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Beasley (Fred Barker) warns Mark 'Chopper’ Read (Eric Bana) that the Painters and Dockers, a faction within the prison, have put out a contract on his life. Read is amused, because he can’t believe anyone in H Division is man enough to try to kill him. Afterwards, Read outlines a plan to his associates Jimmy Loughnan (Simon Lyndon) and Bluey Barnes (Dan Wyllie) to 'icepick the spines’ of every inmate in the division.
Curator’s notes
We have already seen how violent Read can be, with the stabbing of Keithy George, but even by his own standards, the plan to icepick any possible assassin is outlandish. The scary thing is that he means it. Read’s fear of reprisal is a constant theme in the story, and a motivator for much of his violence. This scene underlines his need to dominate everyone, even his friends, and it sets up reason for Jimmy Loughnan to stab him (which occurs in the next scene), as a pre-emptive strike.
