This film follows the life of a young Aboriginal boy, Dujuan, in the Northern Territory. It is a political film, highlighting issues with the governance of Aboriginal communities. Particularly disturbing was the Aunty's story of being starved in junvenile detention.
The film attempts to draw a connection between English-language Western education, and Dujuan's delinquency and property damage. I cringed at watching white Australian teachers teaching the history of the founding of Australia, and Aboriginal cultural beliefs, to Aboriginal children. I'm sympathetic to the film's ideas of self-governance at a community level, and I can see how teaching in the local language could have helped Dujuan.
At the same time, I left feeling troubled at the film's implication that Dujuan's troubles are entirely the fault of cross-cultural failings. The glaring issue is that Dujuan's parents are separated, and his father is not present for most of the film. In fact, there are no older men visible at all, in his upbringing by his mother's family.
Fatherless boys are known to become criminals at a much higher rate, regardless of race, especially when surrounded by other fatherless boys. And this is exactly what we see in Dujuan's life. He lacks older male role models in his life, and so hangs out on the street with older boys at night, and makes trouble. At the end of the film, when the boy is sent to live with his father, you can see how much calmer he is.
Australia will continue to do wrong by children like Dujuan as long as we continue to deny Aboriginal people moral agency. Much as Aboriginal people must demand effective governance from Australian voters, they must also demand responsible parenting from themselves. That starts with stable, healthy marriages, not broken homes.
The film attempts to draw a connection between English-language Western education, and Dujuan's delinquency and property damage. I cringed at watching white Australian teachers teaching the history of the founding of Australia, and Aboriginal cultural beliefs, to Aboriginal children. I'm sympathetic to the film's ideas of self-governance at a community level, and I can see how teaching in the local language could have helped Dujuan.
At the same time, I left feeling troubled at the film's implication that Dujuan's troubles are entirely the fault of cross-cultural failings. The glaring issue is that Dujuan's parents are separated, and his father is not present for most of the film. In fact, there are no older men visible at all, in his upbringing by his mother's family.
Fatherless boys are known to become criminals at a much higher rate, regardless of race, especially when surrounded by other fatherless boys. And this is exactly what we see in Dujuan's life. He lacks older male role models in his life, and so hangs out on the street with older boys at night, and makes trouble. At the end of the film, when the boy is sent to live with his father, you can see how much calmer he is.
Australia will continue to do wrong by children like Dujuan as long as we continue to deny Aboriginal people moral agency. Much as Aboriginal people must demand effective governance from Australian voters, they must also demand responsible parenting from themselves. That starts with stable, healthy marriages, not broken homes.