TALKING CHICKS BLACK

STUDYGUIDE LIBBY TUDBALL

1

SCREEN EDUCATION SCREEN AUSTRALIAN 29 ISSUE INTRODUCTION

n , six Indigenous Australian women meet for dinner. During a gourmet Indigenous meal, they discuss their lives in an intimate, sometimes harrowing, and joyful account. The fi lm provides glimpses of each woman’s background and insights into their very varied lives. From the winners throne of Miss Australia; to the warm waters of Ithe Buccaneer archipelago; to the dormitory on Cherbourg Mission, we move through a range of settings.

Themes of culture, identity and denial Rosanna Angus, Cilla Malone, Deborah tivities are based on an integrated cur- run through the womens’ stories. They Mailman, Kathryn Hay and Tammy Wil- riculum approach, drawing on English reveal a legacy of past government liams talk to the director, , skills, as well as content understanding ‘Protection’ Acts and policies when about their extraordinary lives in a pas- from other disciplines. Indigenous people were moved from sionate and challenging exploration of their traditional lands, and ‘mixed race’ Black Identity. BEFORE WATCHING THE FILM children (now known as The Stolen Generations) were institutionalised with CURRICULUM LINKS WHO ARE INDIGENOUS disastrous consequences. AUSTRALIANS? Black Chicks Talking will have relevance for students of Students should be able to answer this Cultural studies, Indigenous question, as the defi nition is important studies, Australian studies, in understanding Aboriginality today. Studies of Society and The term ‘Aboriginal’ has become one Environment, of the most disputed in the Australian English, Drama language. It was not until 1976, that and Media distinctions between ‘full’ and ‘part’ studies. The Aborigines were abandoned in recog- fi lm is suitable nition of the fact that being Aboriginal for students is not just a biological issue. The Com- from middle to sen- monwealth government defi nition today ior secondary school is social more than racial, in keeping and at the tertiary with the change in Australian attitudes education level. away from racialist thinking about other Many of the ac- peoples. AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION MAILMAN HAS DEVELOPED ISSUE 29 A SUCCESSFUL CAREER 2 AS AN ACTRESS An Aboriginal person is defi ned as a person who is a descendent of an Indig- enous inhabitant of Australia, identifi es as an Aboriginal, and is recognised as Aboriginal by members of the commu- nity in which he or she lives. 1

(The same three components, descent, self-identifi cation and community ac- ceptance, are also used for Torres Strait Islanders.)

Sometimes non-Aboriginal people get confused by the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Aboriginal people are those whose traditional cultures and lands lie on the mainland and most of the islands, including Tasmania, Fraser Is- land, Palm Island, Mornington Island, Groote Eylandt, Bathurst and Melville Islands. The Torres Strait Islands lie be- tween the northern tip of Cape York in • Film-maker Leah Purcell makes the Queensland and the south-west coast point that statistics show that the of Papua New Guinea. The Torres Strait Indigenous population in Australia is Islanders have many cultural similarities increasing. By 2006, it is predicted with the peoples of Papua New Guinea that there will be 320,000 ‘Black and the Pacifi c. Chicks’ in Australia.

INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS TODAY HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Facts from the 2001 census: Students should be familiar with the fol- developed increasing self-determi- lowing facts before watching the fi lm: nation, and there has been more • There were 410,000 Aboriginal Aus- celebration of Indigenous cultures. tralians in the 2001 census • Each of the women in Black Chicks The voices of Indigenous Austral- • Only a small minority live in rural or Talking have lived through times ians are now heard through music, remote areas when life was tough for Indigenous art, radio, television, fi lm, commu- • Most live in urban settings Australians because of government nity action, and far more coverage • Nearly one-third of the Australians policies, racist attitudes and igno- of Indigenous issues in the media residents who self-identifi ed as Ab- rance. and education. original and/or Torres Strait Islander • But they have also lived through a • The parents of all the ‘Black Chicks’ persons live in capital cities. time when Aboriginal people have lived under government policies • Very few Aboriginal families to- where lives day have an Aboriginal wife and were controlled by the government husband living together. The 2001 and they had to seek permission to census reveals that eighty seven per travel or marry. They often received cent of couples with an Aboriginal lower wages than white Australians ISSUE 29 member were intermixed. A far and fewer education opportunities. greater proportion of fi rst and sec- • Until the 1960s, successive Aus- AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION ond generation Greeks and Italians tralian governments had aimed to living in Australia marry within their ‘assimilate’ Aboriginal people into own group than Aborigines living in white society. There was a theory cities. that Aboriginal culture and identity • In most cases, the children of mixed would eventually die out. However, households are identifi ed by their governments underestimated the parents as Aboriginal, so Aborigines powerful links of Aboriginal people, partnering with non-Aborigines will and the strength of their traditions not reduce the number of Aborigi- and culture. For many Indigenous nes. Australians, like ’s 3 Read and discuss your views on each of these statements about Black Chicks Talking:

‘Black Chicks Talking celebrates the survival and growth of Indigenous Australian women’s culture.’

‘Black Chicks Talking has messages for all Australians. It tells us that Indig- enous Australian women have often had to deal with tough pasts because they are Indigenous, but it tells us that their Aboriginality is strong and growing.’

• Write and discuss your own state- ments about the fi lm

EXPLORING THE DIRECTOR’S IDEAS AND THOUGHTS father Wally, it was diffi cult to feel enous studies in schools. proud of your heritage. Leah Purcell, is an actor, director and • In 1967, Australians voted in a na- AFTER WATCHING THE FILM proud Goa-Gungurri—Wakka Wakka tional referendum to give Aboriginal woman. She comes from a long line people the right to vote and to be Note: Many of these activities could be of vaudevillians and learnt her trade counted in the census as Australians completed either as oral or written tasks at family gatherings and in high school for the fi rst time. The parents of all with the whole class, or in small groups, musicals. She has had extensive acting the ‘Black Chicks’ would not have or as individual projects. experience as well as critical acclaim been counted as Australians when internationally for her performance in they were young, as they lived at a • Firstly, write down a few of your the play Box the Pony, which she co- time when the White Australia Policy own thoughts about Black Chicks wrote. She has also received awards was law. Talking. for her acting roles in Lantana and the • There are few Aboriginal families • What do you think are the key Marriage of Figaro. in Australia who have not been themes? touched by the experience of the • How would you describe the genre Leah says Black Chicks Talking is, forced removal of children from their of the fi lm? families. • Write a short description of your re- …funky. Its sexy, it’s fun, it’s new ground. • All of the ‘Black Chicks’ would have actions to the fi lm and then compare It’s young black women looking good been educated at a time when there your descriptions with other class and talking strong and it just blows every was very little taught about Indig- members. stereotypical viewpoint away.

• Do you agree with Purcell’s view of her fi lm? • What stereotypical viewpoints about Indigenous Australian women are held by some members of the community? • Why have stereotypical viewpoints been generated in the public mind about Indigenous Australians? • What evidence is there of ‘black humour’ in the fi lm?

Leah says, AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION I reckon I’ve been born with story telling

ISSUE 29 from a million years ago. just have it, that’s how we communicated in 4 the Dreamtime. Whether it was good, EXPLORING THE WOMEN’S bad, funny or a sad incident that hap- STORIES pened we told it through stories, we danced it, we sang it. I was brought up ROSANNA ANGUS, COMMUNITY around that. When we had family parties WARDEN AND CULTURAL TOUR at home I would watch and listen. I learnt GUIDE, BARDI AND JAWI CLAN from my Elders, but I think that ability of telling a good yarn is something that Rosanna is the mother of two boys and goes way, way back. sees that as her key role, but she has had many varied roles in her district • What is the Dreamtime? including working with ATSIC as a sec- • Is Black Chicks Talking an example retary, in family and children’s services, of good story telling? as a tour guide and in Aboriginal health • Do some library and Internet re- promotions. Rosanna’s family have search to fi nd more examples of been traditional leaders and land-own- Indigenous Australians telling their THE BEGINNING OF THE FILM ers in the Buccaneer archipelago for stories. One starting point is the generations. web site http://yarrahealing.melb. At the start of the fi lm, viewers see the catholic.edu.au where people tell warning: • How does Rosanna show how im- their stories. portant her culture is to her and her The fi lm contains images of archival family? Leah says, footage from Cherbourg photographed • What factors make her life very dif- between 1905-1910 and in respect to ferent from all the other women? The hardest thing about working on the the Mailman and Malone families, the • Why does she believe that she will documentary was the split between showing of photographs of the late Mr be a ‘boss woman’? being the director who needed the Wally Mailman and Mr Lenny Malone. story—and the selfi shness in that—and This may cause distress to some view- me, who will cry at the drop of a hat if my ers. friend is in trouble. I’ve put these women through the wringer. Sometimes at night • Explain why this would appear at I’d think, what a bitch I am to push them the start of the fi lm? to get to this essence, to trigger a raw emotion for this documentary…they As the fi lm begins, viewers see the said, Leah, we have done this because women gathering together and being we trust you. seated for the dinner.

• In a class discussion or small • How do they all introduce them- groups, talk about whether you selves? think it would have been a stress- • Why is it important for Indig- ful experience for all the women, or enous women to identify with harder for some more than others? their clan? • What evidence is there in the fi lm • What impressions do that shows the women trusted you form about the Leah? focus of the fi lm and what it is about at the start? ISSUE 29

TAMMY HAS HAD AN AMAZING AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION JOURNEY FROM BEING A SCHOOLGIRL IN GYMPIE, TO LAWYER AND DELEGATE AT NUMEROUS UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCES 5 Rosanna says, at Cherbourg, what is she revealing • How does Deb feel about her AFI about her attitudes to white peo- Best Actress Award in comparison …When people burn-off brush on the ple? with her recognition for The Secret land, my family gets sores on their • Why did she call her older sister Life of Us? legs…they’re burning our Ly’rhn, our Mum? • In Black Chicks Talking, how does inner spirituality. That’s how close our • What impact do you think being in- Deborah show that she really association with the land is. stitutionalised at such a young age treasures her father’s links with In- would have on young children? digenous traditions? • Why does she think ‘cultural tour- • What struggles has Cilla had to deal • How does she feel about her own ism’ is important today? with herself? Aboriginality? • What goals does she have for her • What ingredients does she want to • What are Deborah’s hopes for the two boys? put into her ‘mother’s love cake’? future? • How do you think Cilla would have CILLA MALONE, MOTHER, WAKKA felt when she saw the scene in KATHRYN HAY, FIRST ABORIGINAL WAKKA PEOPLE which her girls sing? MISS AUSTRALIA, FROM TASMANIA

Cilla has had a tough life. She was DEBORAH MAILMAN, ACTOR, Leah Purcell says: born in 1966 in the Cherbourg Abo- BORN AND BRED IN MOUNT ISA, riginal community. She was placed in a KALKADOON COUNTRY I feel very responsible for Kathryn, government run dormitory at the age of because I had a big push in her diving six months, at a time when Aboriginal Deborah’s childhood was spent in Mt into her past, …her family’s history and Australians had very few rights. Cher- Isa, where her father was a legendary herself. When we did the documentary, bourg was established as a government rodeo rider. She was brought up at a her family wasn’t too sure about it. Kath- mission in 1904. Since 1986, the com- time when Aboriginal people were often ryn’s journey is very raw. I went through munity has been controlled by the local ashamed to celebrate their Aboriginality what she’s going through when I was Indigenous community. Cilla says the because of racist attitudes. fourteen. I was very honoured that she authorities told her that her Mum was trusted me and absolutely proud of her fair with long black hair, so Mailman has developed a success- for taking up the fi ght with me…she ful career as an actress. She won the believed in her story, she believed in … anytime we saw someone with Australian 2002 Silver Logie (TV indus- stirring within her family about the long black hair we’d run up and call try award) for Outstanding Actress in a Aboriginality there. ‘Mum, Mum’ and she’d say, I’m not Series for her performance in Channel your Mum. Ten’s, The Secret Life of Us. She also ‘Kathryn struggles with her own sense

AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION won the 1998 Australian Film Institute’s of her Aboriginality during the making • How do we know that Cilla has had Best Actress Award for her performance of Black Chicks Talking.’

ISSUE 29 a tough life? in Radiance. • When she tells the story about be- • Discuss this statement with other 6 ing determined to have her babies class members. • When Kathryn introduces herself at vides a very, very strong base my people the start of the fi lm, she is the only need to be centred, to see things, to be one who doesn’t identify with a clan able to prosper and get out there. grouping? How can you explain this? • In what ways does Black Chicks • When did Kathryn fi rst realise that Talking ‘rattle the bones of society she is Aboriginal? How do you think about what it is to be an urban con- she felt about this at the time? temporary Aborigine today’? • What reasons can you suggest to • What do you think is meant by Abo- explain why Kathryn’s mother is riginality? reluctant to talk about her Aborigi- • Do you think there is evidence in the nality with her daughter? fi lm amongst the women’s views of • How do you think Kathryn felt about a re-assertion of Aboriginality? her Aboriginality becoming a focus • What other factors have added to in 1999 when she won the Miss increasing celebration of Aboriginal- Australia award? ity? • Do you think Kathryn feels inade- quate at times during Black Chicks out of 45,000 Australians? IDENTITY Talking? Justify your answer. • In Black Chicks Talking, Tammy tells • Do you think Kathryn has developed the story of when the word nigger Black Chicks Talking explores the iden- a clearer sense of her identity by the was written above her photo in the tity that each woman has developed. end of the fi lm? school magazine, and she hit the girl Think about what factors infl uence your who wrote it. Why did she hit her? sense of identity, where you belong, and TAMMY WILLIAMS, LAWYER, FROM How did her mother say she should how you have become the person you GYMPIE, QUEENSLAND, MURRI deal with racism? are. In small groups, or as a class, WOMAN • How do we know that Tammy is very discuss the possible infl uences. Then proud of her mother? compare your list with these factors: Tammy has had an amazing journey. • What are Tammy’s most recent From a schoolgirl in Gympie, to lawyer achievements on the world stage? • ethnicity and delegate at numerous United Na- • How did Tammy react to Leah’s sug- • where you were born and where you tions conferences. In 1995, she rep- gestion of doing a victory dance? now live resented Australia at the UN Human Rights Commission to speak about EXPLORING KEY THEMES human rights violations. In 1996, she worked with former Russian President CELEBRATING ABORIGINALITY Mikhail Gorbachev and gave a presen- tation in front of 750 world leaders. She Leah Purcell says: is currently a director of the Indigenous Enterprise Partnership, and a governor I’m one of many from the new genera- of the Foundation for Young Austral- tion who are sent to rattle the bones of ians. society about what it is to be an urban contemporary Aborigine today. We • Suggest reasons why Tammy has have a right to speak, to grasp hold been so successful in her career? of opportunities for the betterment • How did she become involved with of our people. I strongly believe Michael Jackson’s World Children’s that culture is important to conference? every black person and that ISSUE 29 • Why was she a successful applicant is what will stabilise us. It pro- AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION SHE [CILLA] WAS PLACED IN A GOVERNMENT RUN DORMITORY AT THE AGE OF SIX MONTHS, AT A TIME WHEN ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIANS HAD VERY FEW RIGHTS 7 • heritage • What is the role of the producer in Yarra Healing, http://yarrahealing.m • culture fi lm-making? In what ways would it elb.catholic.edu.au • parents and family origins help for the producer to understand • gender and empathise with the characters FOOTNOTES • your age group and the themes? 1 The Little Red, Yellow and Black (and • your peer group green and blue and white) Book: A • sexuality and relationships THE END OF THE FILM short guide to Indigenous Australia • religion (1994) pages 2 & 3, prepared by • social life and groups you belong • At the end of the fi lm, the women Australian Institute for Aboriginal to talk about the future. What conclu- and Torres Strait Islander Studies on • media sions do they draw? What similari- behalf of the Council for Aboriginal • leisure activities ties and differences are there in their Reconciliation. • Suggest other infl uences not includ- views? ed in this list. What do you think are • Leah says, ‘ Hopefully the end song All the photographs used in this study the main infl uences on your sense isn’t too out there, but that’s me guide were taken by Jo-Anne Dries- of identity? Try to rank these from anyway. It rocks and I love it’. What sens the least to most important for you. are your reactions to Leah Purcell’s Compare and talk about your rank- song ‘Never Forget’? (‘Tidda Kaia’ Black Chicks Talking is available on ing with others in the class. or ‘Sister Love’) video from: • Now talk about which factors you Film Australia Sales think have had an infl uence on each DRAWING CONCLUSIONS PO Box 46, Lindfi eld NSW 2070 of the ‘Black Chicks’, drawing on tel 02 9413 8634 fax 02 9416 9401 evidence you see in the fi lm. • Write a reflection where you ex- email sales@fi lmaust.com.au plore your thoughts about what www.fi lmaust.com.au MEDIA STUDIES you learned from the documentary, Black Chicks Talking. • Write a review of Black Chicks Talk- • Discuss how Black Chicks Talking ing for a fi lm journal. infl uences your impressions of In- • Give the documentary a rating and digenous Australian women? then justify your score. • Discuss how you think the meeting FURTHER ACTIVITIES AND over dinner works as an entry point REFERENCES This study guide was produced by ATOM. for the documentary and as a link For more information about ATOM study for the whole fi lm? • Visit these web sites to fi nd out more guides or The Speakers’ Bureau visit our about the career and achievements web site: www.metromagazine.com.au In a class discussion talk about these of director Leah Purcell. or email: [email protected] aspects of Black Chicks Talking: http://www.oncueonline.com.au/ oncue/profi le/celebs/leah_purcell/ • Filming techniques leah_purcell.htm • The way the story line has been http://www.austinchronicle.com/ constructed fi lm/pages/people/13111.html • Choice of segments and editing • Visit http://www.austlii.edu.au http: decisions //www.atsic.gov.au/default_ns.asp • The role of Leah Purcell in the fi lm. http://www.loreoftheland.com.au to fi nd out more about reconciliation The producer Bain Stewart, who is Abo- and current Indigenous issues. riginal, says that his own experiences • In every state and territory of Aus- have been important in the making of tralia, there are Indigenous commu- the fi lm. He says, nities often living in areas that were formerly missions of government I’m aware of the subject matter, being controlled areas. Try to find out a Blackfella, and also of my sister’s, my more about the past Indigenous mother’s, my aunties’ stories. I totally history and current issues in your related to the Black Chicks, I know what local communities.

AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION they’re on about. So I know the gravity • Other excellent web sites to explore and signifi cance of the stories. Indigenous issues are:

ISSUE 29 The Journey of Healing Reconciliation • Talk about what is grave and signifi - site, http://www.alphalink.net.au/ 8 cant about the stories? ~rez/Journey