Warning: this resource may contain references to and images of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have passed away.
Introductory activities
Bran Nue Dae, both the stage play and film, defy expectations of Aboriginal texts and Australian films in general. Chi and Perkins have achieved this by appropriating Western genres and tropes, delivered with a strong dash of irreverent humour. As part of the students’ personal responses to the text, it is important to acknowledge and openly challenge mainstream Australian expectations of texts written, directed by or focusing on Aboriginal stories.
Activity 1: Pre-viewing
To assist in this, break the class into two groups. Each student will complete a survey at three key introductory points to the text. One group will be introduced to the film as an Aboriginal text of great cultural significance. The other, will have the film sold to them as a vibrant musical of a young man fleeing school, rebelling against his mother and finding love. After these introductions, survey all students to gauge their enthusiasm for the unit. Use the Bran Nue Dae introductory survey (PDF, 484KB) to do this.
After this point, show the students the trailer and have them complete the post-trailer survey. You may wish to also show them the SBS review.
Personal response on reading the text
Activity 2: Student voice
During the teaching of the unit, have a designated noticeboard or section of the classroom wall covered with butcher’s paper, where students may leave questions or comments about the film and the unit. Using sticky notes available from the teacher’s desk is an easy way to facilitate this.
Activity 3: Survey analysis and character identification
After having watched the film (accessible with a ClickView subscription), have students complete the final part of the survey. Tally the results and analyse them for trends across the two groups.
Alternatively:
Break the class into smaller groups and provide them with the raw data. Have them identify one trend in the data and present a hypothesis as to the reasons for this.
Provide students with images of the key characters in the film. Have them select the character with whom they identify the most and stick this image into their book or cut and paste into a Powerpoint slide or mind mapping application. Have them brainstorm the reasons why they identify with this character.
Outline of key elements of the text
Plot outline
Bran Nue Dae tells the story of a young man, Willie, who lives in Broome with his mother and is in love with a local girl, Rosie. At the start of the school year he is sent back to Perth, under the care of a strict German priest. Willie ends up running away from school and finds himself lost and alone in Perth. He befriends Uncle Tadpole, a streetwise man, who agrees to take him home to Broome. Uncle Tadpole tricks a German tourist and his hippie girlfriend into driving them the almost 2,500km trip. Willie is also racing against time to ensure he can win the heart of Rosie. The film follows their escapades on the road, and the diverse characters they encounter. On their return to Broome a series of secrets are uncovered.
Characters
- Willie Johnson (Rocky Mackenzie) is the teenage protagonist, torn between his devotion to his mother and her expectations of him and his love for Broome and Rosie.
- Theresa Johnson (Ningali Lawford) is Willie’s protective and strict mother, desperate for her son to become a priest and have a successful future.
- Uncle Tadpole Johnson (Ernie Dingo) is the wily charmer who takes Willie under his wing.
- Father Benedictus (Geoffrey Rush), the German priest and headmaster of Willie’s boarding school, is Willie’s nemesis.
- Rosie (Jessica Mauboy) is an aspiring singer and Willie’s love interest. She is also being pursued by Lester (Dan Sultan), the older, more experienced singer in the local band.
- Slippery (Tom Budge) is a highly-strung German back packer travelling with his girlfriend Annie (Missy Higgins) a hippie, who is keen to learn from Uncle Tadpole’s cultural wisdom.
Themes
Bran Nue Dae is a deceptively dense and rich film. Whilst it is vibrant, funny and fast-paced, there are many complex issues and ideas touched upon within the songs and other aspects of the film.
The key theme is Willie’s struggle to find a place in the world that is true to himself. This sense of displacement is keenly portrayed and is echoed in the men he spends the night with in Broome. Their lifestyle is a powerful warning to Willie to find his place or be doomed to wander lost forever, as highlighted in the song ‘I go back home’.
Colonisation is, inevitably, a powerful theme throughout. It is most obviously represented by Father Benedictus who sees his mission as raising the Aboriginal people up out of their lowly situation. He represents the intrusive and paternal face of assimilation. Annie, is a more benign form of a similar idea. She sees Uncle Tadpole as a caricature of a wise elder and does not appreciate the complexity of his life and the power of the real wisdom he does bring to Willie’s life.
The police at Roebourne are the violent face of oppression. The beating of Willie and the resigned way in which Uncle Tadpole prepares for their inevitable incarceration is a compelling reminder of the reality of deaths in custody as being something that happens to actual people, not just ‘the other’.
Synthesising tasks
Activity 4: Mapping
Provide the students with a map of Western Australia (PDF, 93KB) with Perth and Broome noted. Have the students mark on the map where Willie meets key characters such as Uncle Tadpole, Slippery and Annie, the football team and Roxanne. This will serve as a point of reference throughout the unit and a quick revision for students on moments in the film they may forget.
Activity 5: Evaluation
Have students write a note to a future student who will study the film. The note should serve as an introduction to what they can expect from their study. Have students focus on the following things:
- Aspects of the text that they enjoyed (e.g. the humour, the setting, the music).
- Characters they identified with or liked and their reasons.
- Key themes/ideas in the text that they found important.
(ACELA1565) (ACELT1640) (ACELT1641) (ACELY1749) (ACELY1752) (EN5-7D) (EN5-5C) (EN5-3B) (EN5-8D)