Empathy, Emotion, and Environment in Alternative Australian Landscape Cinema: The Case of Rabbit-Proof Fence
In: Emotions: History, Culture, SocietySearch for other papers by Alexa Weik von Mossner in
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Abstract
The article aims to complement contextual analyses of the political, ideological and commercial uses of natural environments in Australian landscape cinema by exploring from a cognitive perspective exactly how such environments are foregrounded in ways that affect viewers’ emotional relationships to both characters and the environments themselves. Phillip Noyce’s Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) serves as an example of a film that aims for a realistic portrayal of the physical hardship of the Australian outback, while also using that cinematic environment strategically to reinforce viewers’ emotional attachment to its young heroines and, ultimately, to push a political argument that runs counter to the conservative national ideology that informs much of traditional Australian landscape cinema.
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| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 1379 | 344 | 29 |
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| PDF Views & Downloads | 269 | 94 | 17 |
Empathy, Emotion, and Environment in Alternative Australian Landscape Cinema: The Case of Rabbit-Proof Fence
In: Emotions: History, Culture, SocietySearch for other papers by Alexa Weik von Mossner in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
The article aims to complement contextual analyses of the political, ideological and commercial uses of natural environments in Australian landscape cinema by exploring from a cognitive perspective exactly how such environments are foregrounded in ways that affect viewers’ emotional relationships to both characters and the environments themselves. Phillip Noyce’s Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) serves as an example of a film that aims for a realistic portrayal of the physical hardship of the Australian outback, while also using that cinematic environment strategically to reinforce viewers’ emotional attachment to its young heroines and, ultimately, to push a political argument that runs counter to the conservative national ideology that informs much of traditional Australian landscape cinema.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 1379 | 344 | 29 |
| Full Text Views | 155 | 44 | 6 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 269 | 94 | 17 |