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‘Texts that represent or explore contemporary Aboriginal experience often position the responder to consider the problem of finding an authentic (genuine or real), affirming (definite) identity’
I believe this statement to be true, in his essay will be referring to Wild Cat falling by Mudrooroo, the film Radiance and text 5 of the stimulus booklet ‘ Reconciliation Australia’s divided attitudes’ from the Sydney Morning Herald. I will be communicating how they have shaped my understanding of Aboriginal experience.
The foreword by Mary Durack shows the difficulty for an Aboriginal person, such as Colin Johnson (Mudrooroo) to find authentic, genuine identity when others try to create one for them. ... Wild Cat Falling was very important for the representation of Aborigines because it was the first novel written by an Aboriginal person and raised issues about Aboriginal experience. It was ‘The furthest one could move away from traditional Aboriginal genres’, yet the foreword endorsing this milestone for Aboriginal literature was written by a white person who actually had a patronising attitude. ... ”
Mary Durack’s attitude towards Aborigines during the foreword is obviously racist, implying that all Aborigines were lazy and definitely could not be depended upon, but Mudrooroo by some fluke of nature had not inherited this standard Aboriginal laziness. This attitude was very common during the time period (50’s and 60’s) and shows that, Aboriginal identity was often authenticated by people other than Aborigines. ...
A main feature of Wild Cat Falling is the recurring Dream or motif that the main character has, it symbolises the struggle between traditional Aboriginal culture and identity and Western culture and identity, creating difficulty in the finding of a true, clear identity.
Approximate Word count = 1355
Approximate Pages = 5.4
(250 words per page double spaced)
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