Review of Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) by Steven R — 19 Jun 2008

This movie was both sad and triumphant. Australiaâ??s treatment of the aborigines was as bad if not as long as slavery and discrimination against blacks in America and the usurping of land from Native Americans.

This movie is based on a true story about what is known as the Stolen Generations. Children of aborigines, especially ones that were part white, where forcibly removed from their parents and given to white families to raise as white.

There seems to have been many reasons to do this. One was to breed the aborigine out of the half-caste (as these children were called). Another was to â??protectâ?? the children. One thing that the movie doesnâ??t really explain is that aborigines are tightly knit communities.

Individuals in some communities, to this day, usually do not make decisions in their lives without going to the elders for advise and permission. This is not a stricture but a way of life. It is so deeply embedded in them that the individual does not really consider himself or herself an â??Iâ?? but a â??we.

â?? I highly recommend this movie.