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>> It gives me great pleasure to introduce this film, BabaKiueria, or Barbecue Area,
as it's sometimes referred to. It's a it's an Australian film produced in
1986. The director's Don Featherstone.
And it's a great role-reversal film about a group of indigenous Australians who land
on a, a barbeque area where some white Australians are enjoying some recreation.
They proceed to take over the area for something.
They're never very clear about what it is they're taking the land for, and they set
up a whole system which is very familiar. It's, it's certainly recognizable as the
colonial process of how land was discovered.
And discovered in quotes. And then a series of policies to deal with
the Indian problem en, ensues. So there's also a minister of white
affairs and so forth. The interesting thing about this film is
it's it won the United Nations Media Peace Prize in 1987.
And it's used in Australia or used to be used in Australia to train young police
officers. And it helps to look at race relations
between indigenous people and, and non indigenous people.
And I think the, the, although it was told by a non indigenous person, the story is,
is one that a lot of Aboriginal people can relate to, that they, they can understand
the, the kind of workings of racism in the movie.
And at only 30 minutes, it certainly tells a lot about the ways that these things
worked. And it certainly works across regions.
Although it was, it was produced in Australia I certainly know a lot of
Aboriginal people in Canada who, who, who laugh with recognition, too much
recognition, when they see this film. Certainly our, our, our counterparts in
the United States recognize it as well. So it's a very useful film, to look at
the, the colonial process in understanding race relations today.
If we inverted everything just how strange it would all look.
So please enjoy the film, and take part in the activity.
Jean-Paul RestouleAssociate Professor
