Indigenous Representation

Indigenous representation in the film industry is a problem that extends beyond the parameters of Australian cinema and Australian Indigenous discourse. As a problem that has only really recently come to light in academia and popular culture, skewed representation is just starting to build support and appeal networks across nations that construct such images and identities. Among these nations, Canada and the United States of America are large contributors to films that objectify populations, promote out-dated stereotypes and discriminate statistically against indigenous participation in the making of such representations. There is a strong “culture of forgetting” that acts as a convenient amnesia with regards to settler and indigenous relations in history and a lack of recognition of indigenous identity as being Australian identity. Assimilation and the policies that justified the destruction of indigenous identity, culture and dispossession have slowly been integrated into narratives concerning and/or involving indigenous peoples, however there are still many instances of racism and discrimination through written roles, casting, and representation in feature films.

The struggle for honest and politically correct representation is not something new or innovative. In 1972 Marlon Brando’s performance as Vito Corleone in The Godfather was praised and selected as the Academy’s selection for Best Actor. Brando turned down the Oscar and boycotted the award ceremony sending instead an American Indian Rights activist to advocate the issues surrounding the depiction of American Indians by Hollywood and television. Australia and Canada have had similar lobbying groups and many academics have written on the subject, but there is still not as much critical thinking, analysis, or action working towards stronger and more positive Indigenous representation in these film industries. This weekend’s Indigenous Film Festival (MessageSticks) is exemplary of the kinds of information, images, and attitudes that need to infiltrate into more international communities to change the perceptions that have been constructed by decades of colonialism and racism.

Follow this link to watch Sacheen Littlefeather refusing to accept the Best Actor Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando for his performance in "The Godfather" in 1973 -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QUacU0I4yU