Assignment On Aboriginal Girls

Running head: FILM REVIEW
Film Review: Rabbit Proof Fence

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FILM REVIEW
Acknowledgement of the country
I acknowledge the custodians of the land, the Indigenous people of the Aboriginal nation
and their past and present Elders. I show my immense respect and acknowledgement in the
continuity of their culture and the contribution they have made to the life of this region. I would
also show my respect for the non-indigenous people who have been supportive of the journey for
justice.
Key Themes and Plot
Rabbit-Proof fence is narration of a true story of three young Aboriginal girls, Molly
(14), Daisy (8) and Gracie (10) who were forced to leave their home in Jigalong, locating in the
Western Australia for the assimilation, in the year of 1931 and describes the journey of these
three Aboriginal girl from then until the escape they made to return to their families. The film is
the adaptation of the novel “Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence”, written by Doris Pilkington, who
was none other than the daughter of Molly. In her account of telling truth, she provided every
detail of the journey of her mother and puts a human face to the Stolen Children. There was a
belief in the Aboriginal tribes that the colonizers were spirits rather than humans which made
them unable to understand the threats the colonizers were imposing to their land, lives and
culture. Children were violently removed from their families to make them "more white"
(Aitken, 2018). The Assimilation policy made this possible as it only aimed at demolishing the
Aboriginal society and creating a place which will only have the “white culture”.
The three girls were forcefully removed from their families to Moore River Native
Settlement, located in the north of Perth, to get trained as domestic servants and do farm works
for the non-Indigenous Australian people, which was common with all the stolen children who

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were taken afar from their families and brought to the settlement (Al-Momani, 2016). They were
even used to get brutally punished upon the usage of their native language imposing denial upon
the indigenous culture. After the girls were taken to the settlement, they decided to escape.
Within a very few days of their arrival, they succeeded to make their escape by the usage of the
skills they fostered in their native community and set to find the way back to their home which
approximately covers a distance of 1,200 miles. In their journey back to the home they also had
Mr A.O. Neville who was the Chief Protector of Aborigines’, chasing behind them which
resulted in the capture of Gracie, who was never seen again.
The skills Molly showed in finding the way back to home proves the relationship
between the land and the natives which is being depicted throughout the film showing how
Molly was taught to hunt for food and in the later part how she kept gathering food for both of
them throughout the journey back to home escaping from Mr Neville with the help of the
landscape around her which she used for the navigation.
A fence generally symbolizes partition of the land – differences in the culture and
community. Here, in the story as well the fence symbolizes the differences both the indigenous
and the non-indigenous people had. However, the usage of the rabbit-proof fence here has been
symbolized as a tool to navigate the way to home for the girls. This is why the symbolisation
changes and to Molly and Daisy, it became the symbol of hope which in other way represents the
triumph of the Aborigines over the catastrophic non-indigenous white culture.
The film begins with the idea of a ‘spirit bird’ instilled by Molly's mother which
represents an eagle as the protector of the community (Fu, 2019). While in the settlement, Molly
gets a recurrence of the picture of the eagle her mother showed her mentioning it to the spirit

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guide who will protect her. They set for the journey and at the end of the film, when they are
shown as too tired to continue the journey, a flying eagle came hovering overhead, and with the
sound of the eagle, the girls restored all their energy to continue the journey back to their
families. In the Aboriginal community, spiritual beliefs are very important which is connected
with animals. In this segment, the eagle was represented as Molly's ‘spirit animal' that helped her
all the way back to her native land is an animal totem. Hence, the theme of spirituality is well
evident in the story.
Aspects of Racism
The concept of racism is widely discussable on the perspective of beliefs, actions,
attitudes towards preventions relating to prejudices and inequity in the distribution of resources
and power which create discrimination varying on race, ethnicity, religion, culture. In the film,
the rabbit-proof fence, the display of racism is very much evident (Griffin, Griffin, & Trudgett,
2017). Throughout the story, a clear picture of racism is being noticed from the very top level of
the constitution to the lowest one. The story shows how the governmental body has endorsed
policies in support of the racism whereby ruling out the assimilation policy, Aboriginal people
were abducted to get into the white society where they were treated as slaves and being tortured
for their native origin. The truth of the Stolen Generation is being well portrayed here, like a
slice of life from the character's very own life. There is a façade of protecting the indigenous
people under the name of ‘Chief Protector of Aborigines’ that Mr Neville has used to mask his
racist discrimination towards the Aboriginal people. With his masked capability to set freedom to
the indigenous people, he has used it to determine the limit of the freedom of these people which
proved to be another act of racism which was slowly taking the Aborigines to the verge of
existence. Mr Neville plays an important role in portraying racism in this story and it reaches its

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height when he comments about how the Aboriginal people can be dissolved. In his words, it
becomes evident how indigenous racism has expanded its way through the cultural hands of the
national government.
The idea to dilute the indigenous peoples’ bloodline, which was prescribed by Mr
Neville, clearly proves how racism was there in every aspect of life. The thought of dissolving
indigenous people by mixing them with the white people, providing supreme power to the whites
along with the way in which he denies the indigenous culture, works as an antithesis to the term
‘protection’.
Acquiring Knowledge in Indigenous Nursing Care
Trauma has been described as the peril caused by enormous stress. The effects of trauma
on human health and body can stay as long as he lives. It dissolves a person's ability to think or
decide and cope up with his surroundings. Trauma is mostly caused by excessive stress and can
affect the mental and physical health along with emotional. In the film, a constant fit of trauma
has been observed from the beginning to the end. The most powerful persons in the society have
their rights to decide the rules and regulations and with that right, they made the life of the
Aborigines most miserable. It is the story of the Stolen Generation, where the children were
snatched out of their mother's lap and taken to a faraway land of unknown people who used to
treat them as slaves. This sense of loss and the pain the family used to go through was not bound
in that very generation but been a transgenerational effect of trauma in the indigenous people and
filtered down the next generations. A chronic trauma has been detected in the whole community
where they were at a loss of basic human rights and freedom and was often entitled to enforced

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exile, separation from their family and imposed pressure to deny their own origin and culture
(Hale et al, 2015).
The true origin of me belonging from the white culture doesn't give the true ability to
comprehend the experiences of the trauma of the stolen generation. However, with my human
qualities and as a practising nurse I can be non-judgmental and quite keen to know about the
culture of the indigenous people. I will use my non-judgmental perspective to understand the
uniqueness of the wellness and health of the Indigenous Australian people. Their culture is
totally different from mine which gives me the chance to expand my knowledge and experience
which will help me in building rapport and understanding the different perspective of my
patients.
With this study of the Aboriginal culture, one thing that is evident to me is, a progression
beyond binary thinking is needed within the space of healthcare, rather than specifying services
like ‘Aboriginal friendly' healthcare system. On the contrary, focus on the systemic culture safety
for the entire population of Australia, including the indigenous communities, is needed. Being a
nurse, I have to deal with a lot of patients from various backgrounds. This knowledge will
enhance my capability to understand the diversity of the patients along with providing me with
the knowledge to take proper care of them with required empathy and efficiency. In refusing the
settlement for anything less to cultural safety, we have the opportunity to make a better place for
the Indigenous community and correct the mistakes our ancestors have done.
Feelings and Thoughts
The completion of RBF left me with a sense of fulfilment by the resilience and fighting
spirit depicted by Molly and her sibling. I was rendered awed by their ability to combat the

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circumstances and felt deep respect for the community which was able to overcome the racial
trauma inflicted on them. The film provides a rich outlook regarding the history of Australia ably
demonstrating the stolen generation and the different challenges faced by them. The film shown
from the perspective of the survivor of the stolen generation and the subsequent actions has
empowered me with the greater knowledge regarding the Indigenous culture of Australia which
has empowered me to execute my duties as a professional in nursing in a better manner.
I was horrified to discover that the indigenous culture of Australia has been imposed
upon by Europeanisation forcing them to adopt new culture and norms which did not resonate
with their beliefs or thoughts. While some people were strictly monitored there were others who
were even forcibly removed from the land of their ancestors rightfully belonging to them. The
government of Australia has formulated several policies to secure the inclusion of Indigenous
people in social activities (Mohan et al., 2019). However, the larger part of the population
continues to be mistreated. The campaign of Close the Gap focuses on providing comprehensive
care to the Indigenous part of the population. There is however a subtle whitewashes where
white ideologies and principles are used to measure the illness and tender the treatment thus once
again reiterating the white culture.
Even in the social context, it can be seen that the Indigenous people are repressed or
unfairly ignored. Their needs and expectations are not represented properly in the government
bodies (Titov et al., 2019). Even in the case of print media, the matter is blazingly obvious
where Indigenous people are sensationalised instead of being treated as normal human beings
with adequate sympathy and understanding. The recent cartoon of Serena Williams demonstrated
in an unflattering disrespectful manner depicts that print media is still skewed with its perception
towards racism and white supremacy.

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Powerful measures to eradicate the underrepresentation of the Indigenous people have
not been taken by the federal bodies of Australia. It has been proposed to formulate a Bill of
Human Rights which can diminish the ability of the government to twist the human rights of the
general community (Pearson & Sanders, 2018). I am a single person in the nation which is still
biased against Indigenous people depriving them of basic rights and needs. While the basic
amenities are still provided to Indigenous people they are still treated as outsiders in a nation of
which they are the oldest inhabitants. However, the film has provided me with ample strength to
believe in my abilities after watching the struggles of Molly. It has shown that even one person
can make a difference if the right attempts are made with ample courage. It has instilled
sufficient faith in me that as a white person I can make powerful contributions to the society
through appropriate actions.

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Reference List
Aitken, S. (Ed.). (2018). Using Film to Understand Childhood and Practice. Bloomsbury
Publishing.
Al-Momani, H. A. A. (2016). Rabbit Proof Fence: A Struggle for Cultural Existence. Advances
in Language and Literary Studies, 7(6), 276-279.
Fu, Y. W. (2019). Breaking through the Rabbit-Proof Fence: Colonial Displacement and
Aboriginal Resistance in Doris Pilkington Garimara's Storytelling. Concentric: Literacy
& Cultural Studies, 45(1).
Griffin, L., Griffin, S., & Trudgett, M. (2017). At the Movies: Contemporary Australian
Indigenous Cultural Expressions–Transforming the Australian Story. The Australian
Journal of Indigenous Education, 1-8.
Hale, B., Tuataev, B., Jebb, E., Robertson, J., Davis, J., Robertson, J., ... & McMillan, R. (2015).
Participation Works, 189 Pindown episode, 131 quality of care, 123 ‘Rabbit Proof
Fence’, 128 recovery from deficits, 151, 154, 162. Enhancing Children's Rights:
Connecting Research, Policy and Practice, 154, 341.
Laycock, R. A. (2017). Marketing the notion of'Home'in Phillip Noyce's' Rabbit-proof
fence'. Metro Magazine: Media & Education Magazine, (193), 108.
Mohan, J. V., Atkinson, D. N., Rosman, J. B., & Griffiths, E. K. (2019). Acute kidney injury in
Indigenous Australians in the Kimberley: age distribution and associated
diagnoses. Medical Journal of Australia.[ Retrieved from :
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.5694/mja2.50061]

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Molloy, D. (2016). Stolen-Generations Literature:—My Place and Rabbit-Proof Fence.
In Cultural Memory and Literature (pp. 73-83). Brill Rodopi.
Pearson, N., & Sanders, W. (2018). Indigenous peoples and reshaping Australian institutions:
Two perspectives.[ Retrieved from :
https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/145532]
Power, K., & Somerville, M. (2015). The fence as technology of (post-) colonial childhood in
contemporary Australia. In Unsettling the Colonial Places and Spaces of Early
Childhood Education (pp. 73-88). Routledge.
Titov, N., Schofield, C., Staples, L., Dear, B. F., & Nielssen, O. (2019). A comparison of
indigenous and non-indigenous users of MindSpot: an Australian digital mental health
service. Australasian Psychiatry, 27(4), 352-357.[ Retrieved from :
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1039856218789784]
Westmore, G. (2017). Rabbit-proof fence: Exploring the complexities and horror of the stolen
generations. Screen Education, (87), 68.