AustLit

The article discusses the phenomenon of the 'white blackfellow' and the changing motivations of Europeans 'going native'. It argues that, in reporting about their experiences of living among Aborigines, some writers, as for instance Marlo Morgan in her successful but fraudulent book Mutant Message Down Under, are living out their own fantasies and quests for spiritual fulfilment rather than representing the realities of contemporary Aboriginal people and life. The author also discusses the pros and cons with regard to more recent notion of 'cultural protocols' for non-indigenous writers in portraying Aboriginal life.