Laramie Project Mabo Analysis

The Laramie Project and Mabo are both texts featured in the life writing genre. The Laramie Project is presented as a play, while Mabo is a biographical film. Both The Laramie Project and Mabo use life writing codes and conventions to convey the ideas and themes of each text. While they both share similar themes, the way life writing codes and conventions are applied differentiates The Laramie Project and Mabo.
In the film, Mabo the viewer is positioned to align themselves with Eddie and feel empathy towards him. Film techniques are used in a way where the audience is positioned to understand Eddies struggles and become emotionally attached. Eddies flaws are also revealed during the biographical film making him a more realistic subject, therefore creating verisimilitude. In the play The Laramie Project the audience is aligned with Matthew. Unlike in Mabo the audience is detached from the subject. This is created by Moises Kaufman and the Members of the Tectonic Theatre Company by using a style of theatre called Epic Theatre. Epic Theatre does not encourage an emotional attachment but rather using minimal props, and costumes allows
the audience to remain detached and critically analyse the content of the play and make their own opinions. Moises Kaufman does however manipulate the moments in The Laramie Project to position the audience to align with Matthew and his affected friends. By juxtaposing moments of hatred with moments of compassion emphasises the goodness of Matthews friends. This type of manipulation is also used in Mabo by Sue Smith and Rachel Perkins to create emotional attachments in Mabo.
Rachel Perkins and Moises Kaufman both have personal connections to the text and themes in Mabo and The Laramie Project.
Rachel Perkins is related to Charlie Perkins, a well-known Aboriginal right’s activist, allowing her to deeply understand Eddie and his case. Similarly, Moises Kaufman identifies as a gay man, creating a personal connection to the story of Matthew Shepard. Both Rachel Perkins and Moises Kaufman use their personal experiences to convey the main themes of The Laramie Project and Mabo, including prejudice, discrimination and alienation. Alienation is a key theme in Mabo and The Laramie Project as both Matthew Shepard and Eddie Mabo were part of minority groups. The filmmakers of Mabo and the Tectonic Theatre Company position the audience to understand the subjects and the challenges faced by those who a part of a
minority.
Both Rachel Perkins and Moises Kaufman put emphasise on research and accuracy when creating their respective texts. Rachel Perkins and Sue Smith as well as the rest of the film makers conducted many interviews with those who were close to Eddie and his land right’s case. This included multiple interviews with his wife Bonita and other family members as well as participants in in the court case. Large amounts of research were also conducted to ensure the accuracy of the setting and costumes in the biographical film. Moises Kaufman and the members of the tectonic Theatre Company conducted more than 200 interviews over the course of two years in Laramie, Wyoming. The Laramie Project is verbatim but Moises Kaufman manipulates the moments to create emotion within the audience. Moments of compassion and understanding are juxtaposed with moments of hatred to emphasise the different perspectives citizens of Laramie had.
By using perspective, point of view and in-depth research, both the filmmakers of Mabo and the members of the Tectonic Film Company position the audience to emotionally connect with the subjects. However, in The Laramie project the audience is still detached enough to critically analyse each of the subjects and create an informed opinion. Using research both Mabo and The Laramie Project create verisimilitude, therefore creating a more accurate biographical film and play.