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Australian visions
Australian vision Essay
Different Australian visions are often portrayed in various texts and motion pictures. Australian film Strictly Ballroom 1992 is a great example as the director uses very over-the-top and theatrical style of filmmaking to present a humorous story that reflects various ideals in Australian society with cinematography and film techniques. The movie not only showcases the persona of the underdog especially through the character of Fran, but also illustrates the concept of multiculturalism and the idea of achieving dreams on the land of Australia, which are all concepts that relates to different aspect of Australian visions. On the other hand the poem ‘My country’ written by Dorothea McKellar, expresses other ideals of Australia that are more directly related with the land. Through the use of poetic techniques such as metaphor the poet was able to depict both the natural danger and beauty of the nation that are also valued as important part of Australian visions.
One of the main focuses of the movie Strictly Ballroom is the characteristic of the underdog, a term that is closely associated with Australian values. The belief of giving everyone a fair go is fully expressed through the story arc of Fran, whom like the ugly duckling was transformed into something beautiful by the end of the movie. This concept is expressed through the Baz Luhrmann’s portray of this character. The juxtaposition between her first appearance and her performance at the end fully showcases Fran’s role as the underdog. This is reinforced with her red dress and the lighting used during the ending of the movie. Differs to other contestants’ clothes that looked superficial and over-the-top, the authentic colour of red used for Fran made her stood out as a glamorous, confident and beautiful woman, which is completely different to her seemingly unattractive first appearance from the start of the film. This is further on supported by the lighting of the movie, which not

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