The second part of the film showcases a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between the mother and daughter, through the inclusion of many symbolic elements that are to be discussed. Furthermore, symbolism is used to illustrate Moffatt’s social commentary on the commercialization of Indigenous art, as well as the colonization of these artists. Indigenous singer, Jimmy Little is filmed at the beginning and end of the film singing Christian lyrics reminiscent of the chants that were taught in mission schools. Moffatt uses Little as a, “cultural mediator between the two worlds constituting her aesthetic, white and Aboriginal.”[1] He is dressed and groomed in a traditional western custom, demonstrating the effects of colonization. This is further exemplified through Moffatt’s references to Albert Namatjira’s landscape paintings used for the film’s backdrop. The highly stylized landscapes symbolize Namatjira’s position in Indigenous society functioning, “as a bridge between the Aboriginal landscape and its Western appropriation. In short, Moffatt shapes the Australian outback with the artificiality of a stage setting or a canvas.”[2] It is Moffatt’s intent to reject Western culture’s ‘dominant obsession’ with using real photographs as a landscape.[3] Once again the audience is confronted with symbolism and social commentary, gaining wider knowledge of Indigenous issues involving colonization and cultural loss.
[1] Alessandra Senzani, “Dreaming back: Tracey Moffatt’s bedeviling films”, Post Script, http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Post-Script/176371862.html, (accessed 18/08/2011).
[2] Ibid, (accessed 18/08/2011).
[3] Ibid, (accessed 18/08/2011).
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