If
there is one political documentary filmmaker that has remained unambiguously ideologically
consistent over their career in the (quasi)mainstream then it is John
Pilger. He has fervently been
representing and documenting the plight of the oppressed and dispossessed for
nearly 4 decades, never sensationalising his subjects but instead listening to
them and contextualising their issues and turmoil.
His
latest documentary Utopia sees him
return to his home country of Australia in order to highlight the persistent
and shocking prejudice that is aimed at the Aboriginal communities. He last focussed on this subject in his film Welcome To Australia (available online
it its entirety here)
that highlighted the tragic inequality between the native people of the country
and their exclusion from the pomp and fanfare of the upcoming Sydney Olympic
games. This film returns to the issue,
this time stressing the lack of access to healthcare and employment for the
people, the appalling police brutality that they suffer and the psychological
damage that is done due to the historical revisionism of the white majority
population.
The
film is presented in a simple and factual manner with Pilger using his
authoritative style to give context and highlight injustice on a number of
issues. He visits a group of people that
live in ramshackle camps whilst revealing that the lifespan of the Aboriginal community
is 45 and that they have not been counted in the official census. He talks to doctors who reveal horrific disorders
such as cockroaches living in ear canals and intense malnourishment due to a
single tap between many families and terrible sanitary facilities.
After
talking to these people, he then juxtaposes their lives with a group of white
families celebrating Australia
Day, an anniversary of “the raising of the Union Jack at Sydney Cove by its
commander Captain Arthur Phillip in 1788”.
To Pilger, this is a celebration of the invading British beginning the
extermination of the natives, yet to everyone he interviews (obviously there is
no opposition to him) the day has nothing to do with the Aborigines and that if
they ‘sobered up’ then they could integrate and enjoy the festivities too. Most opinions revolved around a theme that claimed
that this was ‘the lifestyle that they want’
The
most shocking scene is where Pilger takes a small group of Aborigines to an old
Aborigine prison that has now been turned into a holiday hotel on an Island
infamous for previous cruelty. There is
no mention of the horrors that took place on the island, simply and
encouragement to forget your worries and enjoy the view.
As
mentioned above, the film is the latest in the a long line of excellent documentaries
from Pilger that reveal the cruelty of western capitalism and if this intrigues
you and you want to learn more, any entry from his back catalogue will equally
inform and horrify you. A good place to
start is probably here…
Where is the outcry, where are the sanctions? How can Australia get away with this? I don't understand. This is one of the most upsetting films I've ever seen, we need to make some noise! Shame on you Australia, shame on you :(
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