Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 2, 1 February 1993 — Film acclaimed for its positive portrayal of Aboriginals [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Film acclaimed for its positive portrayal of Aboriginals

by Jeff Clark The United Nations' Year of Indigenous Peoples may bring forth "a greater community between indigenous peoples, and j greater awareness of the values of indigenous peoples," says Lydia Miller, a leading Aboriginal actress from Australia. Miller was in Hawai'i for the recent Hawai'i International Film Festival, whieh premiered "Jindalee Lady," an Australian production acclaimed for its positive portrayal of Aborigines.

The film is called historic because it represents several "firsts" for Aboriginals in directing, scoring and acting in a feature film. An allegory of oppression set in the city of Sydney, "Jindalee Lady" is the story of Lauren, a fashion designer who leaves her white corporate achiever husband after he seduces one of her models. Greg, a native fdmmaker, guides a distraught and pregnant Lauren back to her roots and cultural heritage. Miller plays Lauren and says the positive portrayal of

Aborigines by Aborigines as intelligent and upwardly mobile is a weleome, much-needed

change. "Positive images are vital. Whoever is controlling the images is also controlling what people think," she said. Until "Jindalee Lady" eame along, "You had (Aboriginal) women portrayed without dignity and men portrayed without intelligence" in Australian ftlm. There's a reason for the history of negative images. In any land grab, the conquerors portray the native people on a lower scale so they ean justify their "superiority" and convince people that the land grab was justified. In Australia white settlers relied on the precepts of Social Darwinism to say that the Aborigines were inferior. Miller said the Australian press questioned the accuracy of "Jindalee Lady," calling it a "yuppie middle-class portrayal of Aborigines." She said, "It's

part of the colonialist mentality to label and divide people. But some people live like this. There

are aboriginal fashion designers, and there are up-and-coming aboriginal cinematographers." Miller said the Australian film industry in fact is marked by its issuance of "images whieh don't portray Aborigines realistically, images whieh are ultimately racist."

"Jindalee Lady" offered Miller "a new kind of role," she said. The actress usually plays victims or women who are dependent on men. But she tries to negotiate with directors to invest her parts with more guts than are written into the script to bring the projects closer in line with reality. "We are very strong women," Miller said. "We are a very strong, very matriarchal society. "It's just good to see us look so good. Especially for the young people - they see you're dynamic, you're busy people,

and you're doing something with your life." Miller said politics in Australia is hot with sovereignty and land-rights issues. Across the continent there are "pockets of activity," with the survival of a culture at stake. One big issue is disputes over terranullius (or unoccupied) land. The argument is whether the land was invaded or whether there were informal treaties made along the way. "The mining companies are going berserk - they fly lawyers in from New York to go through the cases with a fine-toothed comb," Miller said.

"Lauren" in old age reflects on the years gone by.

"Lauren" (played by Lydia Miller) and "Greg," the filmmaker who helps her get in touch with her cultural legacy, are the main characters in "Jindalee Lady."