Re-reading Indigenous cinema: criticism, white liberal guilt and otherness

Abstract

In this paper, I will advance a critical perspective of some methodologies on appraising Indigenous films, in terms of their aesthetic as well as their cultural value. In doing this, I propose a cultural and textual approach that gives the films a context for which they can be critically understood. With a heavy emphasis on the political content of many Indigenous films, here I argue for a more critical pedagogical evaluation that considers the challenges of Indigenous films and problems that arise when we ignore to discuss them as ‘cinema’. Through surveying a number of recent Indigenous films, and the criticism that surrounds them, I concentrate on how they can be better used as texts to enhance the study of world cinema and cultural issues of Aboriginality.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Stephen Gaunson

Dr Stephen Gaunson is a Research Fellow in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University.