BONZA - Australia & New Zealand Database

Reference Type

journal

Title

Backroads: From Identity to Interval

Author(s)

Stephen Muecke

Volume

Issue

Australian Cinema, Culture & Criticism

Town

Sydney

State

NSW

Country

Australia

Publication Date

00-00-2001

Citation Date

Synopsis

Within this text 'Backroads: From identity to Interval', Stephen Muecke has clearly structured the information to give a logical and concise coverage of both the background context of Backroads, as well as an analysis of the key themes and issues which have subsequently emerged. The article begins by highlighting the importance of Phillip Noyce as a driving force in the Australian film industry, providing contextual information on his contributions to Australian film and quoting his ethos in the initial stages of creating a film. Muecke speculates that Noyce chose Gary Foley as the lead actor as he was developing his theory that achieving a true aesthetic in a character stems directly out of having real life experience. Muecke argues that Noyce deliberately worked with Foley in this way to keep the politics associated with the Indigenous community as true as possible, and also so as not to cause further inconsistencies in the portrayal of Aboriginal people.

The article moves to a more documentary style of giving a running commentary on the film, discussing the plot at length and even including large sections of dialogue in the article. In doing this he highlights the key scenes within 'Backroads', namely the scene where Gary and Bill are in the car having an argument about the position of Aboriginal people, where the scene is filmed in the moving car with the camera strapped on and an improvised script. Muecke uses excerpts from interviews with Michael Carlton to highlight the significance of certain scenes within his text.

Finally the text concludes with a commentary on the political effects of the film, reflecting on the metaphorical dead kangaroo as a reference to the way which the indigenous are 'hunted' by white man which is reflected in the death of Gary at the conclusion of the film. This text is critical as Muecke explores the influences that indigenous inclusion had on the film as well as raising questions of politics and racial prejudice.

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