Samson and Delilah Case
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Films can be made for many different purposes, to educate, entertain or to challenge our values and attitudes. Warwick Thorntons internationally recognised film Samson and Delilah (2009) follows the journey of two teenagers who live in a remote Indigenous community. This film looks at marginalisation against certain races in Australian society, materialistic values, and the impact that insufficient government services have on lives. I believe that films need to create awareness about current issues in society to stimulate a discussion and encourage debate. Samson and Delilah challenges the idea that Australia is an egalitarian society through our values, characterisation and film codes. This makes it a successful film as it encourages the viewer to be sympathetic towards the rural Indigenous communities; which is something we usually ignore and push away.
In Australia certain groups are marginalised, such as indigenous Australians, creating inequality among the society. This is present in Samson and Delilah as it takes Delilah getting hit by a car to be noticed by the Non-Indigenous Australians. This is emphasised as we see her walking down a cafe strip and she never gets acknowledged but when she gets hit by the car everyone comes running to her aid. Technically through the use of a wide shot we can see that everyone is paying attention to her. This illustrates the inequality amongst the Australian society as getting hit by a car is life threatening and hence it shows Non-Indigenous Australians dont notice Indigenous Australians unless they are in severe danger. The marginalisation in Australia is a growing issue in Samson and Delilah and it is shown to its extremes; it shows that Non-Indigenous Australians are positioned above Indigenous Australians. This is emphasised symbolically through a long shot of Alice Springs, where we see the bridge that Delilah and Samson live under being driven over by Non-Indigenous Australians. This literal representation is a very powerful and symbolic display of the hierarchy and inequality between the two races. We literally see in this scene that Non-Indigenous Australians are placed above Indigenous Australians. From this we can assume that Non-Indigenous people see Australia as an egalitarian society and this is showing them otherwise and hence they find it confronting. Therefore this issue engage the audience into debating the subject, making it a successful film.