servants or shamans. The shamans are magical, mystical, and - apart from Nullah - in the distance. Both the blatant racists and the still a bit racist anti-racists are white, and they are fighting for control of the biracial kids repossessed by the State. Ultimately, the biracial kids are not reunited with their mothers and do not get to decide who will own them next; Nullah is adopted by the white main characters (to be fair, I think he does want to live with them) and the rest are evacuated presumably to be indentured again or possibly adopted, again by white parents.
I enjoyed Kidman & Jackman's performances, but their romance (especially the stormy bits) felt poorly done, stilted, preachy about what a person's duties are regardless of his/her feelings.
I think I watched to the end because my brain was fried and I wanted to see how it turned out. I don't know that I was enlightened by the process.
Out on the Interwebs, SLB puts it together better than I can manage as I wrestle with a smart and adorable young man, blatant racism, an epic story with poor telling, and that disrespector of likes and dislikes Hugh Jackman. Australia is better titled Ballad of the Magical Half-Negro (by Baz Luhrmann).
----
Unrelated to this except that it is also entertainment: Boston Legal is funny as hell. My housemates are working their way through the show, and I find it a great balance of smart funny, cynical world-weariness, timely political commentary, and serious consideration of life issues. The casting is excellent, and I love how the rat bastards at the firm play off each other in hilarious ways.