Highly Recommended
An essential documentary look at the culture of racism in Australia and a must-see for all Australians.
There have been a number of documentary films in the last few years that have pointed to a culture of racism in Australia. From Warwick Thornton’s We Don’t Need a Map to this year’s The Final Quarter, the films have aimed to confront Australia with the casual prejudice that permeates everything from the flag to sports.
Director Daniel Gordon (The Fall) and writer Stan Grant’s THE AUSTRALIAN DREAM takes the life of AFL player Adam Goodes, from his early days to his treatment later in his career, and explores the institutionalisation of racism in the country. Goodes, a passionate advocate for Indigenous causes, was treated abysmally by the media and sporting crowds later in his career when he began calling out behaviour that he no longer wished to tolerate.
The Final Quarter is a brilliantly edited piece that simply lays out existing footage and lets the events speak for themselves. In this film, Grant takes a different approach by interviewing key subjects in the saga as they reflect back. On the one hand, there’s Goodes himself (along with his friends and family), and Indigenous players such as the legendary Nicky Winmar. On the other, there’s unapologetic conservatives Andrew Bolt and Eddie McGuire, who only seems to open his mouth to change feet.
Which is one of the strengths of Grant’s narrative, in that it doesn’t isolate opinions within a vacuum chamber. Nevertheless, there is a strong narrative here about the impact of racial vilification in Australia. “The Australian Dream,” he remarks “is rooted in racism.” Showing the attacks on Goodes not as a isolated incident but as part of a pattern of behaviour, the “booing campaign” against him is revealed to be the tip of a larger iceberg. In this context, the conservative voices – who also include the frequently racist and homophobic Sam Newman – seem small-minded and wrong by virtue of proximity to the truth.
The film also deviates from The Final Quarter, which can be viewed as a companion piece, by weaving in Grant’s personal history. Grant paints a broader picture of racial vilification in the country and the importance of sport in that culture. Indigenous Australian former AFL player Gilbert McAdam likens football to his relationship with the land, drawing parallels with the community and tradition it engenders. So when attacks occur on players, several players remark, “it just makes us feel like shit.”
THE AUSTRALIAN DREAM doesn’t simply show us examples of racism in Australia, it conveys the feeling of being vilified by an entire nation. An often emotional film, frequently fiery, and relentlessly honest, this is a documentary that should be seen by all Australians.
2019 | Australia | DIRECTOR: Daniel Gordon | WRITERS: Stan Grant | CAST: Adam Goodes, Stan Grant, Nathan Buckley, Linda Burney | DISTRIBUTOR: Madman Films (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 106 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 22 August 2019 (AUS), 1-18 August 2019 (MIFF)
