By Sydnie Kendall
MA 15+, Genre: Documentary
Cast: Adam Goodes, Stan Grant, Eddie McGuire
THE Australian Dream follows the rise of casual racism in Australian, especially in AFL, stemming from the incident with Adam Goodes and a young girl which reminded the nation that racism is still rife within our community, and even perhaps more scarily that it still occurs in the younger generation.
The Australian Dream, what an idea. For many Australians, it means something very different to every individual, but for this film, it is almost a plea with Australians to start acknowledging and cleaning up their acts. Their behavior has been put in the spotlight and finally, hopefully, they are able to confront it head on.
Casual racism is a real thing and it has to stop, this film in fact begs you to stop. It has a clear vision for equality and justice that we should have incorporated into our day to day life much earlier.
The Australian Dream opens a door to how appalling our first world country is sometimes.
Are we not ashamed of our behavior? Apparently not. Despite all this, the Australian Dream reminds us that there is still hope.
All Australians should see this film, it should be made mandatory viewing in schools, universities, workplaces, the lot.
It has a powerful message that needs to be seen. Our history is a hard one, but all the same, it is our history and we need to acknowledge it in order to improve our futures.
Much should be said of Stan Grant’s strong and reassuring presence in the film who has just a powerful role as Adam Goodes himself.
Whatever you think about The Australia Dream, it is our history and our responsibility to remind ourselves that we must get better, because where we sit as a society now cannot be, and never should be OK.
If you start to feel angry or enraged about this film, maybe it is time to start changing your behavior.
Rating: Four and a half stars
Letterboxd: sydnie_kendall
Instagram: Sydnie.kendal
