The Rabbit Proof Fence By Philip Noyce - 1665 Words

Philip Noyce`s film ‘The Rabbit Proof Fence’ (2002) and Jill Ker Conway`s autobiography ‘The Road From Coorain†(1989), discuss and compare many of the same themes which express the importance of ‘home’, and its significance to the protagonists of the texts. The Rabbit Proof Fence follows the journey of three young indigenous girls who were taken from their homes in 1931, as apart of the stolen generation. Conway’s autobiography is a personal reflection of her up brining in rural Australia, and how her life changed when she was forced to move into the big smoke. They both utilise the explicit nature of discrimination in Australia, against indigenous Australia as a major narrative drive. Both texts illustrate the themes of transition of†¦show more content†¦Conway had found the transition to be overwhelming and difficult, as the lifestyle is very different in the city compared to the farm life that she was used to. Conway realises the significance rural Australia was to her up bringing, as she describes the landscape of New South Wales in compelling detail. With its plains and endless horizons, its ever-present red dust, its emus and kangaroos and kookaburras. Conway recalls that the land is like â€Å"a kookaburra feeding St. Jerome or accompanying St. Francis. They belong to a physical and spiritual landscape which is outside the imagination of the Christian West.† The writer suggests that landscapes have a powerful role in identity. Moving away from home to a foreign place is closely related to the experiences, which the three girls from ‘The Rabbit Proof Fence’ had endured. You can only imagine how hard it would be for the native people of Australia. Who have been living off the land for thousands of years and expected to be required to leave their homes. The rabbit-proof fence is a versatile symbol of home throughout the movie. For example, when the girls first encounter it on their trek to Jigalong, they embrace it passionately with the camera cutting to an emotional scene of their mother (Ningali Lawford), holding the fence, hundreds of kilometres away, even over distance, the mother and her children are still connected. This powerful scene enhances the ideaShow MoreRelatedSymbolism In Rabbit Proof Fence1306 Words   |  6 Pagescontrast that divides Australian society. The volume of this irrational prejudice through the perpetuation of dominant western ideologies depicted Aborigines as treacherous and unscrupulous. In contrast, the riveting Rabbit Proof Fence film released in 2002 and directed by Philip Noyce, eschews bigotry by illuminating a dense history of racist and distorted Aboriginal representations. Furthermore, it chronicles the ordeal of the Stolen Generation which included abducting half-cast Aboriginal children;Read MoreDiscuss the Symbolism and Motifs in the ‘Rabbit Proof Fence’. What Do They Represent and How Do They Contribute t o the Story?968 Words   |  4 PagesRabbit Proof Fence Discuss the symbolism and motifs in the ‘Rabbit Proof Fence’. What do they represent and how do they contribute to the story? The film ‘Rabbit Proof Fence’ conveys the importance of family, belonging and country to the Aboriginal people and provides the audience with an insight of the division between the Europeans and the Aboriginal people. The Director, Philip Noyce displays these themes by the use of symbolism and motifs. Symbolism is the use of one object to represent