This is the second post from Alex Turner ’11, who is studying abroad this summer in Sydney, Australia.
My experience at the film festival required me to see Australian films which focused on current social issues. Australia is a very large country with a fairly small population — 20 million people; about four million live in Sydney alone. Like the United States, Australia is a melting pot; multiple waves of immigrant populations have come in over the past 50 years. This, along with the native (aboriginal) population, has caused some social tensions throughout the years. A variety of films that I have seen since I have been here address these issues.
Ever since Westerners landed in Australia, the Aboriginal population has been mistreated. In the 1930s the Aboriginal Act gave the government the power to relocate mixed race children and sent them to reform camps. Rabbit Proof Fence was a film that looked at three such girls and told the incredible story of their escape and journey back home. Bastardy told the story of Australia’s most famous Aboriginal actor Jack Charles. His story tells of how he succumbed to drugs, became homeless, robbed houses, spent countless years in jail and finally turned his life around. These films provided an eye opening look into the world of Aboriginal people and the hardships they face. This experience was further enriched with my trip to the Australian Museum which had an exhibition on Aboriginal culture and history. On February 12, 2008 the prime minister of Australia signed a formal apology for the government’s mistreatment. Australians are working to come to terms with their past and their relationship with Aboriginals.
Other films have looked at immigrants and their relationship to Australia. Cedar Boys looks at Lebanese immigrants living in Sydney. Good, hardworking young men fall into the worlds of drugs and end up deeper and deeper into Sydney’s drug culture. These Lebanese men are stereotyped against and refused entry into multiple places. Seeing Cedar Boys showed me a different side of Sydney, a darker side. No city is perfect, but the racial tensions in this city are very real and my eyes were opened to them. It is not uncommon for people here to refuse Lebanese immigrants entry into certain places. Cedar Boys is an excellent film; it showed me that discrimination is still a part of Australian culture and is not limited to aboriginals, but immigrants as well. The excellent writing and acting in the film Cedar Boys made me feel as if I was watching real people. I enjoyed seeing an inside look at Lebanese culture and I look forward to other films that provide a glimpse into other groups of immigrants in Australia.
In many ways, Australia is not that different from the U.S. The immigrant influx and indigenous tensions that have occurred in Australia seems like a parallel to the United States. Sydney is like a smaller version of New York City. Like New York’s neighborhoods, Sydney has its own neighborhoods as well. There’s a Little Italy, Chinatown and a large Thai population along George Street. Sydney is a vibrant city with a rich and vibrant culture. I am still exploring Sydney and learning more and more about the groups of people that make this city unique.
Posted by Alex Turner ‘11
aturner@brandeis.edu
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