AustLit
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
This article reads Richard J. Frankland's Stone Bros. (2009) as a critique of romanticized
notions of primitive Aboriginal spirituality. Through the unlikely arena of
popular cinema, this irreverent stoner comedy draws viewer attention to the persistence
of notions of repressive authenticity, with particular reference to elements of
Aboriginal spirituality. I examine the film's parodic treatment of two central motifs:
the 'important' stones belonging to the two main characters - Aboriginal cousins
Eddie (Luke Carroll) and Charlie (Leon Burchill) - and Eddie's light skin colour.
Stone Bros. insists that anachronistic ideals of Aboriginality continue to hold
currency for both indigenous and non-indigenous people in contemporary Australia.
In raising potentially uncomfortable issues for black and white Australians through
popular cinema Stone Bros. draws to viewers' attention the potentially negative
impacts of misplaced romanticisms on the nation's reconciliation process.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Last amended 18 Jan 2013 09:57:02
29-43
The Primitive, The Sacred and the Stoned in Richard J. Frankland's Ston Bros.
Studies in Australasian Cinema