Samson and Delilah
"Samson and Delilah" is a film directed by Warwick Thornton in 2009. Here's an essay I wrote about it:
Analyse how visual techniques are used to develop deeper ideas in a visual text you have studied.
In Samson and Delilah, director Warwick Thornton uses cinematography, props and make-up to show the reality of life for young teenage Aborigines. Thornton uses cinematography to show the reality of dislocation these young teenagers feel towards their culture. He uses props to show the reality of substance abuse young Aboriginal teenagers experience either by imposing it on themselves or by people around them sniffing petrol to get high. Thornton also uses make-up to show the reality of violence that young aboriginal teenagers are surrounded by, especially in Alice Sprigs where rape, beating and murder are part of every-day life. He uses these to show the Australian people the life some of these teenagers actually have.
Thornton uses cinematography to show the dominantly white Australian society the reality of dislocation some young teenage Aborigines feel towards their culture. In a scene where Samson is looking over his village we see a big shot over the shoulder view of the village's main street. We then see a midshot of Samson sniffing petrol. Finally he gets up and walks away from the village and the camera. This sequence of shots shows how Samson is turning his back on his culture. The event is triggered by the beating of Delilah after her nana dies. This is a cultural beating where the elders beat the young for not taking care of their nana, despite the fact that Delilah took very good care of her nana. The shot of Samson walking away from the camera and the village suggests that he has chosen to leave because he disagrees with his culture's beliefs and so feels dislocated from it and the shot of him sniffing petrol possibly suggests he is turning to petrol instead of his culture. Dislocation is a common feeling for many young teenage Aborigines and Thornton uses cinematography to show Australian society this.
Thornton uses the bottle of petrol to show the Australian society the addiction to substance abuse some young teenage Aborigines experience and also the effect that addiction has on them. The first shot of the film is Samson waking up sniffing petrol. Throughout the film an increasingly strong association develops between Samson and petrol as his addiction grows. In the scene of Delilah getting hit by a car and in the scene of Delilah being abducted by some men Samson is too high off petrol fumes to notice what is happening around him at the time. Throughout the duration of Samson's time in Alice Springs it isn’t often we see Samson without the petrol bottle under his nose. After the abduction and rape of Delilah Samson continues to sniff petrol and Delilah starts to follow his example indicating that young teenage Aborigines see substance abuse as an escape from their problems and situations in life. Substance abuse is a huge problem because of the way it destroys brain cells and distorts reality. If Delilah and Samson's brother hadn't come back and rescued Samson from Alice Springs he would have died under that bridge. This confronting image brought to Australian society by Thornton reflects the reality of addiction to petrol some young teenage Aborigines experience.
Thornton uses make-up to show Australian society the reality of violence young teenage Aborigines are surrounded by in Alice Springs, especially in the Alice Springs' aboriginal ghetto Hoppy's Camp. When Delilah comes back from being kidnapped, raped and beaten Thornton's make-up artist Carol Cameron has used tissue and cloth along with latex to create swelling around Delilah's eye and blush, eyeliner and fake blood to give Delilah the look of being very badly beaten. It gives the effect of her eye being swollen shut, blood in her mouth and cheek bruising. This is a reflection of the violence that surrounds young teenage Aborigines in Alice Springs. The reality of violence is very obvious in Alice Springs' ghetto Hoppy's camp where fighting and drinking extends throughout the night. There are huge alcohol problems Hoppy's Camp, where young men carry knives and women seek to hang themselves from trees to escape the beatings, rape and murder that surrounds them. As a tourist town Alice Springs tries to hide all of this, but Thornton is using his film to display these realties. In fact the topic of aboriginal life is so hidden that when Tony Abbott, the opposition leader in Australian government, visited Hoppy's Camp he was very shocked at the conditions indicating that he had no idea of the situation. This is why Thornton's message is so very important.
Thornton has used the film and the techniques to confront the audience, the Australian society in particular but also the rest of the world, the harsh life many young aboriginal teenagers have. Thornton says "all of the things in this film I have seen before" indicating that this is a film about reality. The life of Samson is extremely different from my life and the lives of most young New Zealand and Australian teenagers. Samson does not have any interaction with his family when his life starts falling apart meaning he can't get the support he requires. Whereas I have interaction with my family every day. Samson never learnt that inhaling petrol fumes is very dangerous and destroys brain cells very quickly. The reason the film is so confronting for Australians is because they are a developed nation and so such an extreme difference between the ideal raising conditions for a child and the reality is not expected there. Hopefully this film will make Australians try to make their country a better place by helping the Aboriginal people.
Analyse how visual techniques are used to develop deeper ideas in a visual text you have studied.
In Samson and Delilah, director Warwick Thornton uses cinematography, props and make-up to show the reality of life for young teenage Aborigines. Thornton uses cinematography to show the reality of dislocation these young teenagers feel towards their culture. He uses props to show the reality of substance abuse young Aboriginal teenagers experience either by imposing it on themselves or by people around them sniffing petrol to get high. Thornton also uses make-up to show the reality of violence that young aboriginal teenagers are surrounded by, especially in Alice Sprigs where rape, beating and murder are part of every-day life. He uses these to show the Australian people the life some of these teenagers actually have.
Thornton uses cinematography to show the dominantly white Australian society the reality of dislocation some young teenage Aborigines feel towards their culture. In a scene where Samson is looking over his village we see a big shot over the shoulder view of the village's main street. We then see a midshot of Samson sniffing petrol. Finally he gets up and walks away from the village and the camera. This sequence of shots shows how Samson is turning his back on his culture. The event is triggered by the beating of Delilah after her nana dies. This is a cultural beating where the elders beat the young for not taking care of their nana, despite the fact that Delilah took very good care of her nana. The shot of Samson walking away from the camera and the village suggests that he has chosen to leave because he disagrees with his culture's beliefs and so feels dislocated from it and the shot of him sniffing petrol possibly suggests he is turning to petrol instead of his culture. Dislocation is a common feeling for many young teenage Aborigines and Thornton uses cinematography to show Australian society this.
Thornton uses the bottle of petrol to show the Australian society the addiction to substance abuse some young teenage Aborigines experience and also the effect that addiction has on them. The first shot of the film is Samson waking up sniffing petrol. Throughout the film an increasingly strong association develops between Samson and petrol as his addiction grows. In the scene of Delilah getting hit by a car and in the scene of Delilah being abducted by some men Samson is too high off petrol fumes to notice what is happening around him at the time. Throughout the duration of Samson's time in Alice Springs it isn’t often we see Samson without the petrol bottle under his nose. After the abduction and rape of Delilah Samson continues to sniff petrol and Delilah starts to follow his example indicating that young teenage Aborigines see substance abuse as an escape from their problems and situations in life. Substance abuse is a huge problem because of the way it destroys brain cells and distorts reality. If Delilah and Samson's brother hadn't come back and rescued Samson from Alice Springs he would have died under that bridge. This confronting image brought to Australian society by Thornton reflects the reality of addiction to petrol some young teenage Aborigines experience.
Thornton uses make-up to show Australian society the reality of violence young teenage Aborigines are surrounded by in Alice Springs, especially in the Alice Springs' aboriginal ghetto Hoppy's Camp. When Delilah comes back from being kidnapped, raped and beaten Thornton's make-up artist Carol Cameron has used tissue and cloth along with latex to create swelling around Delilah's eye and blush, eyeliner and fake blood to give Delilah the look of being very badly beaten. It gives the effect of her eye being swollen shut, blood in her mouth and cheek bruising. This is a reflection of the violence that surrounds young teenage Aborigines in Alice Springs. The reality of violence is very obvious in Alice Springs' ghetto Hoppy's camp where fighting and drinking extends throughout the night. There are huge alcohol problems Hoppy's Camp, where young men carry knives and women seek to hang themselves from trees to escape the beatings, rape and murder that surrounds them. As a tourist town Alice Springs tries to hide all of this, but Thornton is using his film to display these realties. In fact the topic of aboriginal life is so hidden that when Tony Abbott, the opposition leader in Australian government, visited Hoppy's Camp he was very shocked at the conditions indicating that he had no idea of the situation. This is why Thornton's message is so very important.
Thornton has used the film and the techniques to confront the audience, the Australian society in particular but also the rest of the world, the harsh life many young aboriginal teenagers have. Thornton says "all of the things in this film I have seen before" indicating that this is a film about reality. The life of Samson is extremely different from my life and the lives of most young New Zealand and Australian teenagers. Samson does not have any interaction with his family when his life starts falling apart meaning he can't get the support he requires. Whereas I have interaction with my family every day. Samson never learnt that inhaling petrol fumes is very dangerous and destroys brain cells very quickly. The reason the film is so confronting for Australians is because they are a developed nation and so such an extreme difference between the ideal raising conditions for a child and the reality is not expected there. Hopefully this film will make Australians try to make their country a better place by helping the Aboriginal people.
