Distinctive Voices, One Night the Moon

The concept of distinctive voices is one that is representative of a range of experiences that are offered during our lives. The film “One Night the Moon references the concept of music and the Australian Outback. The operates on a number of levels presenting the mythical bush narrative of the lost child within a inner heartache   of the mother and father an references to personal and national guilt, isolation and community, indigenous culture and racism.   The themes and issues present in “One Night the Moon” are to be found through Australia’s history.
As a woman in the set time period, Rose is subject to a submissive role in the marriage as her husband Jim has the dominant voice. Rose is frequently show being trapped in her domestic expectation and unable to voice her feelings due to her being a woman in a patriarchal society. “One Night the Moon” contains a mystery to be solved which requires Rose to leave her conservative role in order to do so. Through the eagerness of Rose finding Albert, she is able to convey a message to the responder and truly voice her concerns.
Albert is silent and tormented as he sits in the middle of a gathering of Indigenous people and broods on his inability to help with the search. The minimal dialogue expresses his despair and demonstrates the effects of racial prejudice. Albert lives without power in a patriarchal society and is colonised as an indigenous person and his land is stole while his identity and skills are undervalued. This is shown when Albert goes into the police station and hands in his badge and uniform as he feels unwanted, useless and undervalued.
Jim has a very different attitude to the land as he has no understanding of the indigenous connections with spirituality and the dreamtime. Jim has the voice of power in the society as he is paternalistic and patriarchal, this is shown through the quotes “This land is mine”, “No blacks on my land” and “I call the shots”. Through the experience of failure and witnessing...