Australians in a vacuum: the socio-political ‘stuff’ in Rachel Perkins' Radiance

Abstract

Rachel Perkins' film adaptation of Radiance was released in 1998. With very few exceptions, reviews and criticisms of the film have been polarized. These reviews and criticisms show that Aboriginality is often classified in one of two ways: as either de-politicized and thereby not Aboriginal (assimilationist), or politicized and thereby not ‘normal’ (segregationist). This paper addresses various criticisms of Radiance that categorize Aboriginality in either of these ways before providing a close reading of the ‘socio-political stuff’ in the film. What will be seen is how Perkins' work can be seen to deny either category through her representation of various, multiple Aboriginal identities.

Keywords:

• Rachel Perkins
• Radiance
• Aboriginal cinema
• Aboriginality
• whiteness