Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

This Woman is Not a Car (1982)

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Assault

This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

The car mechanics at a petrol station impose their sexual desire for the car-woman onto that Australian icon, the FX Holden.

Curator’s notes

This is a dramatic scene that comments on the Australian male’s obsession with his car to the point of sexual arousal. By making the car a metaphor for a woman, the filmmaker is also making a statement about women being treated as sexual objects by men. The fantasy sequence starts as erotically charged but quickly becomes abusive when all four of the men get into the act. The scene leads into a sexually violent, nightmarish dream sequence.