Told almost entirely from a young, naive German boy’s point of view, Mark Herman’s The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a hard-hitting Holocaust tale that will render audiences speechless. After arriving home, Bruno (Asa Butterfield) learns that his family will have to move because his father (David Thewlis) achieved a promotion in the Nazi army. Bruno noticed what he believed to be farmers living just past a stretch of woods near their new home. One day, not long after being told not to go near the “farmers,” Bruno leaves his home and heads towards the camp. There he meets Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), a young Jewish boy. While trying to understand what is happening in the world around them, the boys become friends. While…
From my personal experience with my ex-partner who is an Indigenous Australian he struggled with his cultural identity and the modern identity for young Aboriginal boys in western Sydney. He had an expectation to follow his ancestor’s traditions but he was unable to find a way to integrate his culture into a paid occupation.…
Throughout history, it is known that Aboriginal people have faced cruelty, racism and poverty due to the way people have treated them. It is believed that Aboriginal people do not have knowledge, and they are unsuccessful people who take the pathway to failure. Stereotypes that Aboriginal people have to cope with lowers their self esteem and makes them feel less of a person. Is it fair that a certain race should be treated differently, because of how a group of individuals represented their people? Should these Aborginals feel ashamed? Young females who grow up to feel ashamed become the ones who live a lifestyle where they are afraid, and feel unsure of who they are inside. The book April Raintree and the movie “Rabbit-Proof Fence” both have storylines that expose the readers and watchers to the reality they are surrounded by. Therefore, it is evident that in April Raintree and “Rabbit-Proof Fence”, they portray the struggles of self-definition of young females who come from…
“ My tongue will tell the anger of my heart, or else my heart concealing it will…
Craig Ashby’s speech titled ‘A Getting of Wisdom’ demonstrates aspects of overcoming obstacles and challenges in new worlds, and how new influences can change the way we perceive the world. Published in the Sydney Morning Herald 2007 Ashby illuminates positive and negative personal aspects of growing up in poverty, as he reveals this through his changing worlds and how he transforms from an insecure lost boy into a respectable proud aboriginal man.…
Film and television has taken over the world we live in, becoming one of the most popular ways for different personalities to express their stories in local and worldwide settings. Film allows auteurs to capture the essence of time, emotional circumstances and cultural differences in order to create stories that linger in the minds of their audiences. In particular, this is demonstrated in Australian film. Historically, Australian film tends to explore the cultural difficulties associated between Indigenous and ‘white’ Australia. The relationship between these two very different cultures is showcased in the early years of film in an incredibly marginalised, stereotypical fashion, often portraying Indigenous Australians as mysterious, mythical…
The strong presence of racism among Australian communities as depicted in the film caused such events, namely the Stolen Generation, to occur. This significant event was a period in late 1800s-1960s where children from both Indigenous, and non-Indigenous (i.e. ‘white’) origins were forcefully taken away from their families as a result of official Australian Government policy. In relation to the film, Gail’s recall of a bitter memory associated with Kay particularly sheds light upon this key historical event.…
Furthermore, almost 50 percent of our 22 million people were either born overseas, or had one or both parents born overseas. The tangible effects of Australia having this incredible multi-cultural society are obvious. On a daily basis we are reminded of the unquestionable benefits that flow from the rich ethnic blend that now makes up our society. It is undeniable that the linguistic, cultural and social connections that come from being a multicultural society provide vast economic benefits and support the development of prosperous international business links. Also, one need only look at the incredible diversity in cuisine we enjoy, the range of furnishings from other countries with which we decorate our homes, and even the different customs many of us weave into our own lives, to see the vibrant impact that such rich ethnic diversity has on all of our lives. On the whole Australians are tolerant of these different cultural influences, in fact most of us embrace them willingly and enjoy the…
A Midsummer Night Dream is a play written by the late William Shakespeare. This play is about a love triangle how one loves the other when the other does not like them until finally it all ends in a resolution, as they have a secret fairy world looking over at them, this play is almost like a mix between the fantasy world and the real! Bottom is one of the characters in this play, and in this play Bottom is a humorous and confident character, although being intelligent in other fields Bottom is not a very clever or educated man. Bottom and his fellow workmates are named the “rude mechanicals”, unsophisticated men but rather great tradesmen, working not with the mind but with the hands, though Bottom may be labeled a “rude mechanical” in many…
And anyway, I’m freeing you. From everything. Complete freedom on both sides. See here’s your ring. Give me mine (The Norton Anthology of Drama, 247). The fact that Nora has the audacity to walk out on her children and husband even though it goes against nineteenth century views of women it shows the audience how Nora is a strong, powerful woman who does not need a husband to control her.…
In nearly all aspects of social life, indigenous Australians experience disadvantage. An inquiry into Australia 's health in 1994 revealed that indigenous Australians were 3 times more likely to die of childhood diseases and were 15 to 20 years more likely to die earlier that other Australians. Indigenous people were nearly twice as likely as member of the general population to live outside urban centres and are more likely to live further from a range of health services and facilities. This statistics highlight the lack of access to health systems leading to health problems and death. In addition to facing a range of cultural and communication barriers, they face particular issues, such as dispossession and the 'stolen generation ' which placed them in a uniquely disadvantaged position. Although there has been funding from the government to try and improve the conditions of life for the Indigenous, according to the ABS only 3% of Indigenous people in NSW were attending a university or other tertiary institution. There was also only 44% of young Indigenous people in NSW that were attending an education institution which came from the 1996 census. From the SMH article 'Vanstone admits indigenous money has been wasted ', it is evident that access to education may improve the future equality for indigenous, where there is a…
My Topic for this assignment will focus on the different factors that explain the gap in Education between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. Assimilation will also be discussed as the main factor in transforming the lives of native children. Further, the content of my essay will tackle the different negative consequences of Assimilation and racism on the children and on the people responsible for their growth.…
An individual’s personal background carries a big influence on the way that they learn. Aboriginal students are disadvantaged in the current schooling system as it differs so much from what they…
History is traditionally seen as the study of past events, which is recorded with facts, data and statistics. These recorded documents are everlasting pieces of the past. However, these documents on their own fail to present the intricate picture of the dreadful events that have occurred. The emotions and sorrows felt by the individuals are continually overlooked and sidestepped in these historical recordings due to their attempt to remain as unbiased as possible by maintaining an objective view. It is the memories of others that then add substance to the historical archives, which allows people to empathize and connect with those moments in time.…
Long before Europeans came to North America, aboriginal people had a highly developed system of education. There was a great deal for aboriginal children to learn before they could survive on their own. Aboriginal elders and parents passed on not only survival skills to their children, but their history, artistic ability, music, language, moral and religious values.…