the last wave by peter weir 5

The dominant culture in the film is the white members of society living in Australia.. The subculture in the film is the Aborigines who were natives to the land before the white people s

SOC 118

'The Last Wave'-Peter Weir dir.(1977)

In the film, The Last Wave, the director is trying to communicate the idea of a

culture within a culture or sub culture The dominant culture in the film is the white members of society living in Australia The subculture in the film is the Aborigines who were natives to the land before the white people settled in Australia The natives

sustained their cultural beliefs and ideologies while living in largely populated cities The dominant white culture imposes their laws , ideas of societal values and moral beliefs on the native Aborigines Forcing them to abide by a different law system and way of life than what their peoples have practiced for hundreds of years In the movie the lawyer, David, represents the dominant culture to the Aborigines because he

represents the law that is controlling their fate in the white culture

The director is also giving us many symbols or visual communication such as the

consistency of water in the film as well as, the overbearing control of darkness The film

is shot in shadows and overall is very dark , almost forcing us to look beyond the obvious plot and storyline and into the meaning or what the film/director is trying to tell us The darkness in the film can be seen as unconsciousness It can also be seen as a prediction

of the darkness that will occur in the world when the last wave comes The last wave meaning a giant tidal wave that will cover the earth , killing humanity This idea is similar to the Christian belief in the flood that was sent down centuries ago to destroy all the evil in the world Also, all the modern aspects of the movie (courtroom, David's office etc) are filmed in light While, all of the Aborigines' scenes are filmed in darkness

or shadows Giving me the impression of something mysterious or not understood by the whites concerning the Aborigines The fact that all the modern scenes are filmed in light can also support the idea of the white culture being the predominate culture in the film but yet not dominant enough to take away the shadows(mysterious , mystical)aspect of the Aborigines

The lawyer, David, Also goes through a series of dreams and premonitions This

is stressing the idea of mind power and mystical strength that the Aborigines have In that way they can be seen as the dominant culture David is stuck between two worlds

The world he knows and understands and the other world that he is definitely a part of but does not understand As he tries to grapple with the idea that he may be linked to the Aborigines, his own cultural beliefs are changing He is forming a complex view on life,

a combination of ways of viewing the world by both the white Christians and the

Aborigines

The dream sequences in the film are sometimes difficult to distinguish from the

warped reality that is being portrayed Overall, they do give us a chance to think and attempt to comprehend what is going through the mind of David For he cannot

distinguish at times what is real and not real But what is real depends on if you perceive

it as real as an individual

To me, the film is saying that their is a definite cultural conflict between the

Christians and the Aborigines living in Australia Whichever one the viewer perceives as being dominant or subdominant, he will perceive the fact that their is a culture clash The viewer may also see the idea that the Aborigines(tribal) are not understood in white society and David is the only one who can He is the link between the two worlds, and at the same time he is the wall separating them

Overall, I feel the film was good concerning the ideas behind the storyline But

due in part to the director's fetish for water and darkness, he almost destroys the storyline

to me And without the storyline, you cannot interpret the film in a well structured way Also, the symbolism is so predominant, it points at the viewers lack of intelligence Similar to someone repeating themselves while speaking over and over and over and over, merely to stress a point Too bad by that time the point is beyond stressed it is almost destroyed completely

SOC 118

'The Last Wave'-Peter Weir dir.(1977)

In the film, The Last Wave, the director is trying to communicate the idea of a

culture within a culture or sub culture The dominant culture in the film is the white members of society living in Australia The subculture in the film is the Aborigines who were natives to the land before the white people settled in Australia The natives

sustained their cultural beliefs and ideologies while living in largely populated cities The dominant white culture imposes their laws , ideas of societal values and moral beliefs on the native Aborigines Forcing them to abide by a different law system and way of life than what their peoples have practiced for hundreds of years In the movie the lawyer, David, represents the dominant culture to the Aborigines because he

represents the law that is controlling their fate in the white culture

The director is also giving us many symbols or visual communication such as the

consistency of water in the film as well as, the overbearing control of darkness The film

is shot in shadows and overall is very dark , almost forcing us to look beyond the obvious plot and storyline and into the meaning or what the film/director is trying to tell us The darkness in the film can be seen as unconsciousness It can also be seen as a prediction

of the darkness that will occur in the world when the last wave comes The last wave meaning a giant tidal wave that will cover the earth , killing humanity This idea is similar to the Christian belief in the flood that was sent down centuries ago to destroy all the evil in the world Also, all the modern aspects of the movie (courtroom, David's office etc) are filmed in light While, all of the Aborigines' scenes are filmed in darkness

or shadows Giving me the impression of something mysterious or not understood by the whites concerning the Aborigines The fact that all the modern scenes are filmed in light can also support the idea of the white culture being the predominate culture in the film but yet not dominant enough to take away the shadows(mysterious , mystical)aspect of the Aborigines

The lawyer, David, Also goes through a series of dreams and premonitions This

is stressing the idea of mind power and mystical strength that the Aborigines have In that way they can be seen as the dominant culture David is stuck between two worlds The world he knows and understands and the other world that he is definitely a part of but does not understand As he tries to grapple with the idea that he may be linked to the Aborigines, his own cultural beliefs are changing He is forming a complex view on life,

a combination of ways of viewing the world by both the white Christians and the

The dream sequences in the film are sometimes difficult to distinguish from the

warped reality that is being portrayed Overall, they do give us a chance to think and attempt to comprehend what is going through the mind of David For he cannot

distinguish at times what is real and not real But what is real depends on if you perceive

it as real as an individual

To me, the film is saying that their is a definite cultural conflict between the

Christians and the Aborigines living in Australia Whichever one the viewer perceives as being dominant or subdominant, he will perceive the fact that their is a culture clash The viewer may also see the idea that the Aborigines(tribal) are not understood in white society and David is the only one who can He is the link between the two worlds, and at the same time he is the wall separating them

Overall, I feel the film was good concerning the ideas behind the storyline But

due in part to the director's fetish for water and darkness, he almost destroys the storyline

to me And without the storyline, you cannot interpret the film in a well structured way Also, the symbolism is so predominant, it points at the viewers lack of intelligence Similar to someone repeating themselves while speaking over and over and over and over, merely to stress a point Too bad by that time the point is beyond stressed it is almost destroyed completely

SOC 118

'The Last Wave'-Peter Weir dir.(1977)

In the film, The Last Wave, the director is trying to communicate the idea of a

culture within a culture or sub culture The dominant culture in the film is the white members of society living in Australia The subculture in the film is the Aborigines who were natives to the land before the white people settled in Australia The natives

sustained their cultural beliefs and ideologies while living in largely populated cities The dominant white culture imposes their laws , ideas of societal values and moral beliefs on the native Aborigines Forcing them to abide by a different law system and way of life than what their peoples have practiced for hundreds of years In the movie the lawyer, David, represents the dominant culture to the Aborigines because he

represents the law that is controlling their fate in the white culture

The director is also giving us many symbols or visual communication such as the

consistency of water in the film as well as, the overbearing control of darkness The film

is shot in shadows and overall is very dark , almost forcing us to look beyond the obvious plot and storyline and into the meaning or what the film/director is trying to tell us The darkness in the film can be seen as unconsciousness It can also be seen as a prediction

of the darkness that will occur in the world when the last wave comes The last wave meaning a giant tidal wave that will cover the earth , killing humanity This idea is similar to the Christian belief in the flood that was sent down centuries ago to destroy all the evil in the world Also, all the modern aspects of the movie (courtroom, David's office etc) are filmed in light While, all of the Aborigi