Similarities Between Hawthornton And Reko Lennie

Although Warwick Thornton and Reko Rennie, both internationally recognised and acclaimed Indigenous artists, create works that communicate themes of family, injustice, rebellion, and culture, they exhibit these concerns in unique and diverse ways. In comparing these two fascinating characters, one must consider the influence of the time and location in which their work was created, their gender, their preferred mediums, subject matter, their training and life experiences.

The films of Warwick Thornton create questions. By creating questions, one can create a conversation. According to Bell (2012), Thornton was born in 1970 in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, the heart of Australia. An awareness of his own freedom was instilled at a young
Redwood (2014) states that Thornton’s Samson & Delilah (2009) was an incredibly successful film, a “head-on realist political battering (p. 87)” that lingers with the viewer some time after they have left the theatre. Despite the fact that the film has won numerous awards, including four AFI’s for Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Sound, and Best Director (ABC, 2011), Thornton dismisses the notion that the success of a film should be measured by the number of awards it has earned; instead, he believes that Indigenous cinema is changing the world, opening eyes and hearts, changing policy and government, and ultimately telling true stories (ACMI, 2009). Thornton’s work neglects to shy away from the real truth, even if it fails to be glamorous, as well being controversial, as mentioned in his work on Stranded (2011). Similarly, Rennie has shown his work internationally including Paris, Berlin, Italy, Jakarta, Shanghai, and the United States (Rennie, 2014), winning awards such as the Archibald Prize, while also commissioned for a number of works. Undoubtedly, both are successful in regards to their achievements, yet if one is to measure success based on Thornton’s notion, then both have succeeded at an astronomical level. Both artists have helped provoke and broaden the perspectives of others by the work they create; despite the fact that one is anchored in film, the other in street art, both Thornton and Rennie have achieved success by creating work that is true to its ancestry and creates