This particular piece of writing grabbed by attention as I surfed through literally hundreds of film reviews on the recent release "Rabbit Proof Fence- - a clichéd film to choose perhaps, but one I thought would be an ideal starting ground as it achieved such worldwide acclaim and captured an audience with many different backgrounds, educations and views on the particular subject that it embodied.
The first thing I noticed, aside from the amateurish font and layout (an eyesore for a web designer), was the difference in language compared with other film review sites, who perhaps tackled this delicate issue with some decorum, careful not to perhaps "offend- any Indigenous Australians with it's language and opinion which might not be so reserved for the latest Hollywood blockbuster. "Racism Down Under- this review reads. "Rabbit Proof Fence Chronicles Treatment of Half-Castes-. I couldn't resist - it was blatant that whoever wrote this was fairly uneducated in the sensitivity of certain Australian issues.
I did notice firstly that the word "Aboriginal- as an adjective was never used - as if the author was told that there was no such thing as "An Aboriginal-, he thought it best to steer clear of the term whatsoever. I also found myself amused with the phrase " (he) essentially has complete control over the indigenous people- (Hong, 2003) as I thought that was a lot of people to have complete control of! (Noting the absence of the capital "I- denoting Australian Indigenous people.) The final phrase interested me also: "Although definitely worth watching, does not require the big screen. Save yourself some money and rent it instead- (Hong, 2003).
That was what it came down to. Save yourself some money and rent it instead so the cast and the crew know that their efforts in producing a film about racism and some of the most important historical events in Australian history aren't worth paying $13 for at a cinema.
