Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This clip shows Laurel Winder from the Aboriginal and Islanders Women’s Congress talking about Indigenous activist Gloria Brennan. There is also footage of the Aboriginal and Islanders Women’s Congress with a voice-over describing the obstacles Indigenous women face in being politically active. Ballroom dancer Tanya Corbett speaks about her personal goals and dreams. A sequence in which the names of Indigenous language groups are flashed on the screen is followed by images of Indigenous groups and individuals in a variety of situations. The voices of Corbett and Winder are deliberately out of sync with their images. The clip includes intertitles and music.

Educational value points

• Gloria Brennan (1948–85), shown in the clip, was a linguist and anthropologist who championed the rights of Indigenous Australian women. Brennan was from the Pindiini people in Western Australia. She helped found the Aboriginal Medical Service and Aboriginal Legal Service in WA and worked with the Equal Employment Opportunity Bureau of the Public Service Board. In recognition of her work both as an academic and activist, the University of WA created the Gloria Brennan Scholarship, which is awarded to Indigenous Australian students.

• The interviews in Moodeitj Yorgas, which were shot in a studio with a black backdrop, take the form of portraits with voice-overs that are out of sync with the images. Moffatt says she used this approach because she wanted the voices to speak for all Indigenous women, so that while the film celebrates diversity among Indigenous women and their individual achievements, she intended that these women represent the experiences of a wider community.

• The disjunction between the speaker and voice in this clip is intentional and done so that the audience views the image of the person and the spoken word as if they were separate elements. In the absence of facial expressions and gestures, which together with words comprise 'language’ or communication, the audience is forced to concentrate more on what is being said.

• This clip presents positive images of Indigenous women. Some Indigenous female 'leaders’ who have made a significant contribution to their community include Linda Burney, the first Indigenous woman to be elected into the NSW Parliament, Dr Evelyn Scott, Chair of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, Ruby Langford Ginibi, Indigenous Australian activist and author, and Winsome Matthews, Chair of the NSW Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committee (2002), who has made recommendations about many issues but more recently the problem of domestic violence in Indigenous Australian communities.

• Tracey Moffatt (1960–) is one of Australia’s most important contemporary artists who established a reputation as an experimental filmmaker before concentrating on photography. Her short film Night Cries: A Rural Tragedy was selected for official competition at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival, while her first feature film, BeDevil, was shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 1993. Her work, which is influenced by cinema and pop culture, probes misconceptions about Aboriginality, as well as exploring gender, sexuality and identity.

This clip starts approximately 6 minutes into the documentary.

A title card reads ‘Gloria Brennan a graduate in Anthropology and Linguistics was a black woman who throughout her working life held positions of power. Famed for her humour and brilliant talent in communicating the Aboriginal situation within Australia and the world, she was and will continue to be an inspiration to hundreds of women who knew her. Gloria (G.B.) died of cancer in 1985 age 37.’

Laurel Winder, a member of the Aboriginal and Islander Women’s Congress, is shown against a black background.
Laurel Winder (voiceover) The Gloria Brennan Aboriginal Women’s Information Centre first started at a committee meeting in Newcastle Street where we felt that, due to Gloria’s contribution to Aboriginal women in Western Australia and the promotion of Aboriginal women, we felt that we should recognise this and to show some dedication for what she had done for us.

Archival photos of Gloria Brennan are shown.

A title card reads ‘Aboriginal & Islanders Women’s Congress. Aboriginal Centre Perth.’

A woman talks over footage of the Aboriginal and Islanders Women’s Congress.
Woman I think that when Aboriginal men get up there and do things, you know, they really get this pat on the back and they’ve really done a good thing, they’re up there doing it. But when an Aboriginal woman does it, that much more pressure comes upon her. She’s faced with the fact that she’s neglecting her kids, she’s out there running around and the worst thing — and I’ll say this — the worst thing that they face is for their men to say, you know, ‘what are you up there doing running around?,’ but she’s doing it, not for anything for the simple fact that she wants do it and she wants to achieve. And I think for any woman that gets out and have that gut feeling to do it, I tip my hat to her.

Tanya Corbett, a ballroom dancer, is shown against a black background.
Tanya Corbett (voiceover) I’ve just completed Year 12 of high school, I’ve been dancing for about twelve and a half years. I’m the first Aboriginal girl in Australia to have two grad exams for ballroom dancing. Hopefully I’d like to have my own dance studio and train world champion couples, both black and white, and hopefully some of my children will become world champions. When it comes to training, I don’t mind training all hours of the night, maybe training until 3:00 in the morning, I don’t mind as long as I’m on the dance — or dancing I’m happy.

A sequence of names of Indigenous language groups are flashed across the screen accompanied by music and followed by images of Indigenous groups and individuals in a variety of situations.