Exploring the Theme of Power in the Film Rabbit Proof Fence
Rabbit Proof Fence (RPF) was directed by Phillip Noyce in 2002. It tells the audience about the experiences of Molly, Daisy and Gracie during the time of the Assimilation Policy in Australia in the 1930s. This film deals heavily with the themes of power. Power is basically, to ability to influence behaviours in good and bad ways, the audience sees how Mr. Neville, the main antagonist and Chief Protector of Aborigines, uses power negatively. These are three examples of power focused on in RPF.
In RPF, Mr Neville has more power than the indigenous community because of his status as the Chief Protector of Aborigines. Near the start of the film Mr. Neville is looking down on documents of the girls, sending them off to Moore River. The camera is pointing up at him showing his power over the Aboriginal community, on top of that, his face doesn't have emotion, showing his carelessness. Later his secretary comes in to tell him about some Indigenous parents outside waiting for Mr. Neville to give them permission to talk to their children. The camera is pointing down at their crying faces, the high angle shot of the parents shows their powerlessness. Mr Neville continues ignoring the families, showing that he doesn’t care about them. This is an example of Mr. Neville’s power.
In RPF, Molly is studied by Mr. Nevile to see how pale she is. When Molly was at Moore River, she gets called by Mr. Neville because she is “whiter” than the other girl, meaning that she is smarter than them and can go to school. She refuses but eventually agrees to stand up but eventually does when one of her friends says she’ll be put in a box, get whipped, get her hair cut and be left there for days showing that violence is how they keep the children in line showing how evil they are. Molly then slowly walks toward Mr. Neville. The camera goes to Molly’s perspective as you see everything bigger than what it really is, showing she is dizzy. She slowly gets to Mr. Neville, then when Molly does get to him, Mr. Neville is huge. He is towering over her showing his power over Molly. He’s smiling but in reality he doesn’t care for her. This is an example of Molly’s power.
At the end of the film, Mr. Neville tells his secretary to keep track on the whereabouts of the girls. Then after he tells his secretary everything about the girls he then pauses, like he was afraid. The camera pans out on him except instead of looking up, the camera is looking down on him, showing his loss of power, he thinks if he is incapable of looking after only three girls, what would looking after every aboriginal person be like in the next few years. In the next scene it shows Molly, older, talking about how she escaped a second time and how Mr. Neville lost his job afterwards, the camera looks upwards at her older self, showing her power over everyone who tried to lock her up. This is an example of Molly’s and Mr. Neville’s new found power.
Noyce’s RPF, deals with the thematic concern of power to a large extent. Through the film, the audience can see how power can be used negatively by Mr. Neville. The audience sees Mr. Neville like a tyrant through the eyes of the Indigenous community, become a powerless man that couldn’t keep three little girls in line. By the end of the film, Molly has more power over Mr. Neville, because he couldn’t keep Molly in line, later he lost his job for losing Molly a second time while trying to capture her again. RPF has many themes, but none as strong as power. Power can be used negatively and positively. If you use it negatively, it’ll be fun but it’ll come back to bite you. If you use it positively, it will be tough but will pay off in the end.
