The Review Of The Film The Sapphires

Today I wish to convince you to include the Australian film The Sapphires into, your English syllabus. This film is a musical comedy that also has important lessons to be learnt about indigenous representations in film.

The Sapphires was directed by Wayne Blair and was released in 2012. It is loosely based on a true story. The Sapphires was set in 1960 and is about four Indigenous Australian girls who left their own country, to gain recognition and respect for their singing talent by entertaining American troops in Vietnam during the war without being judged because of their race. At this time both Indigenous Australians and African Americans were fighting to be treated fairly and recognised as equals to the white people who controlled their societies. By studying this film your students will be able to gain knowledge about how indigenous Australians are represented in film and how they respond to the inequity they are exposed to.

Two characters in the film challenge the cultural stereotypes of aboriginals during the 1960s.The character of Kay is used to represent all those aboriginals who were victims of the Australian policy of taking half-cast children away from their families and she reveals the harmful effects of it. Kay is presented as not feeling “black” or “white” as she has been robbed of her identity and sense of belonging. Her cousin Gail condemns Kay for not accepting her aboriginality and for acting like a “white fella” even though it wasn’t her fault. Gail calls Kay “You’re a coconut” and “You may be black on the outside but you’re sure white on the inside” to reinforce Kay’s struggle to be accepted by either community

Gail’s character represents the voice of protest as she demonstrates her anger and resentment during the talent show when the all-white audience refused to listen to her and her sisters sing. She challenges their disrespect by reminding them that “You’re on black fellas land now.” This display of defiance reflected the marches for greater recognition by aboriginals during the 1960s which is shown through news footage at the start of the movie.

This movie is important as it doesn’t portray aboriginals as helpless victims, instead the ‘Sapphires’ are strong and independent women who actively search for equality in a world that excludes them because of the colour of their skin. They had achieved dignity and success from their audience of American soldiers, a respect that was denied to them by their own country. This representation of success is an important feature of the film as indigenous Australians are too often depicted as failures.

I hope I have convinced you to include the film The Sapphires into your syllabus. It will satisfy the requirements of your study on Indigenous representations in popular culture but will also entertain your students because of the integration of some great African American soul music that your students will love. If you don’t include this film then your students will be missing out!