Essay on Movie - the Rabbit Proof Fence

Essay on Rabbit Proof Fence

The film Rabbit Proof Fence is reminiscent of a war story as the country has been invaded and taken over. The invaders are taking away the children and placing them in camps. Only three manage to escape on their epic journey home they must cross through 'enemy' occupied territory, never knowing friend from foe.

The movie Rabbit Proof Fence and the book The Stolen Children: their stories edited by Carmel Bird aims to impose its values and attitudes on the responder, which compels the viewer to adopt this perspective, thus leading to a change. Both these texts use the language of empathy to impose their perspectives on their audience. This is effectively achieved through the use of a visual and oral medium as it allows the director to use empathetic language thus allowing the audience to enhance the power of understanding and imaginatively entering into another person's feelings. There are many techniques used to enable the audience to embrace this perspective.

Phillip Noyce, director of Rabbit Proof Fence not only portrays the colonial setting of the time but also treats the story with respect and understanding of the cultural protocols that are required. The Film is authentic as it is based on a true story. The authenticity of the film can be proven as it has been recorded in the local press as well as in the archives of the department of Native affairs. Furthermore Molly and Daisy are still alive and footage of them is shown at the end of the film. This footage gives the film a sense of reality. The director Phillip Noyce ensured that the film was culturally appropriated, by employing Pilkington Garimara, Molly's daughter who is also the author of Following the Rabbit Proof Fence, which the movie is based on. Molly can speak from personal experience, as she was part of the stolen generation. Phillip Noyce uses the universal language of emotions to change peoples perspectives of the stolen generation. This is achieved not just domestically but internationally.

The audience becomes emotionally overwhelmed during the children's epic journey home. The audience are able to strongly identify themselves with the three girls due to the fact that they are young, innocent and powerless. The audience can easily connect with the girls for we have all been children. The viewer soon finds themselves on the children's side, in their shoes and identifying with them, the viewer takes on the perspective of the stolen generation.

Carmel Bird has used a written text that contains a report of separate oral accounts of the indigenous peoples past she seeks to detail the differing situations and outcomes of these people. The film Rabbit Proof Fence stands as one story that represents them all. The distinct importance of the individual voices in The Stolen Children is replaced in the film by an intense visual. This visual representation emphasised through the use of symbols, such as the fence and the eagle, which symbolises Molly's freedom. Rabbit Proof Fence stands as a cinematic analogue of Carmel Bird's Stolen children.

The director uses film techniques to manipulate the audience's perception to his liking. During the emotionally charged scene where a local policeman tears the girls from their mother's arms, Phillip Noyce uses ground level camera angles that keep up with the action, furthernore emersing the audience in the traumatic action. Another film technique used is the first person film technique that has the effect of portraying the events of the stolen generations as if they were not witnessed out side the view